NK Železničar Maribor
Nogometni klub Železničar Maribor (English: Železničar Maribor Football Club), commonly referred to as NK Železničar Maribor or simply Železničar, was a Slovenian football club from Maribor. They qualified for the top division of Slovenian football, the Slovenian PrvaLiga, in the 1992–93 season, but were relegated in their first season, never returning to the top level. They were one of the most successful Slovenian clubs in the Yugoslav era, winning the Slovenian Republic League four times and the Slovenian Republic Cup twice.[3]
Full name | Nogometni klub Železničar Maribor | ||
---|---|---|---|
Nickname(s) | Ajzenponarji (The Railroaders) Modro-beli (The Blue and Whites) | ||
Founded | 1927[1] | ||
Dissolved | 2018 | ||
Ground | Tabor Sports Park[2] | ||
Capacity | 1,000 | ||
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History
The club was established in 1927 as a football section of SK Železničar, railway workers sports club. They played their first match on 7 August the same year and won 5–1 against SK Merkur.[3] They joined Slovenian competitions, playing in the Maribor region, where they soon developed a fierce rivalry with I. SSK Maribor.[3]
Železničar finished at the second place in 1934, 1935 and 1936.[3] They finally won their first title in 1937 and played in qualifying for the Yugoslav First League, where they lost against SAŠK Sarajevo in the final.[3] They won another Slovenian title in 1940, this time in knock-out system, beating their rivals I. SSK Maribor 2–1 in the final.[3][4] The club was refounded as SFD Železničar after the war in 1945 and had one of the best teams in SR Slovenia at the time. They have beaten Red Star Belgrade 3–2 in a friendly match in 1946 and finished second after Nafta Lendava in the first season of the Slovenian republic league, missing promotion to the Yugoslav League by only two points.
Železničar then stabilised as a midtable team in the next years, until the league system was changed in 1952.[3] They were located in the East group of the Republic League. They finished at the second place in 1953 and at the first place in 1954. They have defeated West group winners Piran (6–0 and 1–2) for the unofficial title and have qualified to the third level of the Slovene-Croatian league.[3] The team was renamed to ŽNK Maribor and finished 10th, missing out Branik Maribor and ninth spot by one point and relegated to Maribor-Varaždin-Celje zonal league. They won their first Slovenian Cup in 1957.[3] After three mediocre seasons the team returned to the unified Slovenian Republic League, which was reformed in 1958. They won another Slovenian Cup in 1960.[3]
In December 1960, due to a food poisoning affair of their rivals Branik Maribor, ŽNK Maribor, holding the first position on the league table, had to give up their place to a newly-formed NK Maribor and started all over again from lowest league.[3] Maribor won the title with the squad formed mostly of players from the ŽNK. They instantly returned to republic level in 1962, renamed back to NK Železničar Maribor the same year.
The results soon improved and the club won their third republic title in 1968–69 and qualified for Yugoslav Second League for the first time in history. They stayed there for three seasons, finishing in 7th, 11th, and 18th place.
They won another republic title in 1973, but failed in the Yugoslav Second League (West) play-ofs against Mercator Ljubljana.[3] Železničar then played several republic seasons without any notable success. In 1981, despite scoring only fourth position, Yugoslav federation offered them a place in the Yugoslav Second League, but the club declined promotion due to lack of funds. They were struggling against relegation in the next years, until they were finally relegated to the regional league for the first time in 1987. They stayed there until the breakup of SFR Yugoslavia. Železničar holds a record of 42 played seasons in the Slovenian Republic League.
Železničar was among founding members of Slovenian Second League in 1991.[3] They have immediately finished in a first place and earned a promotion to the first division in the 1991–92 season, managed by their former player Jože Karmel. The club played in the 1992–93 Slovenian PrvaLiga, but was relegated after finishing in 17th place; the club never returned to the top flight again.[3] The club was close to return on several occasions as they refused promotion in 1996, lost the play-offs against Beltinci in the 1997–98 season, and missed a second place by one point in the 1998–99 season. At the beginning of the new century, the club became financially unstable and was relegated to the lowest division over the course of several years; from the Second League in 2003 after finishing dead last,[3] from the Slovenian Third League in 2007, having not fulfilled the licence documentation, from the fourth division in 2008, and even from the fifth division in 2014, before ceasing all operations in 2018.
Stadium
The club have built their first ground, named Ob Tržaški Cesti Stadium, between 1932 and 1935.[3] After some mediocre seasons on temporary ground in Poljane (Železničar lost their traditional home ground due to a new bridge construction in 1963), they moved to the newly built Tabor Sports Park in 1967.[3] The stadium can seat 1,000 spectators, while the overall capacity of the stadium, including the standing area, is around 4,000.[2]
Colours
The traditional colours of the club were blue and white, the colours of first Yugoslav Railways and then Slovenian Railways, used by all railway clubs in the country.
Honours
Yugoslavia
- 1957, 1960
Domestic league and cup results
In Yugoslavia
Season | League | Position |
---|---|---|
1927–28 | Slovenian League | 4th in Maribor subdivision |
1928–29 | Slovenian League | 3rd in Maribor subdivision |
1929–30 | Slovenian League | 3rd in Maribor subdivision |
1930–31 | Slovenian League | 2nd in Maribor subdivision |
1931–32 | Slovenian League | 4th |
1932–33 | Slovenian League | 3rd |
1933–34 | Slovenian League | 2nd |
1934–35 | Slovenian League | 2nd |
1935–36 | Slovenian League | 2nd |
1936–37 | Slovenian League | 1st |
1937–38 | Slovenian League | 2nd |
1938–39 | Slovenian League | Quarter-final |
1939–40 | Slovenian League | Winners |
1940–41 | Slovenian League | 2nd |
1941–45 | World War II | |
1946 | Slovenian Republic League | 2nd[lower-alpha 1] |
1946–47 | Slovenian Republic League | 6th |
1947–48 | Slovenian Republic League | 3rd |
1948–49 | Slovenian Republic League | 5th |
1950 | Slovenian Republic League | 6th |
1951 | Slovenian Republic League | 6th |
1952 | Slovenian Republic League | 7th |
1952–53 | Slovenian Republic League | 2nd in East group[lower-alpha 2] |
1953–54 | Slovenian Republic League | 1st in East group[lower-alpha 3] |
1954–55 | Croatian-Slovenian League | 10th |
1955–56 | Maribor-Varaždin-Celje League | 5th |
1956–57 | Maribor-Varaždin-Celje League | 4th |
1957–58 | Maribor-Varaždin-Celje League | 3rd |
1958–59 | Slovenian Republic League | 4th |
1959–60 | Slovenian Republic League | 3rd |
1960–61* | Slovenian Republic League Maribor subassociation league |
1st 6th[lower-alpha 4] |
1961–62 | Maribor subassociation league | 1st[lower-alpha 5] |
1962–63 | Slovenian Republic League | 7th |
1963–64 | Slovenian Republic League | 11th |
1964–65 | Slovenian Republic League | 3rd |
1965–66 | Slovenian Republic League | 6th |
1966–67 | Slovenian Republic League | 3rd |
1967–68 | Slovenian Republic League | 8th |
1968–69 | Slovenian Republic League | 1st |
1969–70[5] | Yugoslav Second League (West) | 7th |
1970–71[6] | Yugoslav Second League (West) | 11th |
1971–72[7] | Yugoslav Second League (West) | 18th |
1972–73 | Slovenian Republic League | 1st[lower-alpha 6] |
1973–74 | Slovenian Republic League | 4th |
1974–75 | Slovenian Republic League | 10th |
1975–76 | Slovenian Republic League | 4th |
1976–77 | Slovenian Republic League | 11th |
1977–78 | Slovenian Republic League | 9th |
1978–79 | Slovenian Republic League | 6th |
1979–80 | Slovenian Republic League | 4th |
1980–81 | Slovenian Republic League | 4th |
1981–82 | Slovenian Republic League | 7th |
1982–83 | Slovenian Republic League | 10th |
1983–84 | Slovenian Republic League | 6th |
1984–85 | Slovenian Republic League | 7th |
1985–86 | Slovenian Republic League | 11th |
1986–87 | Slovenian Republic League | 13th |
1987–88 | Slovenian Regional League (East) | 7th |
1988–89[8] | Slovenian Regional League (East) | 6th |
1989–90[8] | Slovenian Regional League (East) | 4th |
1990–91[8] | Slovenian Regional League (East) | 3rd |
- Lost in promotion play-offs for Yugoslav First Division.
- Lost in play-offs for Croatian-Slovenian League.
- Won in play-offs for Croatian-Slovenian League.
- Železničar finished first part of the season in first place. Immediately at the beginning of winter break, NK Maribor was formed, who took Železničar's points and place in the league. Almost all players transferred from Železničar to Maribor and Maribor went on to win the Republic League.
Železničar (what was left of it) was transferred to the lowest league. When the leagues resumed in spring, Železničar started with zero points and 0–27 goal difference. Despite playing only second part of the season, they still managed to finish in sixth place with a 39–35 goal difference.[3] - Won play-offs for Slovenian Republic League.
- Lost play-offs for Yugoslav Second League.
In Slovenia
Season | League | Position | Pts | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | Cup |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1991–92 | 2. SNL | 1 | 36 | 26 | 14 | 8 | 4 | 38 | 19 | Round of 64 |
1992–93 | 1. SNL | 17 | 20 | 34 | 6 | 8 | 20 | 30 | 62 | First round |
1993–94 | 2. SNL | 13 | 24 (−1) | 30 | 10 | 5 | 15 | 36 | 50 | First round |
1994–95 | 2. SNL | 10 | 31 | 30 | 13 | 5 | 12 | 43 | 47 | x |
1995–96 | 2. SNL | 5 | 44 | 29 | 13 | 5 | 11 | 51 | 47 | First round |
1996–97 | 2. SNL | 9 | 37 | 29 | 10 | 7 | 12 | 37 | 33 | Round of 16 |
1997–98 | 2. SNL | 4 | 51 | 30 | 14 | 9 | 7 | 52 | 39 | Round of 16 |
1998–99 | 2. SNL | 3 | 54 | 30 | 15 | 9 | 6 | 58 | 30 | x |
1999–2000 | 2. SNL | 5 | 53 | 30 | 16 | 5 | 9 | 47 | 32 | Round of 16 |
2000–01 | 2. SNL | 10 | 37 | 29 | 10 | 7 | 12 | 40 | 49 | First round |
2001–02 | 2. SNL | 10 | 39 | 30 | 11 | 6 | 13 | 37 | 44 | Quarter-finals |
2002–03 | 2. SNL | 16 | 18 | 30 | 4 | 6 | 20 | 23 | 69 | Round of 16 |
2003–04 | 3. SNL | 5 | 43 | 26 | 13 | 4 | 9 | 60 | 41 | First round |
2004–05 | 3. SNL | 11 | 30 | 26 | 8 | 6 | 12 | 35 | 45 | Second round |
2005–06 | 3. SNL | 11 | 25 | 26 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 31 | 51 | x |
2006–07 | 3. SNL | 12 | 29 | 26 | 9 | 2 | 15 | 32 | 50 | x |
2007–08[8] | Styrian League (4th level) | 13 | 21 | 26 | 7 | 0 | 19 | 38 | 87 | x |
2008–09[9] | 1. MNZ (5th level) | 3 | 45 | 26 | 13 | 6 | 7 | 60 | 38 | x |
2009–10[10] | 1. MNZ (5th level) | 2 | 55 | 26 | 17 | 4 | 5 | 90 | 26 | First round |
2010–11[11] | 1. MNZ (5th level) | 11 | 30 | 26 | 9 | 3 | 14 | 44 | 61 | x |
2011–12[12] | 1. MNZ (5th level) | 4 | 41 (−2) | 26 | 14 | 1 | 11 | 64 | 50 | x |
2012–13[13] | 1. MNZ (5th level) | 7 | 40 | 26 | 12 | 4 | 10 | 61 | 63 | x |
2013–14[14] | 1. MNZ (5th level) | 14 | 10 | 26 | 2 | 4 | 20 | 23 | 102 | x |
2014–15 | 2. MNZ (6th level) | 2 | 49 | 24 | 15 | 4 | 5 | 70 | 31 | x |
2015–16 | 3. MNZ (6th level) | 2 | 39 | 16 | 13 | 0 | 3 | 67 | 15 | x |
2016–17 | 2. MNZ (5th level) | Withdrew from the competition during the season. | ||||||||
Totals | 1. SNL | 0 Titles | 20 | 34 | 6 | 8 | 20 | 30 | 62 | 0 Cups |
- *Best results are highlighted.
- *x = Did not qualify
References
- "Klubi" [Clubs] (in Slovenian). Football Association of Slovenia official website. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
- "Športni park Tabor" [Tabor Sports Park] (in Slovenian). stadioni.org. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
- "80 letnica društva" (PDF) (in Slovenian). Železničarsko Športno Društvo. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
- "MNZ Maribor – 80 let nogometa v Mariboru". MNZ Maribor. 2008. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
- "Yugoslavia 1969/70". RSSSF. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
- "Yugoslavia 1970/71". RSSSF. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
- "Yugoslavia 1971/72". RSSSF. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
- "30 let MNZ Ptuj" (PDF). MNZ Ptuj. Archived from the original on 10 April 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2016.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
- "1. članska 2008/09" (in Slovenian). MNZ Maribor. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
- "1. članska 2009/10" (in Slovenian). MNZ Maribor. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
- "1. članska 2010/11" (in Slovenian). MNZ Maribor. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
- "1. članska 2011/12" (in Slovenian). MNZ Maribor. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
- "1. članska 2012/13" (in Slovenian). MNZ Maribor. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
- "1. članska 2013/14" (in Slovenian). MNZ Maribor. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
External links
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