NK Olimpija Ljubljana - Stožice Stadium

NK Olimpija Ljubljana

Stožice Stadium

Vojkova cesta 100

1000 Ljubljana

Slovenia

Official Website

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Ground Number: 1531
Saturday 21st March 2026

NK Olympija Ljubljana 1-2 NK Bravo

1. ZNL Prvaliga

OLYMPIJA LJUBLJANA - A BRIEF HISTORY

Despite the club badge stating that the club was established in 1911, it is a highly convoluted history. The year 1911 marks the founding of SK Ilirija, which was the first Slovenian football club. In the eyes of the club and its supporters, Olimpija is the direct spiritual successor to the entire history of organised football in Ljubljana. In 1936, they merged with their rivals, SK Primorje, to form SK Ljubljana. Following the Second World War, SK Ljubljana was disbanded by the new authorities. In its place, NK Enotnost is formed, inheriting the players, stadium, and colours of the pre-war tradition. This club eventually renamed itself Olimpija in 1962. They spent time in both the Yugoslavian leagues and Slovenian leagues, primarily in the latter. Highlights included four Slovenian top-tier titles, two Yugoslavian second-tier wins, and four Slovenian Republic Leagues (the third tier). In cups, they won four Slovenian Cups, the Slovenian Supercup (Charity Shield equivalent) in 1995 and were Yugoslav Cup runners-up to Red Star Belgrade in 1970.

Due to financial issues, the club ceased to exist in 2005. A successor club was immediately established. The new club was formed as NK Bežigrad on 2nd March 2005, changing their name to that of the previous club in 2008. Forced to start in the 5th tier due to being dissolved, they won four successive promotions to reach the top flight. Starting in 2009, they had two solid 4th-place finishes before coming close in 2012 & 2013 behind rivals Maribor. Olimpija finally tasted success in 2016 and 2018 before Maribor denied them the title in 2019 for the third time. Further titles followed in 2023 & 2025. The 'new' club has also won the Slovenian Cup four times, including doubles with the league in 2018 & 2023. The club has played at the Stozice Stadium since 2010, which is also home to the Slovenian national team. For the first three years of their history, they played at their traditional home of Bežigrad Stadium. However, this was dilapidated, and they left in 2008 after a failed renovation. The following two years were spent at Stadion Šiška, an athletics stadium, before moving to their current home.

 Olimpija's main supporters are called Green Dragons, one of the two largest ultras groups in the country, who also supported the old Olimpija until the club's dissolution in 2005 and went over to the new club in the same year, as they regard it as a successor of the original club. They mostly wear green and white symbols and clothing, which are the club's colours. Olimpija's biggest rivalry is with NK Maribor, against whom they contest the Eternal derby. The rivalry dates back to the early 1960s and the time of Yugoslavia, when the first match between the two clubs was played. The rivalry reached its peak in the last round of the 2000–01 season, when Olimpija met Maribor at their home stadium, Bežigrad. Olimpija needed a win for the title, while a draw was enough for Maribor. The match ended in a 1–1 draw, and Maribor won its fifth consecutive title.

MY VISIT

I was delighted when, upon looking at Futbology for the Saturday I was going to be in Ljubljana, a double was in the offing. The main course was always going to be the Ljubljana derby between Olimpija and Bravo. Originally, that was scheduled to kick off at 17:30, making time very tight between the games. However, maybe because it was selected for TV, the kickoff was moved to 20:15. This was perfect for me as there were plenty of tourist places, food and drink that I wanted to try. I could have got a youth team match at 12:00, though, unlike PuffPuff, I'm not a fan of it. Having a look around and trying some new things was always going to take precedence. All being well, I'd have plenty of time to do football stuff before, between and even after the games. I had a good chat with Google Gemini on Thursday evening and they were a great help with firming up the best spots to visit. I was hoping that Colin would be receptive to trying some new things, as I really like going out of my comfort zone. I've always found that he likes to go for stuff he knows, apart from when it comes to football grounds, of course.

 

It was a longer than expected walk back to my room, nearly an hour in fact. During the walk, we heard various results: Wycombe losing 2-0 at Leyton Orient, Holmer Green beating Brook House 4-0, Penn and Tylers Green winning 1-0 at Molesey and Amersham slipping into the relegation zone with a 3-0 loss to North Leigh. We had half an hour back at the room before heading out to the Voyager Craft Bar. My night's sleep was in doubt with a concert nearby our room, hopefully they'd shut up by the time we got back. Back at the bar, it was a delicious pint of Malner Bora cider, which had a fair bit of oomph to it. I could have done with a couple more, but we had a bus to catch. In any case, a light Saturday booze wise would do me absolutely no harm, Venice didn't look that promising tomorrow either for cider. It was disappointing that the bar I visited at lunchtime had so much out of stock. We got to the ground in a very flat atmosphere. No stalls in the lead up to the ground, the club shop was a table with a limited range. A small pennant was €15, rather pricey, but a scarf would have taken up too much space on my wall. I think Colin had the right idea with a pin badge in a display box for €3.80. It was €11 to get in, including a fee for buying online. There was barely any hot food, though the bar with Radler in a branded glass with a huge bag of crisps was €6. They didn't charge for the crisps, I don't think, which Colin and I made short work of in the absence of dinner. We met someone who came from Aston Clinton, around 20 miles from my home. He also knew our fellow groundhopper, Mick Groom, also a Manchester United fan. It was a small attendance for a top-flight local derby, probably around 1,000.

 

Olympija were 4th in the table and had won twelve, drawn six and lost seven of their games so far. In their last game, they had won 2-1 at Radomlje. Bravo were 5th, having won eleven, drawn four and lost ten. They had also won at  Radomlje in their last league game, 3-1. Between that and today, they had progressed in the Slovenian Cup, beating second-tier leaders Nafta Lendava 2-0. The home ultras were in great voice, but it was Bravo who came closest after ten minutes, hitting the angle of post and bar. On 24 minutes, Olympija scored, Nico Kojic with a low shot from within the area. Bravo soon had the ball in the back of the net, but it was ruled out for offside. The visitors were the better side and unlucky with their chances. Fallou Faye equalised on 54 minutes for Bravo, slotting in the bottom left-hand corner from the edge of the area. Olympija had a penalty appeal turned down, and on the break, Bravo led 2-1 through Sandi Nuhanovic. This woke the hosts up, and they had a goal disallowed for offside. They also had several shots cleared. Bravo players were going down every thirty seconds in injury time as they looked to run down the clock. There were no further goals, and it was a very flat performance from the home side.

THE GROUND

STOZICE STADIUM is pretty decent from the inside and has a capacity of around 30,000. The roof and floodlights are of a unique and interesting design. The views and legroom are decent. Food is not so good, just popcorn, crisps, and hot dogs. The bar is OK, and prices are pretty fair. The merchandise is also limited and pricey for some objects. The ground doesn't look great in the dark, and there is no lighting or signs to indicate who plays there. Getting to the stadium is fine on public transport, but getting back late in the evening is a bit hit & miss.