NK Olimpija Ljubljana

Foundation

Olimpija Ljubljana was founded on 2 March 2005 as NK Bežigrad, and was renamed NK Olimpija Bežigrad during their third season. The club was renamed again to ŠD NK Olimpija Ljubljana on 3 March 2008 after being granted the rights by the administrative unit of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. The club regard themselves as the continuation of the four-times Slovenian Champions Olimpija, who went bankrupt and were dissolved following the 2004–05 season. Legally, Olimpija Ljubljana is a distinct and separate club and treated as such by the Football Association of Slovenia. Because of their association with the dissolved club, Olimpija Ljubljana was criticised on numerous occasions by several media outlets, which questioned the legitimacy of their actions and even the fact that the club has a year 1911 inscribed on their crest. They were also criticised by ND Ilirija 1911. In 2013, the Financial Administration of the Republic of Slovenia publicly disclosed the list of tax debtors in the country and among those was also NK Olimpija Ljubljana, with a tax debt between €100,000 and €300,000. The next day, Olimpija Ljubljana's officials made a public statement where they confirmed that the club in question (i.e. dissolved Olimpija) is a different legal entity and is not, by any means, connected with Olimpija Ljubljana which does not have any financial obligations to the state or any third parties.

Early years (2005–2009)

Assisted by semi-retired club…

Yugoslav years (1945–1991)

In 1945, ŠD Tabor and ŠD Udarnik sports clubs merged and formed a new club called NK Enotnost, together with the players of the former SK Ljubljana. In 1948, the club was initially renamed to NK Odred, and later to NK Triglav in December 1960, with the club's colours at the time being black and white. During the same season, the club renamed to Olimpija. In 1970, Olimpija reached the final of the Yugoslav Cup, where it lost to Red Star Belgrade 3–2 on aggregate.

Slovenian league champions (1991–1995)

As a result of Slovenian independence in mid-1991 and the breakup of Yugoslavia, Olimpija agreed to join the newly formed Slovenian League. The inaugural 1991–92 season included a number of clubs from the lower tiers of the Yugoslav football league. The average attendance at Olimpija's matches dropped from 7,380 in 1989–90 to 1,075 in 1991–92. After finishing the first half of the season in second place three points behind Maribor, Olimpija had a string of good results after the winter break and ended the season with eleven consecutive wins which brought them their first Slovenian League title. The team for their final match included Robert Englaro, Aleš Čeh, Dejan Djuranovič and Sandi Valentinčič, and was coached by Lučjo Pertič. The club went on to win three more consecutive titles, before Gorica won the 1995–96 edition, ending Olimpija's league domination.

Financial difficulties and dissolution (2003–2005)

In the…

League

Slovenian First League Winners: 2015–16, 2017–18, 2022–23, 2024–25 Runners-up: 2011–12, 2012–13, 2018–19 Slovenian Second League Winners: 2008–09 Slovenian Third League Winners: 2007–08 (west) Ljubljana Regional League (fourth tier) Winners: 2006–07 Slovenian Fifth Division Winners: 2005–06

Cup

Slovenian Cup Winners: 2017–18, 2018–19, 2020–21, 2022–23 Runners-up: 2016–17 Slovenian Supercup Runners-up: 2012, 2013 MNZ Ljubljana Cup Runners-up: 2006–07, 2008–09

Olimpija Ljubljana had won four Slovenian Championships, four Slovenian Cups and one Slovenian Supercup in the period between the country's independence from Yugoslavia in 1991 until the club's dissolution in 2005. Although the club had spent 22 seasons in top flight during the Yugoslavia period (1945–1991), the club never won any silverware and the closest they came to winning a major domestic trophy was reaching the 1970 Yugoslav Cup final. Internationally, Olimpija had appeared in the UEFA Cup six times, in the UEFA Champions League twice, in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup twice and in the UEFA Intertoto Cup once, in addition to two appearances in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. Their best result in European football was reaching the second round of the 1996–97 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.