Slovenian PrvaLiga

Slovenian PrvaLiga

Countries	Slovenia
Confederation	UEFA
Founded	1991
Number of teams	10
Levels on pyramid	1
Relegation to	2. SNL
Domestic cup(s)	Slovenian Cup
International cup(s)	Champions League Europa League
Current champions	NK Maribor (2011–12)
Most championships	NK Maribor (10 titles)
Website	http://www.prvaliga.si/
2011–12 Slovenian PrvaLiga

Slovenian First Football League (Slovenian: Prva Slovenska nogometna liga) also known by the abbreviation 1. SNL, is the main football league in Slovenia, and was formed in 1991 after Slovenia became an independent country. From 1920 until the end of the 1990–91 season, the Slovenian Republic League was a lower division of the Yugoslavian league football system. The league is currently governed by the Football Association of Slovenia. Between 2001 and 2012 the league was governed by the Association of 1. SNL. NK Maribor, ND Gorica and NK Celje are the only three clubs that have never been relegated from the league, since its foundation in 1991.

Since 1991 Slovenian PrvaLiga has been named after sponsors on several occasions, giving it the following names:

• Liga Si.mobil Vodafone
• Liga Telekom Slovenije

History

PrvaLiga trophy being lifted in celebration of Maribor's ninth league title

Slovenian PrvaLiga is the highest league of association football in Slovenia. Also known by the abbreviation 1. SNL, PrvaLiga is contested on a round robin basis and the championship awarded to the club that is top of the league at the end of the season.^[1] The league was established after the independence of Slovenia in 1991, originally containing 21 clubs.^[1][2][3] Before that, top Slovenian teams competed in Yugoslavia with only Ilirija, ASK Primorje and after a forced merger of the two teams in 1936,^[4] Ljubljana ever reaching the country's highest division, Yugoslav First League.^[3] Olimpija Ljubljana, Maribor and Nafta were the only Slovenian teams who participated in the top division since World War II and until the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1991.^[3] While being a part of the Yugoslav football system, most of the Slovenian clubs competed for the title of regional champions in the Slovenian Republic Football League.^[2][3] However, the republic league was officially the third tier of football most of the time and the competition was usually without the top Slovenian clubs, who played in the Yugoslav Second League or the country's top division.^[3]

Matjaž Kek won the PrvaLiga title as a footballer and manager^[5]

Following the independence of Slovenia, the Football Association of Slovenia separated from the Football Association of Yugoslavia and created their own football competitions.^[2][3] For the first time in history, top Slovenian clubs competed in the newly formed Slovenian football league for the title of Slovenian champion.^[1][3] Of the founding clubs in the PrvaLiga, only Maribor, Gorica and Celje have not been relegated. The format and the number of clubs in the league has changed over time, ranging from 21 clubs in the first season to 10 clubs in its present form.^[1][3] The top clubs at the end of the season are awarded a qualifying spot in the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League, with the bottom one being relegated to the Slovenian Second League, 2. SNL.^[6]

Olimpija Ljubljana won the first title.^[1] Olimpija Ljubljana had a long tradition of playing in the Yugoslav first league and their squad was still composed of players from that era.^[3] They dominated the league and won a further three championships before Gorica won their first in the 1995–96 season.^[1] Following Gorica's success, Maribor won their first championship in 1997.^[1] This started a record-breaking streak of seven successive league championships which came to an end when Gorica won their second title in the 2003–04 season.^[1] The club from Nova Gorica went on to win an additional two titles, becoming the third club to win three consecutive championships.^[1] During the 2006–07 season Domžale, a club that played in the Slovenian second division three seasons earlier, won their first title, a feat they repeated the next season.^[1] Following the 2008–09 season, Maribor became the dominant force in Slovenian football for the second time, having won three out of four championships since then, with Koper winning their sole title in 2010.^[1]

Maribor is the most successful club; they have won the championship ten times.^[1] The majority of Maribor's titles came during the late 1990s and early 2000s when the club was led by managers Bojan Prašnikar, Ivo Šušak and Matjaž Kek.^[7][8] Since 2009, Darko Milanič has led the club to three championships.^[9] Olimpija Ljubljana has won four titles, all in successive years between 1992 and 1995.^[1] In addition, Olimpija Ljubljana is the only Slovenian football champion no longer in existance, having been dissolved by the end of the 2004–05 season when they filed for bankruptcy.^[10] Tied with four championships is Gorica who won their first title in 1996 and an additional three in successive years between 2004 and 2006.^[1] Domžale has won two titles between 2007 and 2008, followed by Koper who won their only championship in 2010.^[1] Maribor has won the Slovenian version of the double the most; they have won the league and cup three times in the same season.^[11] The current champions are Maribor, who won the 2011–12 edition.^[1]

2011–12 PrvaLiga members

Bellow is the list of clubs that are members of the 2011–12 Slovenian PrvaLiga season. The information and the statistics shown in the table are correct as of the end of 2010–11 season.

Key

	Reigning champions, winners of the previous season
	Runners-up of the previous season
	Promoted from Slovenian Second League, 2. SNL

Club	Founded[A]	2010–11 position	PrvaLiga debut	PrvaLiga seasons	Member of division since	Last title (number of titles)
Maribor	1960	01 !Champions	1991–92	20	1991	2010–11 (9)
Domžale	1921	02 !Runners-up	1991–92	13	2003	2007–08 (2)
Koper	1955	03 !3rd	1991–92	17	2005	2009–10 (1)
Olimpija Ljubljana	2005	04 !4th	2009–10	02 !2	2009	& —
Gorica	1947	05 !5th	1991–92	20	1991	2005–06 (4)
Rudar Velenje	1948	06 !6th	1991–92	16	2008	& —
Triglav Kranj	1997	07 !7th	1998–99	02 !2	2010	& —
Celje	1919	08 !8th	1991–92	20	1991	& —
Nafta Lendava (R)	1903	09 !9th	1991–92	08 !8	2005	& —
Mura 05	2005	10 !Promoted	2011–12	00 !0	2011	& —

Derbies

• The eternal derby
• The northeastern derby
• The Štajerska derby - Match between Štajerska capital Maribor and the third largest city in the country Celje. Match between NK Maribor and NK Celje.
• The Primorska derby - FC Koper vs ND Gorica. Match between two most successful clubs in Primorska region.
• The Prekmurje derby - NK Mura vs NK Nafta.

Other big matches

• NK Olimpija Ljubljana vs FC Koper
• ND Gorica vs NK Primorje
• FC Koper vs NK Izola

Statistics

All-time top goalscorers

#	Name	Seasons in 1.SNL	Caps	Goals	Average
1	Štefan Škaper	9	226	130	0.58
2	Kliton Bozgo	9	207	109	0.53
3	Ermin Rakovič	15	267	108	0.40
4	Milan Osterc1	10	276	106	0.38
5	Damir Pekič1	13	264	102	0.38
6	Marko Kmetec1	10	258	93	0.36
7	Anton Žlogar	12	300	90	0.30
8	Ismet Ekmečić	9	198	88	0.44
9	Ante Šimundža	11	255	87	0.34
10	Oskar Drobne	8	184	86	0.47

Source: PrvaLiga official website

¹Currently active in 1.SNL

Note: Season counts if a player has made at least one appearance in the league during that season. Last updated on 8 August 2011.

All-time table 1991–2011

Clubs in bold are the current members of Slovenian top division.
Clubs in italics were dissolved and no longer exists.
Clubs in plain text are currently playing in lower tiers of Slovenian football.

Source: PrvaLiga official website

Records

Attendance

• Highest single game attendance: 14,000, NK Maribor vs NK Beltinci (5–1), 1 June 1997^[12]
• Highest average home attendance: 5,289, NK Maribor during 1996–97 season

Single game

• Biggest league victory/defeat: 12–0, NK Olimpija vs NK Jadran Dekani, 7 June 1992^[13]

Players

• Most league appearances: 421, Dušan Kosič in 14 seasons between 1991–92 and 2004–05^[14]
• Most league minutes: 37,315, Janez Strajnar in 17 seasons between 1991–92 and 2008–09^[15]
• Most league goals: 130, Štefan Škaper in 9 seasons between 1991–92 and 1999–2000^[16]
• Most league goals in a season: 29, Zoran Ubavič during 1991–92 season^[17]

Clubs^[18]

• Most consecutive league victories: 12, NK Olimpija and NK Maribor
• Most consecutive league draws: 8, FC Koper
• Most consecutive league defeats: 15, NK Izola
• Most consecutive league games without defeat (undefeated run): 32, NK Domžale

Season^[19]

• Most points won in a single season: 85, NK Maribor during 2011–12 season
• Fewest points won in a single season: 3, NK Jadran Dekani during 1994–95 season
• Most team goals in a single season: 103, NK Olimpija during 1991–92 season
• Fewest team goals in a single season: 12, NK Jadran Dekani during 1994–95 season
• Most team goals against in a single season: 140, NK Izola during 1995–96 season
• Fewest team goals against in a single season: 18, NK Olimpija during 1991–92 season
• The best goal difference in a single season: +84, NK Olimpija during 1991–92 season
• The worst goal difference in a single season: -127, NK Izola during 1995–96 season

Footnotes

• ^A The foundation years are the same as listed on the official website of the Football Association of Slovenia.^[20]
• ^B The club was dissolved in 2004 due to financial difficulties.^[21][22][10]
• ^C The club was dissolved in 1996 and refounded in the same year as MNK Izola.
• ^D The club was dissolved in 2004 due to financial difficulties.^[22][23]
• ^E The club was founded on 2 March, 2005,^{[24][25][20][26][27][28][29]} and consider themself as the successor to NK Olimpija, which folded and was dissolved in 2004.^[21][22][10] However, legally the current Olimpija is a distinct and separate club, and is not entitled to claim the history and honours won by the old NK Olimpija. Football Association of Slovenia, Association of 1. SNL and UEFA does not recognize the titles and statistics before 2005.^{[20][29][22][30]} Neither does the legislation of the Republic of Slovenia.^[26][27][28]

References

External links

• Official website (Slovene)
• League at UEFA