NK Celje

Nogometni klub Celje (English: Celje Football Club), commonly referred to as NK Celje or simply Celje ([ˈtsɛ̀ːljɛ]), is an association football club from Celje, Slovenia. They play in the Slovenian PrvaLiga. Together with Maribor, they are the only club that have participated in every season of the Slovenian PrvaLiga since its formation in 1991.^[3] Celje won their first league title in the 2019–20 season. They have also won the 2004–05 edition of the Slovenian Cup.

Celje

Full name	Nogometni klub Celje
Nickname(s)	Grofje (The Counts) Rumeno-modri (The Yellow and Blues)
Founded	28 December 1919; 103 years ago (28 December 1919)^[1]^[2] (as SK Celje)
Ground	Stadion Z'dežele
Capacity	13,059
President	Valeriy Kolotilo
Manager	Damir Krznar
League	Slovenian PrvaLiga
2022–23	Slovenian PrvaLiga, 2nd of 10
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours

History

The club was formed in 1919 as SK Celje.^[1][2] Soon after the World War II, in 1946, the club changed its name to NK Kladivar (expressionistic term in Slovene for a blacksmith).^[2] In 1964 they qualified for the Yugoslav Second League, where they played for one year.^[2]

In 1992, one year after Slovenia gained independence from Yugoslavia, the club was renamed as Publikum due to sponsorship reasons.^[2] They reached the finals of Slovenian Cup in 1993 and 1995, but lost on both occasions, having been beaten by Olimpija and Mura, respectively.^[4] In 2003, Celje was in a title race with Maribor until the last two rounds, but in the end finished second and also lost the Slovenian cup final against Olimpija during the same season.^[5] Two years later, in 2005, the club reached the final for the fourth time and this time they finally lifted their first trophy, defeating Gorica 1–0 in front of their own fans at the Arena Petrol.^[6] Celje were also in the finals the next year, but lost to Koper after the penalty shoot-out.^[7] In early 2007 they dropped Publikum from their name.^[8]

In 2020, Celje won its first national title after winning the 2019–20 Slovenian PrvaLiga season.^[9]

Stadium

For most of its early years, the club played at the Glazija Stadium, but obtained the Skalna Klet after merging with ŽŠD Celje in 1967. Glazija was demolished in 1983 and the club moved permanently to Skalna Klet. Since the stadium was in poor condition and could not meet UEFA stadium regulations, the club officials decided to build a new stadium and in 2003 the main stand of the new Arena Petrol stadium was built. The capacity at the time was 3,600 covered seats. After 2003, three new separate stands were built and when the last one opened in 2008, the stadium was completed. The current capacity of the stadium is 13,059 seats from which around 50% are covered.^[10] In July 2017, the stadium was renamed to Stadion Z'dežele.^[11]

Current squad

As of 10 October 2023^[12]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK   SVN Metod Jurhar 3 DF   SVN Damjan Vuklišević 4 MF   ROU Marco Dulca 6 DF   SVN David Zec 7 FW   SVN Aljoša Matko 8 MF   CRO Luka Bobičanec 9 FW   SVN Gregor Bajde 10 MF   SVN Nino Kouter 11 MF   SVN Denis Popović 13 MF   SVN Matic Vrbanec 16 MF   BIH Mario Kvesić 19 MF   SVN Mark Zabukovnik 20 FW   SVN Lucas Mačak

No. Pos. Nation Player 21 DF   SVN Nejc Ajhmajer 22 GK   SVN Matjaž Rozman 23 DF   SVN Žan Karničnik (on loan from Ludogorets Razgrad) 27 FW   FRA Julien Lamy 30 FW   BRA Edmilson 42 DF   SVN Vid Koderman 47 MF   UKR Artem Bilyi 67 DF   SVN Nino Milić 69 GK   CRO Matko Obradović 73 MF   RUS Yegor Prutsev (on loan from Red Star Belgrade) 77 FW   SVN Lovro Bizjak 81 DF   SVN Klemen Nemanič 88 MF   SVN Tamar Svetlin

Honours

League

• Slovenian First League (since 1991)
  • Winners: 2019–20
  • Runners-up (3): 2002–03, 2014–15, 2022–23
• Slovenian Republic League (prior 1991)
  • Winners: 1963–64
  • Runners-up (6): 1936–37, 1950, 1959–60, 1960–61, 1970–71, 1973–74

Cup

• Slovenian Cup (since 1991)
  • Winners: 2004–05
  • Runners-up (9): 1992–93, 1994–95, 2002–03, 2005–06, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2020–21
• Slovenian Republic Cup (prior 1991)
  • Winners: 1964
• MNZ Celje Cup
  • Runners-up: 1991–92

Domestic league and cup results

Season	League	Position	Pts	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	Cup
1991–92	1. SNL	9	41	40	14	13	13	43	51	Round of 16
1992–93	1. SNL	10	32	34	12	8	14	37	47	Runners-up
1993–94	1. SNL	4	38	30	14	10	6	50	34	Round of 16
1994–95	1. SNL	6	38	30	16	6	8	50	27	Runners-up
1995–96	1. SNL	5	51	36	13	12	11	62	47	Semi-finals
1996–97	1. SNL	4	47	36	12	11	13	55	61	Quarter-finals
1997–98	1. SNL	6	49	36	14	7	15	57	57	Quarter-finals
1998–99	1. SNL	7	42	33	10	12	11	30	35	Round of 16
1999–00	1. SNL	6	47	33	11	14	8	53	45	Quarter-finals
2000–01	1. SNL	5	50	33	15	5	13	59	52	First round
2001–02	1. SNL	6	48	33	14	6	13	50	39	Round of 16
2002–03	1. SNL	2	55	31	15	10	6	57	38	Runners-up
2003–04	1. SNL	10	39	32	11	6	15	61	52	Quarter-finals
2004–05	1. SNL	3	52	32	16	4	12	47	28	Winners
2005–06	1. SNL	6	49	36	15	4	17	48	59	Runners-up
2006–07	1. SNL	7	45	36	11	12	13	54	51	Semi-finals
2007–08	1. SNL	8	45	36	13	6	17	42	51	Quarter-finals
2008–09	1. SNL	4	53	36	15	8	13	48	39	Round of 16
2009–10	1. SNL	5	51	36	14	9	13	53	56	Semi-finals
2010–11	1. SNL	8	37	36	9	10	17	41	55	Round of 16
2011–12	1. SNL	8	37	36	9	10	17	44	56	Runners-up
2012–13	1. SNL	5	49	36	12	13	11	39	39	Runners-up
2013–14	1. SNL	8	37	36	10	7	19	30	58	Quarter-finals
2014–15	1. SNL	2	70	36	20	10	6	58	31	Runners-up
2015–16	1. SNL	5	45	36	11	12	13	32	46	Runners-up
2016–17	1. SNL	5	55	36	15	10	11	48	39	Round of 16
2017–18	1. SNL	5	50	36	14	8	14	56	51	Semi-finals
2018–19	1. SNL	5	49	36	12	13	11	45	51	Round of 16
2019–20	1. SNL	1	69	36	19	12	5	74	36	Quarter-finals
2020–21	1. SNL	7	43	36	12	7	17	36	41	Runners-up
2021–22	1. SNL	8	42	36	12	6	18	46	50	Semi-finals
2022–23	1. SNL	2	67	36	19	10	7	53	34	Quarter-finals

European record

All results (home and away) list Celje's goal tally first.

Season	Competition	Round	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate
1993–94	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	Qualifying round	Odense BK	0–1	0–0	0–1
1997	UEFA Intertoto Cup	Group stage	Antalyaspor	1–1	—	2nd
			Maccabi Haifa	—	1–0
			Lokomotiv Nizhny Novgorod	1–2	—
			Proleter Zrenjanin	—	0–0
2001	UEFA Intertoto Cup	First round	Aarhus	7–1	0–1	7–2
		Second round	Petržalka	5–0	1–1	6–1
		Third round	Lausanne-Sport	1–1	0–0	1–1 (a)
2003–04	UEFA Cup	Qualifying round	Belasica	7–2	5–0	12–2
		First round	Maccabi Haifa	2–2	1–2	3–4
2004	UEFA Intertoto Cup	First round	Sloboda Tuzla	2–1	0–1	2–2 (a)
2005–06	UEFA Cup	Second qualifying round	Levski Sofia	1–0	0–3	1–3
2012–13	UEFA Europa League	First qualifying round	Dacia Chișinău	0–1	0–1	0–2
2013–14	UEFA Europa League	First qualifying round	Tromsø	0–2	2–1	2–3
2015–16	UEFA Europa League	First qualifying round	Śląsk Wrocław	0–1	1–3	1–4
2020–21^[a]	UEFA Champions League	First qualifying round	Dundalk	3–0^[b]	—
		Second qualifying round	Molde	1–2	—
	UEFA Europa League	Third qualifying round	Ararat-Armenia	—	0–1^[c]	—
2023–24	UEFA Europa Conference League	Second qualifying round	Vitória de Guimarães	3–4	1–0^[c]	4–4 (4–2 p)
		Third qualifying round	Neman Grodno	1–0	4–1	5–1
		Play-off round	Maccabi Tel Aviv	1–1	1–4	2–5

1. Only one match per qualifying round was played due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2. Celje played their home match at Szusza Ferenc Stadion in Budapest (Hungary) due to travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
3. After extra time.

List of managers

•   Bojan Prašnikar (1989–1991)
•   Stanko Božičevič (1992)
•   Janko Benčina (1992)
•   Janez Zavrl (1993–1994)
•   Ivan Marković (1994)
•   Filip Mendaš (1994)
•   Borut Jarc (1994–1996)
•   Milovan Tarbuk (1996–1997)
•   Stanko Poklepović (1997–1998)
•   Edin Osmanović (1998–1999)
•   Nikola Ilievski (1999–2000)
•   Marijan Pušnik (2000–2004)
•   Ivica Matković (2004–2005)
•   Marko Pocrnjič (2005)
•   Nikola Ilievski (2005–2006)
•   Janez Žilnik (2006)
•   Pavel Pinni (2007–2008)
•   Slaviša Stojanovič (2008–2009)
•   Milan Đuričić (2009–2010)
•   Damijan Romih (2010)
•   Stane Bevc (2010–2011)
•   Damijan Romih (2011–2012)
•   Marijan Pušnik (2012)
•   Miloš Rus (2013–2014)
•   Simon Rožman (2014–2015)
•   Iztok Kapušin (2015–2016)
•   Robert Pevnik (2016)
•   Igor Jovićević (2016–2017)
•   Tomaž Petrovič (2017)
•   Dušan Kosič (2017–2020)
•   Jiří Jarošík (2020–2021)
•   Agron Šalja (2021)
•   Simon Sešlar (2021)
•   Simon Rožman (2022)
•   Roman Pylypchuk (2022–2023)
•   Albert Riera (2023)
•   Damir Krznar (2023–present)

References

1. "Klubi" [Clubs] (in Slovenian). Football Association of Slovenia. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
2. "Zgodovina" [History] (in Slovenian). NK Celje. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
3. Gordana Possnig (10 September 2019). "V Celju že sto let organizirano igrajo nogomet". Večer (in Slovenian). Retrieved 9 August 2020.
4. "Slovenia – List of Cup Finals". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
5. "Slovenia 2002/03". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
6. "Publikum dočakal prvo lovoriko" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. 17 May 2005. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
7. "Slovenia 2005/06". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
8. "Celjani z novim imenom po državni naslov". sta.si (in Slovenian). Slovenian Press Agency. 20 February 2007. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
9. A. V. (22 July 2020). "Celjani prvič slovenski nogometni prvaki" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
10. "Stadion" [Stadium] (in Slovenian). NK Celje. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
11. "Celjski stadion z novim imenom, odslej bo Arena Z'dežele". Ekipa24 (in Slovenian). 4 July 2017. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
12. "Seznam igralcev" [List of players] (in Slovenian). NK Celje. Retrieved 19 July 2023.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to NK Celje.

• Official website (in Slovene)
• PrvaLiga profile (in Slovene)
• UEFA profile