 | |||
| Full name | Nogometni klub Maribor Branik[1] | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Vijoličasti (The Purples) Vijolice (The Violets) Štajerski ponos (The pride of Styria) | ||
| Founded | 12 December 1960 | ||
| Ground | Ljudski vrt | ||
| Capacity | 11,709 | ||
| President | Drago Cotar | ||
| Head coach | Ante Šimundža | ||
| League | Slovenian PrvaLiga | ||
| 2023–24 | Slovenian PrvaLiga, 2nd of 10 | ||
| Website | Club website | ||
|
| |||
Nogometni klub Maribor (English: Maribor Football Club) is a Slovenian professional football club based in Maribor, Slovenia. It competes in the Slovenian PrvaLiga, the top tier of the Slovenian football league system. Nicknamed "The Purples" (Vijoličasti), the club was founded on 12 December 1960. They are regarded as a symbol of Slovenian football, particularly in their home region of Styria in northeastern Slovenia.
Maribor have won a record 16 Slovenian PrvaLiga titles, 9 Slovenian Cups and 4 Slovenian Supercups. The club won seven consecutive league titles between 1997 and 2003, and five consecutive titles between 2011 and 2015. Prior to Slovenia's independence in 1991, Maribor played in the Yugoslav football system. They won the Yugoslav second division in 1967 and were therefore promoted to the top-level Yugoslav First League, where they stayed until 1972. They are one of three Slovenian teams that participated in the Yugoslavia's highest division between the end of World War II in 1945 and the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1991.
Maribor is the only Slovenian club that reached the group stages of the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League. In addition, the club is one of the two founding members of the Slovenian PrvaLiga (along with Celje) which have never been relegated from the league since the inaugural 1991–92 season.
The club have a long-standing rivalry with Olimpija from the capital Ljubljana, with whom they contest the Eternal derby. Other rivalries include those with Celje, dubbed as the Styrian derby, and the Prekmurje–Styria derby, contested between Maribor and Mura. Maribor's home ground is the Ljudski vrt stadium, which has a capacity of 11,709 seats. The traditional colours of the club are purple, yellow and white.
- ^ "Nogometni klub Maribor Branik". bizi.si (in Slovenian). Archived from the original on 8 December 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2022.