2011–12 NK Maribor season

NK Maribor

2011–12 season
President	Drago Cotar
Head Coach	Darko Milanič
Stadium	Ljudski vrt
Slovenian League	Winners
Slovenian Cup	Winners
Slovenian Supercup	Runners-up
Champions League	Third qualifying round
Europa League	Group stage
Top goalscorer	League: Dalibor Volaš (17) All: Dalibor Volaš (24)
Highest home attendance	12,500 vs Olimpija (30 October 2011)
Lowest home attendance	1,000 vs Triglav (2 October 2011) and vs Gorica (23 November 2011)
Average home league attendance	3,800[1]
Home colours Away colours
← 2010–11 2012–13 →

The 2011–12 season was the 52nd season in the history of NK Maribor and the club's 21st consecutive season in the Slovenian PrvaLiga since the league establishment in 1991. The team participated in the Slovenian PrvaLiga, Slovenian Football Cup, UEFA Champions League, and UEFA Europa League. The season covers the period from 1 June 2011 to 31 May 2012. Darko Milanič was a head coach of the club.

The 2011–12 season was one of the most successful in history of the club as Maribor won the domestic double, having won the league and cup title. In addition, Maribor became the first Slovenian club that qualified to the UEFA Europa League. They have also finished the season as runners-up of the 2011 Slovenian Supercup.

The 2011 Slovenian Supercup was the seventh edition of the Slovenian Supercup, an annual football match contested by the winners of the previous season's Slovenian PrvaLiga and Slovenian Cup competitions. The match was played on 8 July 2011, in Ljudski vrt stadium between 2010–11 Slovenian PrvaLiga winners Maribor and 2010–11 Slovenian Football Cup winners Domžale. Both teams contested for their second Supercup title.^[2] The match was played by the best two teams of the 2010–11 season. During the course of that season Maribor was a league champion with Domžale being the only serious contender through most of the season, eventually finishing as runners up.^[3] The two teams were the only ones in the league that earned 20 or more victories, with Maribor achieving 21 and Domžale 20.^[3] In addition, both teams were part of the Slovenian cup final, held on Stožice stadium in Ljubljana and won by Domžale with the score 4–3 after regulation.^[4] The match is arguably one of the best cup finals ever held, since the competition was first introduced during the 1991–92 season.^[4]

Domžale won the 2011 Slovenian Supercup with the score 2–1 after regulation and became the most successful team in history of the competition as the only club with more than one victory.^[5] This was the second consecutive victory for Domžale over Maribor in domestic cup finals in five weeks, after winning the Slovenian cup in May 2011.^[5] Controversies arose at the end of the match as Zlatko Zahovič, Maribor's director of football, publicly stated that Maribor was not allowed to win and was disappointed with some of the main referee's decisions in second half, especially the one in 82nd minute when a clear penalty^[6][7] was not ruled in favour of his club.^[8] Maribor later made an official press statement expressing their concerns with the referees regarding the club's upcoming league season.^[9]

Colour key: Green = Maribor win; Yellow = draw; Red = opponents win.

Maribor began their campaign at Ljudski vrt stadium on 16 July against Gorica, with Aleš Mertelj captaining his side after the absence of Marcos Tavares.^[10] A header from Aris Zarifović in the 67th minute put Gorica ahead but the home side responded late in the second half with the goals from Nebojša Kovačević (own goal) and Dejan Mezga, which were enough for the first win of the season.^[3] The team faced Nafta Lendava in their first away match of the season with Slovenia international goalkeeper, Jasmin Handanović, between the posts for the first time after his signing with the club.^[11] A late goal in the 88th minute from Nafta was merely a consolation, as Maribor was at the time already leading with two goals difference and the match eventually finished with the score 2–1.^[11] The result was identical in the next round when Maribor defeated Rudar Velenje at home, with all three goals being scored in the final twenty minutes of the game.^[12]

The club's good form continued in their next away match against Triglav as they achieved their fourth straight 2011–12 victory (2–0)^[13] and topped the league table for the first time of the season.^[14] During the next round their run was stopped with a goalless home draw against the two times champions, Domžale.^[15] In the week that followed Maribor played another home match, this time against their rivals Mura 05. The team proved to be too strong against the visiting side, a team that played in the second division during the previous season, and comfortably won the match with the score 6–0.^[16] Dalibor Volaš, Etien Velikonja and Agim Ibraimi each scored two goals.^[17] Days later club legend Ante Šimundža left the club and became the head coach of Mura 05.^[18] Saša Gajser replaced Šimundža as an assistant coach at Maribor.^[18] Immediately after their victory over Mura 05 the team traveled to Edinburgh where they faced Scottish champions Rangers in the second leg of the UEFA Europa League play-offs. The match in Scotland ended with a score 1–1 and Maribor proceeded to the next round with the score 3–2 on aggregate, thus becoming the first Slovenian club that qualified to the group stages of the Europa League. They were on the road again less than 72 hours after the historic night when they faced their "eternal" rivals Olimpija, the team considered as Maribor's main contender for the 2011–12 title, at the Stožice Stadium in Ljubljana. Unrecognizable during the first half Maribor went down by three goals at halftime and was unable to turn the result back in their favour. Eventually they lost the game 4–1 and sustained their first league defeat of the season.^[19] In addition, this was the first loss for Maribor after 17 consecutive league rounds without defeat (2 April 2011 vs Koper).

Due to the international break at the start of September it was almost two weeks before the next round was played. A timeout well needed by the club that played two matches per week for the better part of the season. After the break Maribor bounced back with another home victory, 5–2 against Celje.^[20] In the ninth round they salvaged a point against Koper who took the lead twice during the match. The final score at Bonifika stadium was 2–2.^[21] After the first quarter of the season Maribor was on first place, with three-point lead over Olimpija.^[22] Poor form continued when the club won only one point in matches against Gorica (1–1) and Nafta (2–0). The loss against the side from Lendava was the first home league defeat since 16 March 2011 when Maribor was defeated 1–0, also by Nafta. The final league match in September, against Rudar Velenje, was postponed as Maribor had obligations in the UEFA Europa League where they faced Birmingham City.^[23]

The club began October with a 2–0 home win against Triglav and continued their good form with two away wins, 4–1 over Domžale and 3–1 over Mura 05. With three consecutive victories the team was in high spirits as they faced their rivals Olimpija in the final match of the month. Before the 16th round the visiting team from Ljubljana was tied second on the league table and was four points behind the league leaders from Maribor, who still had a deficit of one game due to their postponed match with Rudar Velenje. The match against Olimpija was played in front of 12,500 spectators, the highest of the season, and after dominating the first phase of the game, Maribor found themselves a man down when in the 22nd minute Dejan Mezga received a straight red card for intentionally hitting an opponent.^[24] Soon afterwards Olimpija took the first lead in the match when Davor Škerjanc placed a superb volley shot past the home goalkeeper and into the netting.^[24] Although they were with only ten players, Maribor regained their composore and had a couple of great chances until the 45th minute when Olimpija's former member, Agim Ibraimi, scored an equaliser from a shot with his weaker right foot.^[24] However, one minute later in the injury time of the first half Olimpija took another lead when Dare Vršič's long effort was saved by Jasmin Handanović, and picked up by Filip Valenčič who easily put the ball into the empty net.^[24] During most of the second half Maribor had the upper hand and couple of chances when in the 69th minute Goran Cvijanović scored with an excellent shot from the distance.^[24] The home side tried to score the winning goal by the end of the 90th minute, however, the match eventually finished 2–2 with both teams earning a point, maintaining the four-point difference between them on the league table.^[24]

In the next round Maribor played against Celje on their Arena Petrol stadium and were losing 2–1 until the late equaliser from Cvijanović in the 88th minute.^[25] One minute later Dalibor Volaš scored another goal and Maribor won 3–2, taking important three points with them.^[25] On 12 November the team played their postponed match of the 12th round against Rudar Velenje and won in Velenje with the score 3–0, bringing their league advantage to seven points.^[26] During the next two rounds the club played two consecutive matches at their Ljudski vrt stadium, both times against teams from the Primorska region, Koper and Gorica. The matches were won by Maribor with the identical score, 2–1. The club's good form continued when they won against Nafta Lendava 3–0 away and against Rudar Velenje 1–0 at home thus finishing the first part of the season strong, with six straight victories. The victory goal against Rudar Velenje was scored by Mezga in the injury time of the second half from a penalty shot.^[27] Other clubs did not follow Maribor with their good run and fell behind on the league table.^[27] Eventually Maribor went into the winter break with 15 points ahead of Gorica and Olimpija who were tied second on the league table.^[27] With 15-point clearance and 15 rounds to be played in the second part of the season, the fans and the media already saw Maribor as the 2011–12 PrvaLiga champions.^[28]

The second part of the season started in early March, after nearly three months pause due to the winter break. Maribor played their first spring match in Kranj where they were surprisingly defeated by Triglav, a team from the bottom of the table. The club then faced Domžale and Mura 05 in two consecutive home matches. Maribor defeated both of them and won all six points available. They then faced their rivals Olimpija at the Stožice Stadium, where the club suffered their highest defeat of the season when they were defeated 4–1 in the seventh round. In front of 8,000 spectators Maribor pressed from the start and Velikonja scored in the sixth minute. The score did not change until early in the second half when Cvijanović increased Maribor's lead, with a superb long distance effort. During the rest of the match, which was at one point suspended for about ten minutes due to crowd trouble, Olimpija tried to make a comeback and in the 88th minute they lowered the score with a penalty shot by Dare Vršič. However, this was not enough as the time eventually ran out and Maribor won with the score 2–1. The club increased their league on the table to over 20 points and it was clear that they were very close in securing their 10th title. Maribor then won their fourth consecutive match when they defeated Celje 3–1, at home. History repeated itself in early April when Maribor traveled to the Primorska region to face Koper and Gorica in two consecutive away games for the second time in the season. Similarly to the two matches in September, Maribor again only managed to win two points in Koper and Nova Gorica. The team bounced back, however, and managed to win the next seven consecutive matches, making the longest winning run of any club during the 2011–12 Slovenian PrvaLiga season. During this period Maribor scored 26 goals and conceded only four. In addition, the run included two dominant home victories over Nafta 6–0 and Triglav 8–0, and also a 3–2 victory over Olimpija. The win over Triglav in the 31st round also secured the title and Maribor became the first club in history of the PrvaLiga, who won the title with five rounds remaining.

During the final round of the season, Maribor played at home against Koper, who needed a win to secure their third-place finish and thus qualify to the UEFA Europa League in the next season. The team from Koper had the desired score when they took the lead in the 25th minute, however, their European dreams was shattered in the last minute of the match when Robert Berić's strike from 20 meters caught their goalkeeper by surprise, for the final score 1–1. This was Darko Milanič's fourth season as the head coach of Maribor and he has led the club to their third league title during this period. After the match, the club officials and players took the trophy and carried it on to the southern platform of the stadium, below which thousand of supporters gathered to celebrate the club's record 10th league title. In honor of this achievement, the club added a permanent golden star on top of their crest.

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Maribor (C)	36	26	7	3	88	35	+53	85	Qualification to Champions League second qualifying round
2	Olimpija	36	19	8	9	60	38	+22	65	Qualification to Europa League first qualifying round
3	Mura 05	36	18	5	13	52	46	+6	59
4	Koper	36	16	10	10	48	35	+13	58
5	Gorica	36	14	11	11	49	37	+12	53

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
36	26	7	3	88	35	+53	85	14	3	1	50	16	+34	12	4	2	38	19	+19

Colour key: Green = Maribor win; Yellow = draw; Red = opponents win.

Maribor entered the 2011–12 Slovenian Football Cup in the second round (round of 16), in which they were drawn to face Adria Miren of the Slovenian third division. The two teams met in Miren, a small town in the Primorska region near the Italian border, and Maribor won 2–0 with plenty of missed opportunities. They then faced another third division side, Zavrč, in the quarter-final. The match was played over two legs, the first leg being played in Zavrč. Maribor quickly found themselves in trouble when they faced a surprising two-goal deficit within 28 minutes of play. They then fought back and with the goal from Željko Filipović they finished the first half, losing 2–1. Zavrč scored their third goal at the start of the second half to take a 3–1 lead before Maribor staged a comeback with goals from Etien Velikonja and Dragan Jelić, for the final score 3–3. In the second leg, in front of 4,500 spectators, Maribor dominated throughout the match, but only managed to score once for the final score 1–0, thus qualifying in the semi-final with the score 4–3 aggregate.

The club then faced Rudar Velenje in the semi-final. The first leg was played in Velenje on 11 April 2011 and Maribor quickly showed why they were considered favourites, when Etien Velikonja scored early in the match. However, the home side equalised with a goal from Leon Črnčič in the 22nd minute and 1–1 was the final score of the first half. During the second Maribor went forward and started creating chances. This tactic capitalized during a span of eight minutes, from 57th to 65th, when Maribor scored three goals (Mejač, Velikonja, Ibraimi) for a comfortable three-goal lead. Eventually, the home side managed to score again in the 81st minute for the final score 4–2 in favour of the guests. The second leg was played one week later at Ljudski vrt stadium, and, after a 2–2 score after first half, Maribor again prevailed in the second, scoring twice for another 4–2 victory and an aggregate score 8–4. Velikonja again showed his good form with another two goals in the competition.

Colour key: Green = Maribor win; Yellow = draw; Red = opponents win.

Qualified as the 2010–11 Slovenian PrvaLiga champions, Maribor started their European campaign in the second qualifying round of the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League against Dudelange from Luxembourg, a team that advanced through the first qualifying round with a 4–0 aggregate victory over Santa Coloma.^[30] The first match between Maribor and Dudelange was played in Ljudski vrt stadium and won by Maribor with the score 2–0; Arghus and Ibraimi were the goalscorers.^[31] Seven days later the team played a rematch with the Luxembourg side and comfortably achieved another victory (3–1), thus qualifying to the next round.^[32] They then faced Israeli Premier League champions Maccabi Haifa, in the first meeting in European competitions between Maribor and a team from Israel.^[33] The match was lost 3–2 on aggregate, relegating Maribor to the play-off round of the UEFA Europa League, where they faced a home draw against the Scottish Premier League champions Rangers.^[34]

Colour key: Green = Maribor win; Yellow = draw; Red = opponents win.

Colour key: Green = Maribor win; Yellow = draw; Red = opponents win.

It was the second time in European competitions that Maribor played against Rangers as the two clubs have faced each other during the 2001–02 UEFA Champions League second qualifying round, when the side from Glasgow easily prevailed with the score 6–1 aggregate.^[35] One decade later the two teams met in a crucial two-legged qualifiers that would determine which club would advance into group stage of the UEFA Europa League. First leg was played at the Ljudski vrt stadium in Maribor and after suffering by a goal deficit at halftime, the home side turned the score around with two goals in the second to win the match 2–1.^[36] Maribor's second goal of the night came from a back-heel kick by Etien Velikonja during the final seconds of injury time.^[36] It later turned out that the goal from Velikonja was decisive as the second leg at Ibrox Stadium finished with the score 1–1.^[37] Maribor thus qualified to the group stages of the UEFA Europa League for the first time in their history.^[38] The match in Scotland was played on 25 August, the same date as the twelve years earlier when Maribor defeated Lyon and qualified to the elite UEFA Champions League.^[39]

For their first appearance in the Europa League, Maribor was drawn into Group H together with 2010–11 runners up Braga, 1975–76 runners up Club Brugge and English Championship side Birmingham City, which qualified to the competition as the winners of the 2011 Football League Cup. The club won one point in six matches, eventually finishing at the bottom of the table. Their campaign started in Bruges against Club Brugge. The home side showed their quality in the opening minutes and quickly took a two-goal lead, which was enough for their 2–0 victory. Maribor then played their first home match against Birmingham City and fared well during the first hour when they were leading 1–0 from a first half goal by Dalibor Volaš. The English side, however, bounced back with two goals in the final 30 minutes and won the match 2–1. Almost a month later Maribor played their second consecutive home match, this time against Braga. Agim Ibraimi's strike in the 14th minute gave the home side a lead until Elderson equalised in the final seconds of the first half. The goal was controversial^{[citation needed]} as it was scored from an offside position. Both teams failed to score a decisive goal in the second half and the match finished as a draw, giving Maribor their first point.

Early in November the team traveled to Portugal to face Braga for the second time. There they were outplayed from the start as the Portuguese team took a two-goal lead within the ten-minute mark, with another first-half goal coming from Elderson in the 38th minute. During the second half, Maribor showed a better performance, with Volaš reducing the home lead in the 62nd minute. Minutes later Ibraimi had a chance to bring his side to a one-goal deficit; however, his free kick strike hit the crossbar. During the final minutes Braga scored two more goals for a 5–1 victory. The club then made headlines across Europe^{[citation needed]} when they hosted Club Brugge at the Ljudski vrt stadium. During much of the match Maribor showed one of their best performances of the season, taking a 3–0 lead in the 68th minute with two goals coming from Volaš and an own goal by Ryan Donk. The score stayed the same until the goal by Nabil Dirar in the 74th minute, which started a comeback for the Belgians. Soon afterwards Dirar scored his second, followed by a goal from Joseph Akpala and by the 82nd minute the score was 3–3. Club Brugge then pressed forward in hopes of scoring a winning goal, which would bring them a much needed three points in their battle for promotion. The goal came in the final seconds of the match and was scored by Donk who corrected his mistake in the 51st minute when he was responsible for an own goal. Without a chance for promotion, Maribor played their last Europa League match of the season at the St Andrew's stadium in Birmingham. The poor performance on the pitch produced one goal from the home side and Birmingham City won the match 1–0, with both teams concluding their European campaign of the season.

Colour key: Green = Maribor win; Yellow = draw; Red = opponents win.

Colour key: Green = Maribor win; Yellow = draw; Red = opponents win.

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Club Brugge	6	3	2	1	12	9	+3	11[a]	Advance to knockout phase
2	Braga	6	3	2	1	12	6	+6	11[a]
3	Birmingham City	6	3	1	2	8	8	0	10
4	Maribor	6	0	1	5	6	15	−9	1