NK Olimpija Ljubljana
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Coordinates: 46°3′5″N 14°30′20″E / 46.05139°N 14.50556°E
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| Full name | Nogometni Klub Olimpija Ljubljana | ||
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| Nickname(s) | Zmaji (the Dragons) Zeleno-beli (Green-Whites) | ||
| Founded | May 9, 1911, as Ilirija | ||
| Ground | Stadion Bežigrad, Ljubljana (Capacity: 8211) |
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| Chairman |  Franci Zavrl |
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| Manager | Branko Oblak |
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| League | 1.SNL | ||
| 2008-2009 | Slovenian Second League 1st (Promoted) | ||
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NK Olimpija is the most famous Slovenian football (soccer) club, playing in the city of Ljubljana, Slovenia. They've won Slovenian First League 4 times , as well as four Slovenian Cups, and appeared in European competitions such as the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup, UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and UEFA Intertoto Cup.
Founded in 1911, Olimpija was until recently the best club in Slovenia, but lost its leading position due to financial problems. Olimpija currently plays in Slovenian First Division, 1.SNL, home games at a stadium ŽŠD Ljubljana, but are expected to move to a new stadium Športni Park Stožice in 2010.
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[edit] History
[edit] Early years 1911 - 1914
In the beginning of the 20th century football came to Ljubljana from Vienna, and was played mostly by the students. Football club Ilirija, predecessor of Olimpija, was founded on 9.5.1911 in a pub called Roža on Židovska cesta, Ljubljana. Albin Kandare was elected as the first president of Ilirija. Ilirija´s first match was played on 1.1.1912, losing 18:0 against "student's" club Hermes. Soon after that game Ilirija merged with Hermes in order to compete with other, mostly Croatian, clubs. Important turning point was the visit of Slavia Prague, they lost 0:10, but played for a first time against "professional" team. Slavia intervened Ilirija´s first coach Jirkovski. The best players of Ilirija of that time were Ernest Turk, Stanko Pelan, Stanko Tavcar and Oto Oman.
[edit] Time between wars 1919 - 1941
After World War I Maribor and Celje also became football centers and in 1920 ASK Primorje was founded in Ljubljana. ASK Primorje became one of the greatest rival of Ilirija in a short time, but Ilirija became the first Slovenian champion in 1920, in total 13 during the 1930-1936 time period. In further era both clubs encountered financial difficulties that resulted in merge between both clubs under the name SK Ljubljana. After 1936 SK Ljubljana was the best club in Slovenia and didn't compete in Slovenian league but in so called Yugoslav First League. SK Ljubljana operated until the start of World war II, when in Ljubljana activities of all sport clubs were canceled.
[edit] Yugoslavian first league 1945 - 1984
After the WWII players of SK Ljubljana merged with ŠD Tabor and ŠD Udarnik, forming a club called NK Enotnost. 3 years later club was renamed NK Odred and in 1953 club promoted to Yugoslav First League, but managed to stay there only one season. In 1961 club was renamed NK Triglav, and just after a half of season the new name became Academic Football Club Olimpija. Club colors in those times were black-white. Most interesting matches in second league were derbies with NK Maribor. In season 1964/65 Olimpija promoted to Yugoslav First League again and stayed there for 19 consecutive seasons. In 1970 Olimpija played the Yugoslav Cup final, and lost against Crvena Zvezda 3:2, after golden goal of Dragan Džajić in a last moments of the match, but qualified for Cup Winners' Cup. They also qualified for the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup twice, and played two times in semifinals of Cup (1972 and 1982). Poor appearances in Season 1983/84 brought Olimpija back to Yugoslav Second League.
[edit] Times to Slovenian independence 1984 - 1991
Relegation meant complete destruction, and Olimpija was relegated from Yugoslav second league too. Start of the season 1985/86 was also quite bad, but through the season conditions stabilized and Olimpija finished competition as 3rd. Next year Olimpija was promoted back to Yugoslav second league with 20 wins, 6 draws and without a single match lost with a superb goal difference 64:4. In the first season back to Yugoslav second league, Olimpija surprised everyone, won the competition, and returned to Yugoslav first league. Return back to Yugoslav First League meant football euphoria in Slovenia, Olimpija finished season on the 8th place. On 4.9.1988, when Olimpija played against NK Dinamo Zagreb supporters of Olimpija formed a fan club called Green Dragons. Next season, 1989/1990 Olimpija lost most of it´s attractive players and finished league as 14th.
[edit] Slovenian league 1991 - 2004
After Slovenian independence, Olimpija agreed to join newly formed Slovenian PrvaLiga. League was mixture of clubs of all stages, and Olimpija, although considering the fact that the competition was quite interesting, had only 1075 spectators per match (year before 7380 per match). First winter break Olimpija ended as 2nd, 3 points behind NK Maribor. Following spring Olimpija played excellent, and after 11 wins in a row, won the first Slovenian PrvaLiga title. As award Olimpija played two matches against AC Milan in UEFA Champions League. Next 3 seasons Olimpija dominated in Slovenian PrvaLiga winning another 3 titles. In season 1994/95 Olimpija also won UEFA cup match against Levski Sofia. In season 1995/96 Olimpija lost home title for the first time, The winning club of this season was ND Gorica, but Olimpija managed to win Slovenian Football Cup and in next season achieved historical result on the European scene. By beating Levski Sofia and AGF in UEFA Cup Winners' Cup they came in round of 16. Following seasons Olimpija played poorly, finishing 5th, 6th, 7th and 2nd. In season 1999/2000 Olimpija won Slovenian cup again, first trophy after 4 years. In 2002 Jurij Schollmayer became director of the club, and financial stability was assured. As a result, some well known players like Miran Pavlin, Mladen Rudonja and Robert Prosinecki signed for Olimpija, as well as Branko Oblak as a head coach. However, that was enough just for 3rd place in the league, but Olimpija managed to win the cup. In the next season, 2003/2004, Sebastjan Cimirotič signed for the club as well, however, Olimpija was eliminated in UEFA Cup by the English giant FC Liverpool (1:1 and 0:3). At the end of the season, after most sponsors (including Schollmayer) abandoned Olimpija, club encountered serious financial difficulties.
[edit] New start 2004+
Because of financial troubles, Olimpija lost almost all of its players, which resulted in the club being kicked out from all competitions. In 2005 a "new" club, NK Bežigrad, was formed and started its path from the 5th league. The club regard themselves as the spiritual continuation of the team NK Olimpija, who went bankrupt in the spring 2005. However, legally NK Bežigrad / NK Olimpija Ljubljana is a distinct and separate club, and is not entitled to claim the honours won by its predecessors. With some help from the club legends of the past and other notable Slovenian players Olimpija won the fifth league in the first year. In the next two seasons NK Bežigrad was promoted into the Slovenian Second League by winning both Fourth and Third League. In 2008/2009 season NK Olimpija (using the old name again) won the Slovenian Second League and has promoted to the Slovenian First League in 2009. Throughout the path to the Slovenian First League, Olimpija had a support of their fan group Green Dragons. Olimpija is going to start its first season in first league after four years with a new coach, once Olimpija′s best player, Branko Oblak.
[edit] Club colours and crest
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Olimpija changed its colours several times in its history. First kit was red and white, Slavic colours, with a red star facing downward, which symbolized hope and spirit during a bad time. Then, they played many years in black and white jerseys. Since 1969 Olimpija plays in green and white colors. Green and white are colours of the city of Ljubljana. Home colour was always green, while they played in a jerseys with white and green stripes away matches, but that changed in a last years. Olimpija now plays in white at home and in green colors away. The Kit manufacturer is Diadora.
The dragon in the crest is taken from the famous Greek myth The Quest for the Golden Fleece, which is a legend about the creation of the city of Ljubljana. Usage mythical creature can be attributed to academic roots of the club. The dragon represents power, courage, and greatness. The dragon is the symbol of the city of Ljubljana. It can can also be found on its coat of arms, sitting at the top of Ljubljana Castle, like the one in Olimpija's old crest, but the current crest incudes just a dragon's head. The current crest is not popular among the fans, and it is expected to change soon.
[edit] Supporters
Olimpija was always the most popular club in the city of Ljubljana, as well as Western and Southern parts of the country. Club's biggest fan group Green Dragons, nicknamed Dragonsi, was formed back in 1988. They are one of two major football fan groups in Slovenia, the other being their traditional enemy in cheerleading, as well as fights and hooliganism, the Viole. In 2003, one of the largest incidents in Slovenian history took place on the way to Maribor, at the train station in Štore, near Celje, 74 Green Dragons were arrested. Up to 1500 Green Dragons come to important football matches, as well as to games of the basketball club KK Union Olimpija and ice-hockey club HDD Olimpija Ljubljana. The popular slogan fans use is Eno življenje, ena ljubezen, Olimpija Ljubljana.(One life, One love, Olimpija Ljubljana).
[edit] Rivalry
The club's biggest rival is NK Maribor. These two clubs are by far the most popular clubs in Slovenia and also have the biggest fan groups in the country. On many occasions the matches between NK Maribor and NK Olimpija were interrupted due to violent clashes between the fan groups Green Dragons and Viole Maribor. The matches between the two rivals are known in Slovenia as Večni derbi (Eternal derby). The atmosphere among football fans and the media was and is always packed with emotions days before a match. Olimpija won 20 times, tied 16 times and lost 25. Olimpija recorded the biggest win against Maribor on July 20, 2003, when the score was 6:1. The best scorer is Vili Ameršek with 14 goals.
[edit] Honours
Total titles: 26
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- Slovenian Championship
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- Winners (14): 1920, 1920-21, 1921-22, 1922-23, 1923-24, 1924-25, 1925-26, 1926-27, 1929-30, 1931-32, 1933-34, 1934-35, 1935-36, 1940-41
- There was no national competition during 1942-1990 time period.
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- Winners (4): 1991-92, 1992-93, 1993-94, 1994-95
- Runner-up (3): 1995-96, 2000-01, 2003-04
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- Winners (4): 1992-93, 1995-96, 1999-00, 2002-03
- Runner-up (3): 1991-92, 1998-99, 2000-01
- Slovenian lower level competitions
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- Slovenian Second League Winner: 2008/09
- Slovenian Third League West (Zahod) Group Winner: 2007/08
- Slovenian Fourth League Upper Carniola (Gorenjska) Group Winner: 2006/07
- Slovenian Fifth League Upper Carniola (Gorenjska) Group Winner: 2005/06
[edit] Team 2009/2010
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[edit] Notable former players
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SLOVENIA
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BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA CROATIA SERBIA ALBANIA MACEDONIA |
[edit] External links
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