NK Svoboda Ljubljana

Nogometni klub Svoboda Ljubljana (English: Svoboda Ljubljana Football Club), commonly referred to as NK Svoboda Ljubljana or simply Svoboda, is a Slovenian football club from Ljubljana which plays in the Slovenian Third League.

Svoboda Ljubljana
Full nameNogometni klub Svoboda Ljubljana
Nickname(s)Vitezi (The Knights)
Founded1952; 72 years ago (1952)[1]
GroundSvoboda Sports Park
Capacity800
PresidentHajro Rizvić
Head CoachDamir Šabotić
League3. SNL – West
2022–233. SNL – West, 6th of 14
WebsiteClub website

History edit

The club was founded as ŠD Svoboda in 1952. In the late 1950s, they merged with NK Grafičar, took over its place in the Slovenian Republic League and played under this name until 1962. The most successful period for the club was in the 1970s, when they played in the Yugoslav Second League under the sponsorship of Mercator. In 1971, they won the Slovenian Republic League for the first time and earned promotion to the Yugoslav Second League – West.

YearPostitonYearPostiton
19711st197717th
197213th19781st
19738th197916th
197418th19801st
19751st19818th
197612th198216th

During this period, they also won two Republic Cup titles, in 1976 and 1978. Thus, Svoboda participated in the Yugoslav Cup and in the 1978–79 season reached the round of 16, where they were eliminated by Borac Banja Luka.

After Slovenia's independence in 1991, Svoboda played in the Slovenian PrvaLiga for three seasons, finishing in 11th, 6th, and 13th place. In 1994 the club was replaced by Slavija with many players leaving from them to Vevče. Svoboda then played several seasons in lower divisions, before returning to the scene in 2003, when they were promoted to the Slovenian Second League. They have played there for three seasons, scoring the best result in the 2004–05 season with third place, which was not enough to secure promotion, due to Slovenian First League being decreased to ten teams. In the next two seasons Svoboda was relegated from the second and third division, having serious financial troubles. The club was taken over by NK Interblock in 2008 to become their feeder team for youth selections, but this collaboration lasted only one season. Svoboda started on their own again in 2009. In 2018, Svoboda returned to the Slovenian Third League after they won a promotion play-off against Žiri.

Managers edit

ManagerPeriod
Sanel Konjević2009–2010
Vanja Starčević2011
Suad Beširević2011–2012
Željko Mitraković2012
Zoran Pejović2012–2016
Damir Vrabac2016–2017
Damir Šabotić2017
Damir Vrabac2018
Jedinko Perica2018–2021
Željko Filipović2021
Goran Ćurt2022
Amir Agić2022
Hajro Rizvić2022
Stanko Božičević2023
Damir Šabotić2023–present

Honours edit

League

Cup

Domestic league and cup results edit

SeasonLeaguePositionPtsPWDLGFGACup
1991–921. SNL1140401412145155Round of 64
1992–931. SNL638341410103833Quarter-finals
1993–941. SNL13233095163159First round
1994–952. MNZ LJ1281813234320First round
1995–961. MNZ LJ3482615384833did not qualify
1996–971. MNZ LJ3452514385433did not qualify
1997–983. SNL – West2422511954121did not qualify
1998–993. SNL – Centre3472614577850did not qualify
1999–20003. SNL – Centre11262668123439did not qualify
2000–013. SNL – Centre933268993234did not qualify
2001–023. SNL – Centre3472613854532did not qualify
2002–033. SNL – Centre1622519517623did not qualify
2003–042. SNL8343297164847did not qualify
2004–052. SNL3613318785233First round
2005–062. SNL9252774162633First round
2006–073. SNL – West11292691523959did not qualify
2007–082. MNZ LJ8212070134050did not qualify
2008–09did not enter any competitions
2009–102. MNZ LJ1381612227122did not qualify
2010–11Regional1562617546027did not qualify
2011–123. SNL – West14222657142349did not qualify
2012–13Regional2552617456431did not qualify
2013–14Regional8322695124450did not qualify
2014–15Regional628199193331did not qualify
2015–16Regional2442214265234did not qualify
2016–17Regional4402212464231did not qualify
2017–18Regional1582218406518did not qualify
2018–193. SNL – Centre6322771194452did not qualify
2019–203. SNL – West[a]231149414719did not qualify
2020–213. SNL – West7221971113347did not qualify
2021–223. SNL – West13162644182055did not qualify
2022–233. SNL – West6392611693230First round
  1. ^ The season was not completed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
*Best results are highlighted.

References edit

  1. ^ "Klubi" [Clubs] (in Slovenian). Football Association of Slovenia. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  2. ^ "Novice: Finale članskega pokala MNZ Ljubljana" (in Slovenian). MNZ Ljubljana. Archived from the original on 11 June 2004. Retrieved 30 October 2016.

External links edit