Conference League
Olimpija played their first match for a spot in the UEFA Conference League last season against Polissia Zhytomyr, which took place in Ljubljana on July 25, 2024. Olimpija won the match 2-0. In the qualifying matches, Olimpija continued to win, with their biggest victory being a 5-0 triumph against HNK Rijeka at home in Stožice. They successfully advanced to the Conference League and played their first match against German Bundesliga club Heidenheim, where they lost in Germany. The next three matches were against Austrian LASK (2-0), Finnish HJK (2-0), and Northern Irish Larne (1-0), all of which Olimpija won. Then, Belgian club Cercle Brugge came to Ljubljana, and unfortunately, they proved too strong for Olimpija, winning 4-1. The final match was against Polish club Jagiellonia, and Olimpija came away with a 0-0 draw. Olimpija finished in 14th place and is now fighting for a spot in the Conference League round of 16.
New Player Signings
Olimpija signed two new players
Alex Tamm, a 23-year-old Estonian striker and national team member, who is a goal-scoring machine. In 35 matches, he scored 28 goals. According to Transfermarkt, he is valued at €500,000. He has been especially impressive this year, currently 4th in the European Golden Boot race, just 4 points behind leader Mohamed Salah.
Jurgen Celhaka, a 24-year-old Albanian defensive midfielder, who will strengthen Olimpija’s midfield. He is also valued at €500,000 according to Transfermarkt.
Both athletes accompanied Olimpija to Spain for the training camp.
Olimpija’s Fans, Green Dragons, Celebrate
The Green Dragons, the ultras group of Olimpija, were more active than ever as they filled six buses in less than a week for the team’s Conference League match in Banja Luka. They are not happy with their allocation of only 570 seats at the 10,030-capacity stadium. The Green Dragons are adamant that even if they were given three times the amount of seats, they would have sold them easily. They’ve experienced increased membership from 800 in the 2023/24 season to close to 2,000 members now. This makes them the biggest fan group in Slovenia, since the second biggest group, Viole Maribor, has just about 700 members, while the third largest, Celjski Grofje, has between 200 and 500 active members.
Viole Maribor
Celjski grofje
Influence on Slovenian Football
Olimpija’s success in the Conference League proved that Maribor is not the only Slovenian club that can play in the stronger European leagues. NK Celje is also currently making its mark in the same competition, though their road has been tougher. They played against the renowned Portuguese club Real Betis and played a very good game managing to get a 1-1 draw. But the referee gave extra time to the match in which Betis scored, a very sour defeat for Celje. Anyway, great credit must be given to Celje. Olimpija has already proved to be very strong this season and leads the Slovenian First League.
