NK Celje

In this article we will address the topic of NK Celje, which has generated great interest and debate among specialists and fans alike. For a long time, NK Celje has been the object of study and research in various fields, being a topic that transcends geographical and cultural barriers. Throughout history, NK Celje has played a crucial role in the lives of many people, influencing everything from individual decisions to major world events. Through this analysis, we will seek to understand the importance and impact that NK Celje has had on our society, as well as explore new perspectives and approaches that allow us to delve deeper into its meaning and relevance today.

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
ManagerAlbert Riera
LeagueSlovenian PrvaLiga
2023–24Slovenian PrvaLiga, 1st of 10 (champions)
Websitewww.nk-celje.si
Current season

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, the top tier of Slovenian football. 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, a feat they have repeated four years later. They have also won the 2004–05 edition of the Slovenian Cup.

History

The club was formed in 1919 as SK Celje.[1][2] Soon after 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 a penalty shoot-out.[7] In early 2007, they dropped Publikum from their name.[8]

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

Stadium

For most of its early years, the club played at the Glazija Stadium, and also acquired the Skalna Klet after merging with ŽŠD Celje in 1967. As the Glazija Stadium was demolished in the early 1980s, the club permanently moved to the Skalna Klet.[10] However, the stadium was in poor condition and could not meet UEFA stadium regulations, so the club's officials decided to build a new stadium. In 2003, the main stand of the new Arena Petrol 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, of which around 50% are covered.[11] In July 2017, the stadium was renamed to Stadion Z'dežele.[12]

Current squad

As of 16 February 2025[13]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
2 DF Spain ESP Juanjo Nieto
3 DF Slovenia SVN Damjan Vuklišević
4 MF Romania ROU Marco Dulca
5 MF France FRA Clément Lhernault
6 DF Lithuania LTU Artemijus Tutyškinas
7 FW Slovenia SVN Aljoša Matko
9 FW Netherlands NED Nino Noordanus
10 MF Slovenia SVN Nino Kouter
11 MF Slovenia SVN Svit Sešlar (on loan from Eyüpspor)
12 GK Slovenia SVN Luka Kolar
14 FW Sweden SWE Anomnachi Chinasa Chidi
16 MF Bosnia and Herzegovina BIH Mario Kvesić
19 MF Slovenia SVN Mark Zabukovnik
20 FW Russia RUS Nikita Iosifov
No. Pos. Nation Player
21 DF Slovenia SVN Nejc Ajhmajer
22 GK Slovenia SVN Matjaž Rozman
23 DF Slovenia SVN Žan Karničnik
25 DF Slovenia SVN Matija Kavčič
30 FW Brazil BRA Edmilson
35 FW France FRA Logan Delaurier-Chaubet (on loan from Almere City)
41 GK Portugal POR Ricardo Silva
44 DF Poland POL Łukasz Bejger
47 FW Lithuania LTU Armandas Kučys
70 DF Faroe Islands FRO Hanus Sørensen
73 MF Russia RUS Yegor Prutsev (on loan from Red Star Belgrade)
81 DF Slovenia SVN Klemen Nemanič
88 MF Slovenia SVN Tamar Svetlin
99 MF Spain ESP Íñigo Eguaras

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
2023–24 1. SNL 1 79 36 24 7 5 75 34 Round of 32
Key

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[a] UEFA Champions League First qualifying round Republic of Ireland Dundalk 3–0[b] —
Second qualifying round Norway Molde 1–2 —
UEFA Europa League Third qualifying round Armenia Ararat-Armenia — 0–1[c] —
2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League Second qualifying round Portugal Vitória de Guimarães 3–4 1–0[c] 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
2024–25 UEFA Champions League First qualifying round Estonia Flora 2–1 5–0 7–1
Second qualifying round Slovakia Slovan Bratislava 1–1 0–5 1–6
UEFA Europa League Third qualifying round Republic of Ireland Shamrock Rovers 1–0 1–3 2–3
UEFA Conference League Play-off round Armenia Pyunik 4–1 0–1 4–2
League phase Portugal Vitória de Guimarães — 1–3 21st out of 36
Turkey İstanbul Başakşehir 5–1 —
Spain Real Betis — 1–2
Poland Jagiellonia Białystok 3–3 —
Cyprus Pafos — 0–2
Wales The New Saints 3–2 —
Knockout phase play-offs Cyprus APOEL 2–2 2–0 4–2
Round of 16 Switzerland Lugano
  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. ^ a b After extra time.

List of managers

References

  1. ^ a b "Klubi" (in Slovenian). Football Association of Slovenia. Archived from the original on 21 June 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Zgodovina" (in Slovenian). NK Celje. Archived from the original on 20 July 2023. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  3. ^ Gordana Possnig (10 September 2019). "V Celju že sto let organizirano igrajo nogomet". Večer (in Slovenian). Archived from the original on 16 September 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  4. ^ "Slovenia – List of Cup Finals". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 27 September 2022. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  5. ^ "Slovenia 2002/03". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 6 October 2022. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  6. ^ "Publikum dočakal prvo lovoriko" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. 17 May 2005. Archived from the original on 10 June 2020. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  7. ^ "Slovenia 2005/06". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 6 October 2022. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  8. ^ "Celjani z novim imenom po državni naslov". sta.si (in Slovenian). Slovenian Press Agency. 20 February 2007. Archived from the original on 25 June 2022. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  9. ^ A. V. (22 July 2020). "Celjani prvič slovenski nogometni prvaki" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. Archived from the original on 2 October 2020. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  10. ^ "Skalna klet skozi zgodovino ter gradnja večnamenskega športnega objekta Skalna klet". zpo.si (in Slovenian). ZPO Celje d.o.o. 13 March 2019. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  11. ^ "Stadion" (in Slovenian). NK Celje. Archived from the original on 29 March 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  12. ^ "Celjski stadion z novim imenom, odslej bo Arena Z'dežele". Ekipa24 (in Slovenian). 4 July 2017. Archived from the original on 12 July 2017. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
  13. ^ "Seznam igralcev" [List of players] (in Slovenian). NK Celje. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
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