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| Full name | Nogometni klub Celje | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | Grofje (The Counts) Rumeno-modri (The Yellow and Blues) | ||
| Founded | 28 December 1919; 105 years ago (28 December 1919)[1][2] (as SK Celje) | ||
| Ground | Stadion Z'dežele | ||
| Capacity | 13,059 | ||
| President | Valeriy Kolotilo | ||
| Manager | Albert Riera | ||
| League | Slovenian PrvaLiga | ||
| 2024–25 | Slovenian PrvaLiga, 4th of 10 | ||
| Website | www | ||
Nogometni klub Celje (English:Celje Football Club), commonly referred to asNK Celje or simplyCelje ([ˈtsɛ̀ːljɛ]), is a professionalfootball club fromCelje, Slovenia. They play in theSlovenian PrvaLiga, the top tier of Slovenian football. Together withMaribor, they are the only club that have participated in every season of the Slovenian PrvaLiga since its formation in 1991.[3] Celje won their first league title in the2019–20 season, a feat they have repeatedfour years later. They have also won twoSlovenian Cups, in2004–05 and2024–25.
The club was formed in 1919 asSK Celje.[1][2] Soon afterWorld War II, in 1946, the club changed its name toNK Kladivar (expressionistic term in Slovene for a blacksmith).[2] In 1964 they qualified for theYugoslav Second League, where they played for one year.[2]
In 1992, one year after Slovenia gained independence from Yugoslavia, the club was renamed asPublikum due to sponsorship reasons.[2] They reached the finals ofSlovenian Cup in 1993 and 1995, but lost on both occasions, having been beaten byOlimpija andMura, respectively.[4] In 2003, Celje was in a title race withMaribor until the last two rounds, but in the end finished second and also lost the Slovenian cup final against Olimpija during the same season.[5] Two years later, in 2005, the club reached the final for the fourth time and this time they finally lifted their first trophy, defeatingGorica 1–0 in front of their own fans at theArena Petrol.[6] Celje were also in the finals the next year, but lost toKoper after apenalty shoot-out.[7] In early 2007, they dropped Publikum from their name.[8]
In 2020, Celje won its first Slovenian league title after winning the2019–20 Slovenian PrvaLiga season.[9] After struggling in the following two seasons, they managed to finish second in2022–23, before once again winning the league title in the2023–24 season.[10] As champions, Celje managed to reach the league phase of the2024–25 UEFA Conference League, their first ever appearance in the main stage of any European competition.[11] After a moderate performance in the league phase, they reached thequarter-finals of the competition, a feat achieved for the first time by any Slovenian club in a major European club contest.[12] In the same season, the club won the2024–25 Slovenian Cup with a 4–0 win over Koper in the final.[13] This granted Celje a spot in thequalifying stage of the 2025–26 UEFA Europa League, with the club eventually reaching the league phase of theUEFA Conference League for the second season in a row after eliminatingBaník Ostrava in the play-offs.[14]
For most of its early years, the club played at the Glazija Stadium, and also acquired theSkalna Klet after merging with ŽŠD Celje in 1967. As the Glazija Stadium was demolished in the early 1980s, the club permanently moved to the Skalna Klet.[15] However, the stadium was in poor condition and could not meet UEFA stadium regulations, so the club's officials decided to build a new stadium. In 2003, the main stand of the newArena Petrol was built. The capacity at the time was 3,600 covered seats. After 2003, three new separate stands were built, and when the last one opened in 2008, the stadium was completed. The current capacity of the stadium is 13,059 seats, of which around 50% are covered.[16] In July 2017, the stadium was renamed toStadion Z'dežele.[17]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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League
Cup
| Season | League | Position | Pts | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | Cup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991–92 | 1. SNL | 9 | 41 | 40 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 43 | 51 | Round of 16 |
| 1992–93 | 1. SNL | 10 | 32 | 34 | 12 | 8 | 14 | 37 | 47 | Runners-up |
| 1993–94 | 1. SNL | 4 | 38 | 30 | 14 | 10 | 6 | 50 | 34 | Round of 16 |
| 1994–95 | 1. SNL | 6 | 38 | 30 | 16 | 6 | 8 | 50 | 27 | Runners-up |
| 1995–96 | 1. SNL | 5 | 51 | 36 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 62 | 47 | Semi-finals |
| 1996–97 | 1. SNL | 4 | 47 | 36 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 55 | 61 | Quarter-finals |
| 1997–98 | 1. SNL | 6 | 49 | 36 | 14 | 7 | 15 | 57 | 57 | Quarter-finals |
| 1998–99 | 1. SNL | 7 | 42 | 33 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 30 | 35 | Round of 16 |
| 1999–00 | 1. SNL | 6 | 47 | 33 | 11 | 14 | 8 | 53 | 45 | Quarter-finals |
| 2000–01 | 1. SNL | 5 | 50 | 33 | 15 | 5 | 13 | 59 | 52 | First round |
| 2001–02 | 1. SNL | 6 | 48 | 33 | 14 | 6 | 13 | 50 | 39 | Round of 16 |
| 2002–03 | 1. SNL | 2 | 55 | 31 | 15 | 10 | 6 | 57 | 38 | Runners-up |
| 2003–04 | 1. SNL | 10 | 39 | 32 | 11 | 6 | 15 | 61 | 52 | Quarter-finals |
| 2004–05 | 1. SNL | 3 | 52 | 32 | 16 | 4 | 12 | 47 | 28 | Winners |
| 2005–06 | 1. SNL | 6 | 49 | 36 | 15 | 4 | 17 | 48 | 59 | Runners-up |
| 2006–07 | 1. SNL | 7 | 45 | 36 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 54 | 51 | Semi-finals |
| 2007–08 | 1. SNL | 8 | 45 | 36 | 13 | 6 | 17 | 42 | 51 | Quarter-finals |
| 2008–09 | 1. SNL | 4 | 53 | 36 | 15 | 8 | 13 | 48 | 39 | Round of 16 |
| 2009–10 | 1. SNL | 5 | 51 | 36 | 14 | 9 | 13 | 53 | 56 | Semi-finals |
| 2010–11 | 1. SNL | 8 | 37 | 36 | 9 | 10 | 17 | 41 | 55 | Round of 16 |
| 2011–12 | 1. SNL | 8 | 37 | 36 | 9 | 10 | 17 | 44 | 56 | Runners-up |
| 2012–13 | 1. SNL | 5 | 49 | 36 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 39 | 39 | Runners-up |
| 2013–14 | 1. SNL | 8 | 37 | 36 | 10 | 7 | 19 | 30 | 58 | Quarter-finals |
| 2014–15 | 1. SNL | 2 | 70 | 36 | 20 | 10 | 6 | 58 | 31 | Runners-up |
| 2015–16 | 1. SNL | 5 | 45 | 36 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 32 | 46 | Runners-up |
| 2016–17 | 1. SNL | 5 | 55 | 36 | 15 | 10 | 11 | 48 | 39 | Round of 16 |
| 2017–18 | 1. SNL | 5 | 50 | 36 | 14 | 8 | 14 | 56 | 51 | Semi-finals |
| 2018–19 | 1. SNL | 5 | 49 | 36 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 45 | 51 | Round of 16 |
| 2019–20 | 1. SNL | 1 | 69 | 36 | 19 | 12 | 5 | 74 | 36 | Quarter-finals |
| 2020–21 | 1. SNL | 7 | 43 | 36 | 12 | 7 | 17 | 36 | 41 | Runners-up |
| 2021–22 | 1. SNL | 8 | 42 | 36 | 12 | 6 | 18 | 46 | 50 | Semi-finals |
| 2022–23 | 1. SNL | 2 | 67 | 36 | 19 | 10 | 7 | 53 | 34 | Quarter-finals |
| 2023–24 | 1. SNL | 1 | 79 | 36 | 24 | 7 | 5 | 75 | 34 | Round of 32 |
| 2024–25 | 1. SNL | 4 | 61 | 36 | 17 | 10 | 9 | 76 | 51 | Winners |
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All results (home and away) list Celje's goal tally first.
Bojan Prašnikar (1989–1991)
Stanko Božičevič (1992) Janko Benčina (1992)Janez Zavrl (1993–1994)
Ivan Marković (1994) Filip Mendaš (1994) Borut Jarc (1994–1996) Milovan Tarbuk (1996–1997)Stanko Poklepović (1997–1998)Edin Osmanović (1998–1999)
Nikola Ilievski (1999–2000)Marijan Pušnik (2000–2004)Ivica Matković (2004–2005) Marko Pocrnjič (2005)Nikola Ilievski (2005–2006) Janez Žilnik (2006)Pavel Pinni (2007–2008)Slaviša Stojanovič (2008–2009)Milan Đuričić (2009–2010) Damijan Romih (2010) Stane Bevc (2010–2011) Damijan Romih (2011–2012)Marijan Pušnik (2012)Miloš Rus (2013–2014)Simon Rožman (2014–2015)Iztok Kapušin (2015–2016)Robert Pevnik (2016)Igor Jovićević (2016–2017)Tomaž Petrovič (2017)Dušan Kosič (2017–2020)
Jiří Jarošík (2020–2021)Agron Šalja (2021)Simon Sešlar (2021)Simon Rožman (2022)
Roman Pylypchuk (2022–2023)
Albert Riera (2023)Damir Krznar (2023–2024)Albert Riera (2024–present)
