Eternal derby of Slovenian football (2007) explained

Večni derbi
Other Names:Slovenski derbi
City Or Region:LjubljanaMaribor, Slovenia
First Contested:24 October 2007
Slovenian Cup
Maribor 3–1 Bežigrad
Teams Involved:Maribor
Olimpija
Total:74
Most Wins:Maribor (30)
Mostrecent:11 May 2024
Slovenian PrvaLiga
Maribor 2–1 Olimpija
Nextmeeting:25 August 2024
Slovenian PrvaLiga
Maribor vs Olimpija
Largestvictory:Olimpija 4–1 Maribor
(28 August 2011)
Maribor 4–1 Olimpija
(29 April 2015)
Stadiums:Ljudski vrt (Maribor)
Stožice (Olimpija)
Most Player Appearances:Marcos Tavares (57)
Top Scorer:Marcos Tavares (9)

The Eternal derby of Slovenian football, simply known as the Eternal derby (Slovenian: Večni derbi) or Slovenian derby (Slovenian: Slovenski derbi), is a football rivalry between NK Maribor and NK Olimpija Ljubljana. The match between the two rivals was first contested on 24 October 2007 in a quarter-final match of the Slovenian Cup, which was won by Maribor 3–1.

History and rivalry culture

Olimpija was founded in March 2005 under the name NK Bežigrad.[1] [2] They later changed their name twice, first to NK Olimpija Bežigrad and finally to NK Olimpija Ljubljana. Although the board of the newly established club and its fans see the team as the spiritual continuation of the old club, they are not regarded as the legal successors of the old NK Olimpija by the Football Association of Slovenia.[3]

However, because the new Olimpija is supported by most of the fans of the previous Olimpija, including their ultras group, Green Dragons, who have a long-standing rivalry with Maribor's own ultras group Viole Maribor, many see the matches between Maribor and the new club as the continuation of the rivalry and refer to it by the same name.[4] [5] The first match between NK Maribor and the new NK Olimpija took place on 24 October 2007 in a Slovenian Cup quarter-final match, won by Maribor 3–1.[6] At the time, Olimpija was still competing under the name NK Olimpija Bežigrad.

Fans

Besides the city of Maribor itself and the surrounding area, NK Maribor also has a large fan base in the whole regions of Lower Styria and Slovenian Carinthia.[7] Olimpija on the other hand inherited much of the fan base that belonged to the dissolved club and draws much of its fans from the central part of the country, the majority from the city of Ljubljana with the surrounding area of southern Upper Carniola and northwestern Lower Carniola. Overall, the two clubs were always the most popular football clubs in the country.

Both clubs always have support on their matches from ultras groups called Viole Maribor, supporting NK Maribor, and Green Dragons who supports NK Olimpija. The two groups are among the largest in the country[8] and it is not uncommon that the matches between the two clubs were sometimes interrupted by clashes between the two groups or with the police.[9] On many occasions, before or after the matches, the fans of the two clubs would also meet up and fight on the streets. One of the worst incidents, in April 2010 after a match, resulted in a stabbing of a member of the Green Dragons who, with a group of friends, got into a fight with members of the Viole in Ljubljana's railway station.[10] However, to date, there has not been any fatalities in the country related to football violence. Fans of Olimpija traditionally occupy the northern stands of the stadiums, while Maribor fans are present on the southern stands.

Honours

Official statistics of honours won by NK Maribor and NK Olimpija as treated by the Football Association of Slovenia.[11] [12]

Major honours won
CompetitionMariborOlimpija
bgcolor=#FFE4C4 1. SNL
bgcolor=#FFE4C4 Slovenian Cup
bgcolor=#FFE4C4 Slovenian Supercup
Total

Head-to-head

Matches

Slovenian PrvaLiga

HostMariborOlimpija
SeasonRoundDateVenueAttendanceScoreReportRoundDateVenueAttendanceScoreReport
bgcolor=#FFE4C4 rowspan=2 2009–1048 August 2009Ljudski vrt6,000Rep.1317 October 2009ŽŠD Ljubljana2,000Rep.
229 December 2009Ljudski vrt2,500Rep.3116 April 2010ŽŠD Ljubljana2,0001–1Rep.
bgcolor=#ffe4c4 rowspan=2 2010–111316 October 2010Ljudski vrt8,0000–0Rep.429 September 2010Stožice10,000Rep.
314 May 2011Ljudski vrt9,5002–2Rep.2212 March 2011Stožice5,0000–0Rep.
bgcolor=#ffe4c4 rowspan=2 2011–121630 October 2011Ljudski vrt12,5002–2Rep.728 August 2011Stožice8,000Rep.
3412 May 2012Ljudski vrt10,000Rep.2521 March 2012Stožice8,000Rep.
bgcolor=#ffe4c4 rowspan=2 2012–131420 October 2012Ljudski vrt9,000Rep.511 August 2012Stožice5,5000–0Rep.
3211 May 2013Ljudski vrt9,000Rep.2310 March 2013Stožice2,0001–1Rep.
bgcolor=#FFE4C4 rowspan=2 2013–14136 October 2013Ljudski vrt6,500Rep.42 March 2014Stožice5,000Rep.
313 May 2014Ljudski vrt5,500Rep.2215 March 2014Stožice100Rep.
bgcolor=#FFE4C4 rowspan=2 2014–15124 October 2014Ljudski vrt10,0003–3Rep.38 April 2015Stožice5,0000–0Rep.
3029 April 2015Ljudski vrt8,500Rep.214 March 2015Stožice6,500Rep.
bgcolor=#FFE4C4 rowspan=2 2015–16616 August 2015Ljudski vrt10,000Rep.1521 November 2015Stožice13,5002–2Rep.
245 March 2016Ljudski vrt12,1600–0Rep.337 May 2016Stožice14,000Rep.
bgcolor=#FFE4C4 rowspan=2 2016–1748 August 2016Ljudski vrt11,0001–1Rep.1315 October 2016Stožice13,770Rep.
2225 February 2017Ljudski vrt12,000Rep.3129 April 2017Stožice7,0000–0Rep.
bgcolor=#FFE4C4 rowspan=2 2017–181617 November 2017Ljudski vrt9,000Rep.727 August 2017Stožice13,0000–0Rep.
3419 May 2018Ljudski vrt12,166Rep.2531 March 2018Stožice12,000 1–1Rep.
bgcolor=#FFE4C4 rowspan=2 2018–191427 October 2018Ljudski vrt12,000Rep.519 August 2018Stožice8,600Rep.
3211 May 2019Ljudski vrt12,000Rep.2316 March 2019Stožice9,5000–0Rep.
bgcolor=#FFE4C4 rowspan=2 2019–20328 July 2019Ljudski vrt6,6000–0Rep.1228 September 2019Stožice7,000Rep.
2122 February 2020Ljudski vrt9,0001–1Rep.3028 June 2020Stožice70Rep.
bgcolor=#FFE4C4 rowspan=2 2020–2164 October 2020Ljudski vrt01–1Rep.153 December 2020Stožice0Rep.
2427 February 2021Ljudski vrt01–1Rep.339 May 2021Stožice00–0Rep.
bgcolor=#FFE4C4 rowspan=2 2021–22122 October 2021Ljudski vrt6,6000–0Rep.31 August 2021Stožice3,500Rep.
309 April 2022Ljudski vrt8,250Rep.2113 February 2022Stožice750Rep.
bgcolor=#FFE4C4 rowspan=2 2022–2347 August 2022Ljudski vrt7,000Rep.1315 October 2022Stožice8,000Rep.
2219 February 2023Ljudski vrt9,611Rep.3116 April 2023Stožice9,129Rep.
bgcolor=#FFE4C4 rowspan=2 2023–24173 December 2023Ljudski vrt7,500Rep.816 September 2023Stožice5,380Rep.
3511 May 2024Ljudski vrt10,460Rep.2617 April 2024Stožice6,345Rep.
bgcolor=#FFE4C4 rowspan=2 2024–25625 August 2024Ljudski vrt159 November 2024Stožice
248 March 2025Ljudski vrt333 May 2025Stožice
Total: Maribor 24 wins (40%), 22 draws (37%), Olimpija 14 wins (23%).

Slovenian Cup

SeasonRoundLegDateVenueAttendanceHostScoreWinnerReport
bgcolor=#FFE4C4 align="center"2007–08Quarter-final24 October 2007Ljudski vrt3,500MariborRep.
bgcolor=#FFE4C4 align="center"2009–10Round of 1621 October 2009ŽŠD Ljubljana1,700OlimpijaRep.
bgcolor=#FFE4C4 rowspan=2 align="center"2012–13Quarter-finalFirst27 February 2013Stožice4,000OlimpijaRep.
Second6 March 2013Ljudski vrt5,000MariborRep.
bgcolor=#FFE4C4 rowspan=2 align="center"2013–14Semi-finalFirst26 March 2014Ljudski vrt7,000MariborRep.
Second2 April 2014Stožice4,000Olimpija1–1Rep.
bgcolor=#FFE4C4 rowspan=2 align="center"2016–17Semi-finalFirst5 April 2017Stožice6,000OlimpijaRep.
Second12 April 2017Ljudski vrt10,500Maribor1–1Rep.
bgcolor=#FFE4C4 rowspan=2 align="center"2017–18Quarter-finalFirst11 November 2017Stožice7,000OlimpijaRep.
Second29 November 2017Ljudski vrt3,000Maribor1–1Rep.
bgcolor=#FFE4C4 align="center"2018–19Final30 May 2019Stadion Z'dežele (N)8,623OlimpijaRep.
bgcolor=#FFE4C4 align="center"2022–23Final6 May 2023Stadion Z'dežele (N)9,217OlimpijaRep.
Series won: Maribor 4 (50%), Olimpija 4 (50%).

Slovenian Supercup

SeasonDateVenueAttendanceHostScoreWinnerReport
20128 July 2012Ljudski vrt4,150OlimpijaRep.
20137 July 2013Arena Petrol (N)1,800 MariborRep.
Series won: Maribor 2 (100%), Olimpija 0 (0%).

Statistics

The table below is accurate as of match played 11 May 2024.

Maribor
wins
DrawsOlimpija
wins
1. SNL
At Maribor home11
At Olimpija home11
Total22
Slovenian Cup
At Maribor home2
At Olimpija home1
Neutral field0
Total3
Slovenian Supercup
At Maribor home0
At Olimpija home0
Neutral field0
Total0
Total
7425

League ranking

The head-to-head ranking table shows the results of NK Maribor and NK Olimpija, when they played in the same division.

Total: Maribor 12 times higher (80%), Olimpija 3 times higher (20%).

Notes and References

  1. News: Zeleno-beli v štirih letih iz pete v prvo ligo . Green-whites in four years from fifth to first division. . sl . 6 February 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120612020038/http://www.rtvslo.si/sport/nogomet/zeleno-beli-v-stirih-letih-iz-pete-v-prvo-ligo/128475 . 12 June 2012 . live .
  2. Web site: NK Olimpija Ljubljana – Zgodovina . NK Olimpija Ljubljana – History . nkolimpija.si . sl . 6 February 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20101115080641/http://www.nkolimpija.si/zgodovina . 15 November 2010 . dead .
  3. Web site: Klubi . Clubs . . sl . 20 June 2018.
  4. Web site: A. L. . STA . Maribor poražen pred domačimi navijači, redarji v času tekme imeli polne roke dela . . 16 May 2019 . sl-si . 11 May 2019.
  5. News: Razbita Olimpija, razbite Stožice . Broken Olimpija, broken Stozice. Nogomania . sl . 17 February 2011. 30 September 2010. Klemen. Kos .
  6. News: Mariboru večni derbi . Eternal derby won by Maribor . . 17 February 2011 . sl . 28 November 2007 . Sportal . https://web.archive.org/web/20110724064651/http://www.siol.net/sportal/nogomet/pokal_hervis/2007/11/mariboru_vecni_derbi.aspx . 24 July 2011 . dead .
  7. Jurišič. Uroš . 2016. Trženje navijaških artiklov kot način utrjevanja športne blagovne znamke – primer NK Maribor . University of Ljubljana. 22 May 2019.
  8. Web site: Tine. Zupan . Vojna zakonu o navijačih . . 16 May 2019 . sl . 14 October 2010.
  9. Web site: Stožice: Škode za okoli 20.000 evrov . 24ur.com . sl. 18 June 2018. 30 September 2010.
  10. Web site: Po derbiju v Ljubljani zaboden navijač . . sl . 17 February 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110724064629/http://www.siol.net/sportal/nogomet/prva_liga/novice/2010/04/navijaci_obracunali_se_med_seboj.aspx . 24 July 2011 .
  11. Web site: Maribor – osnovni podatki. sl. Slovenian PrvaLiga. 12 November 2017.
  12. Web site: Olimpija Ljubljana – osnovni podatki. sl. Slovenian PrvaLiga. 12 November 2017.