NK Celje

Nogometni klub Celje (English: Celje Football Club), commonly referred to as NK Celje or simply Celje ([ˈtsɛ̀ːljɛ]), is a professional 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 nameNogometni klub Celje
Nickname(s)Grofje (The Counts)
Rumeno-modri
(The Yellow and Blues)
Founded28 December 1919 (28 December 1919)[1][2] (as SK Celje)
GroundStadion Z'dežele
Capacity13,059
PresidentValeriy Kolotilo
ManagerDamir Krznar
LeagueSlovenian PrvaLiga
2022–23Slovenian PrvaLiga, 2nd of 10
WebsiteClub website

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 Slovenia SVN Metod Jurhar
3 DF Slovenia SVN Damjan Vuklišević
4 MF Romania ROU Marco Dulca
6 DF Slovenia SVN David Zec
7 FW Slovenia SVN Aljoša Matko
8 MF Croatia CRO Luka Bobičanec
9 FW Slovenia SVN Gregor Bajde
10 MF Slovenia SVN Nino Kouter
11 MF Slovenia SVN Denis Popović
13 MF Slovenia SVN Matic Vrbanec
16 MF Bosnia and Herzegovina BIH Mario Kvesić
19 MF Slovenia SVN Mark Zabukovnik
20 FW Slovenia SVN Lucas Mačak
No. Pos. Nation Player
21 DF Slovenia SVN Nejc Ajhmajer
22 GK Slovenia SVN Matjaž Rozman
23 DF Slovenia SVN Žan Karničnik (on loan from Ludogorets Razgrad)
27 FW France FRA Julien Lamy
30 FW Brazil BRA Edmilson
42 DF Slovenia SVN Vid Koderman
47 MF Ukraine UKR Artem Bilyi
67 DF Slovenia SVN Nino Milić
69 GK Croatia CRO Matko Obradović
73 MF Russia RUS Yegor Prutsev (on loan from Red Star Belgrade)
77 FW Slovenia SVN Lovro Bizjak
81 DF Slovenia SVN Klemen Nemanič
88 MF Slovenia SVN Tamar Svetlin

Honours

League

Cup

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 Denmark Odense BK 0–1 0–0 0–1
1997 UEFA Intertoto Cup Group stage Turkey Antalyaspor 1–1 — 2nd
Israel Maccabi Haifa — 1–0
Russia Lokomotiv Nizhny Novgorod 1–2 —
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Proleter Zrenjanin — 0–0
2001 UEFA Intertoto Cup First round Denmark Aarhus 7–1 0–1 7–2
Second round Slovakia Petržalka 5–0 1–1 6–1
Third round Switzerland Lausanne-Sport 1–1 0–0 1–1 (a)
2003–04 UEFA Cup Qualifying round North Macedonia Belasica 7–2 5–0 12–2
First round Israel Maccabi Haifa 2–2 1–2 3–4
2004 UEFA Intertoto Cup First round Bosnia and Herzegovina Sloboda Tuzla 2–1 0–1 2–2 (a)
2005–06 UEFA Cup Second qualifying round Bulgaria Levski Sofia 1–0 0–3 1–3
2012–13 UEFA Europa League First qualifying round Moldova Dacia Chișinău 0–1 0–1 0–2
2013–14 UEFA Europa League First qualifying round Norway Tromsø 0–2 2–1 2–3
2015–16 UEFA Europa League First qualifying round Poland Śląsk Wrocław 0–1 1–3 1–4
2020–21[lower-alpha 1] UEFA Champions League First qualifying round Republic of Ireland Dundalk 3–0[lower-alpha 2]—
Second qualifying round Norway Molde 1–2—
UEFA Europa League Third qualifying round Armenia Ararat-Armenia — 0–1[lower-alpha 3] —
2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League Second qualifying round Portugal Vitória de Guimarães 3–4 1–0[lower-alpha 3] 4–4 (4–2 p)
Third qualifying round Belarus Neman Grodno 1–0 4–1 5–1
Play-off round Israel 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

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.
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