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.[4]

For other uses, see NK Železničar (disambiguation).

Železničar Maribor
Full nameNogometni klub Železničar Maribor
Nickname(s)Ajzenponarji (The Railroaders)
Modro-beli
(The Blue and Whites)
Founded1927 (1927)[1]
Dissolved2019 (2019)[2]
GroundTabor Sports Park[3]
Capacity1,000

History

The club was established in 1927 as a football section of SK Železničar, the railway workers' sports club. They played their first match on 7 August of the same year and won 5–1 against SK Merkur.[4] They joined Slovenian competitions, playing in the Maribor region, where they soon developed a fierce rivalry with I. SSK Maribor.[4]

In the Ljubljana Subassociation League, Železničar finished second in 1934, 1935 and 1936, before finally winning their first title in 1937. In the qualifiers for the Yugoslav First League, they lost against SAŠK Sarajevo in the final.[4] Železničar won another title in 1940, this time in a knockout system, beating their rivals I. SSK Maribor 2–1 in the final.[4][5] The club was refounded as SFD Železničar after the World War II. In 1946, they finished second behind Lendava, missing promotion to the Yugoslav top division by only two points.[6]

Železničar then stabilised as a mid-table team in the next years, until the league system was changed in 1952.[4] They were located in the East group of the Republic League, where they finished second in 1953 and first in 1954. They have defeated the West group winners Piran (6–0 and 1–2) for the unofficial title and thus qualified for the Croatian-Slovenian League.[4] The team was renamed to ŽNK Maribor and finished tenth, missing out Branik Maribor and ninth spot by one point and was therefore relegated to the Maribor-Varaždin-Celje Zonal League. They have won their first Slovenian Republic Cup in 1957.[4] After three mediocre seasons the team returned to the unified Slovenian Republic League, which was reformed in 1958. In 1960, they have won another Slovenian Republic Cup title.[4]

In December 1960, due to Branik Maribor's food poisoning affair, ŽNK Maribor, holding the first position on the league table, had to give up their place to a newly formed NK Maribor and were relegated.[4][7] Maribor have won the title with the squad formed mostly of players from the ŽNK. They instantly returned to the Republic League in 1962 and renamed back to NK Železničar Maribor in the same year.

NK Železničar Maribor vs HNK Šibenik in 1969, Yugoslav Second League

The results soon improved and the club won their third republic title in 1968–69, earning a place in the Yugoslav Second League for the first time in history. They stayed there for three seasons and were relegated in 1971–72 after finishing in 18th place.

They have won another republic title in 1972–73, but lost in the Yugoslav Second League (West) play-ofs against Mercator Ljubljana.[4] Železničar then played several republic seasons without any notable success. In 1981, despite scoring only fourth position, the Football Association of Yugoslavia 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 Yugoslavia. Železničar holds a record of 42 played seasons in the Slovenian Republic League.

Železničar was one the founding members of the Slovenian Second League in 1991.[4] They have immediately finished first and earned a promotion to the first division in the 1991–92 season, managed by their former player Jože Karmel. Železničar played in the 1992–93 Slovenian PrvaLiga, the top level of Slovenian football, but was relegated after finishing 17th, never returning to the top flight again.[4] 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, Železničar 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,[4] 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 2019.[2]

Stadium

The club have built their first ground, Ob Tržaški Cesti Stadium (Slovene: Stadion ob Tržaški cesti), between 1932 and 1935.[4] 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 (Slovene: Športni park Tabor) in 1967.[4] The stadium can seat 1,000 spectators, while the overall capacity of the stadium, including the standing area, is around 4,000.[3]

Colours
Železničar's traditional kit

The traditional colours of the club were blue and white, the colours of the first Yugoslav Railways and then Slovenian Railways, used by all railway clubs in the country.

Honours

Yugoslavia

Slovenia
  • 1. MNZ Maribor (fifth tier)
    • Runners-up (1): 2009–10
  • 2. MNZ Maribor (sixth tier)
    • Runners-up (1): 2014–15
  • 3. MNZ Maribor (sixth tier)
    • Runners-up (1): 2015–16

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[8] Yugoslav Second League (West) 7th
1970–71[9] Yugoslav Second League (West) 11th
1971–72[10] 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[11] Slovenian Regional League (East) 6th
1989–90[11] Slovenian Regional League (East) 4th
1990–91[11] Slovenian Regional League (East) 3rd
  1. Lost in promotion play-offs for the Yugoslav First Division.
  2. Lost in promotion play-offs for the Croatian-Slovenian League.
  3. Won in promotion play-offs for the Croatian-Slovenian League.
  4. Železničar finished first part of the season in the 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 fourth division. When the league resumed in spring, Železničar started with zero points and 0–27 goal difference. Despite playing only during the second part of the season, they still managed to finish in sixth place with a 39–35 goal difference.[4]
  5. Won in promotion play-offs for the Slovenian Republic League.
  6. Lost in promotion play-offs for the 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[11] Styrian League (4th level) 13 21 26 7 0 19 38 87 x
2008–09[12] 1. MNZ (5th level) 3 45 26 13 6 7 60 38 x
2009–10[13] 1. MNZ (5th level) 2 55 26 17 4 5 90 26 First round
2010–11[14] 1. MNZ (5th level) 11 30 26 9 3 14 44 61 x
2011–12[15] 1. MNZ (5th level) 4 41 (−2) 26 14 1 11 64 50 x
2012–13[16] 1. MNZ (5th level) 7 40 26 12 4 10 61 63 x
2013–14[17] 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
  1. "Klubi" [Clubs] (in Slovenian). Football Association of Slovenia. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  2. "Nogometni klub Železničar Maribor". ajpes.si (in Slovenian). Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  3. "Športni park Tabor" [Tabor Sports Park] (in Slovenian). stadioni.org. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  4. "80 letnica društva" (PDF) (in Slovenian). Železničarsko športno društvo Maribor. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
  5. "MNZ Maribor – 80 let nogometa v Mariboru" (PDF). MNZ Maribor. 2008. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
  6. Matjaž Kešanski (11 May 2007). "Razvoj nogometa v Sloveniji med leti 1945 – 1950" (PDF). fsp.uni-lj.si (in Slovenian). Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  7. Miha Zupan (23 October 2019). "NK Maribor je posledica "afere driska"" (in Slovenian). Nogomania. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  8. "Yugoslavia 1969/70". RSSSF. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  9. "Yugoslavia 1970/71". RSSSF. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  10. "Yugoslavia 1971/72". RSSSF. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  11. "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)
  12. "1. članska 2008/09" (in Slovenian). MNZ Maribor. Archived from the original on 16 July 2019. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  13. "1. članska 2009/10" (in Slovenian). MNZ Maribor. Archived from the original on 16 July 2019. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  14. "1. članska 2010/11" (in Slovenian). MNZ Maribor. Archived from the original on 16 July 2019. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  15. "1. članska 2011/12" (in Slovenian). MNZ Maribor. Archived from the original on 16 July 2019. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  16. "1. članska 2012/13" (in Slovenian). MNZ Maribor. Archived from the original on 16 July 2019. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  17. "1. članska 2013/14" (in Slovenian). MNZ Maribor. Archived from the original on 16 July 2019. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
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