NK Olimpija Ljubljana (2005) - Rivalry

Rivalry

For more details on this topic, see Eternal derby (Slovenia).

Olimpija's biggest rivalry is with Maribor, against whom they contest the Eternal derby (Večni derbi). The original Eternal derby was contested by Maribor and Olimpija which folded and was dissolved in 2004 and today the continuation of the rivalry is considered by certain Ljubljana based media and fans, mostly of the old Olimpija, as the matches between Maribor and Olimpija, established in 2005 as Bežigrad. The rivalry traced its roots back in the early 1960s and the time of SFR Yugoslavia when the first match between the two clubs was played. The two teams represented the two largest cities in Slovenia, the capital city of Ljubljana and the second largest city Maribor, and both teams always had one of the largest fan bases in the country. Traditionally Ljubljana represents the richer western part of the country while Maribor is the center of the poorer eastern part. In addition, Ljubljana was always the cultural, educational, economic and political center of the country and Olimpija and its fans were considered as the representatives of the upper class. Maribor, on the other hand, was one of the most industrialized cities in Yugoslavia and the majority of its fans were the representatives of the working class, which means that the added tension to the rivalry was usually political, social and cultural as well. The old rivalry reached its peak in the final round of 2000–01 season when one of the most celebrated matches in Slovenian League history was played, when Olimpija met Maribor at their home stadium, Bežigrad. Both teams were competing for their fifth Slovenian League title. The home team needed a win for the title, while a draw was enough for Maribor. The atmosphere was electric days before the kick-off and the stadium with the capacity of 8,500 was completely sold out. At the end, the match ended with a draw (1–1) and Maribor started to celebrate their fifth consecutive title.

The additional intensity to the rivalry is the fact that both Maribor and Olimpija always had support on their matches from Ultras groups called Viole Maribor, supporting Maribor, and the Green Dragons who supports Olimpija. The two groups are the largest in the country and it is not uncommon that the matches between the two clubs were sometimes interrupted by violent clashes between the two groups or with the police. On many occasions, before or after the matches, the fans of the two clubs would also meet up and fight on the streets. One of the worst incidents, in April 2010 after a match, resulted in a stabbing of a member of the Green Dragons who, with a group of friends, got into a fight with members of the Viole in Ljubljana's railway station. However, to date, there has not been any fatalities in the country related to football violence. Because the new Olimpija is supported by most of the fans of the previous Olimpija, many see the matches between Maribor and the new club as the continuation of the rivalry and refer to it by the same name. However, there are many fans, either the ones from Maribor or the ones from Ljubljana, that does not share the same view and does not share similar beliefs, including part of the media such as RTV Slovenija and Večer. The overall statistics of the old and the new Olimpija are tracked separately by the Football Association of Slovenia and the Association of 1. SNL. The first match between Maribor and the new Olimpija took place on 24 October 2007 on a Slovenian cup quarter-final match that was won by Maribor, 3–1. At the time Olimpija was still competing under the name Olimpija Bežigrad. Statistically, Maribor is the more successful club either in the case of matches only from the period from 1962 to 2005 or the whole period from 1962 to present day. Maribor is also much more successful in case of the matches against Olimpija, established in 2005 as Bežigrad.