ND Gorica


Nogometno društvo Gorica, commonly referred to as ND Gorica or simply Gorica, is a Slovenian football club playing in the town of Nova Gorica. They are one of the most successful Slovenian clubs with four Slovenian PrvaLiga and three Slovenian Cup titles. The club plays its matches at the Nova Gorica Sports Park stadium with the capacity of 3,100 seats. As of the 2019–20 season, Gorica plays in the Slovenian Second League, the second highest league in Slovenia.

History

Beginnings (1947–1991)

The history of Slovenian association football in the Goriška region goes back to 1907, when the first football club Jugoslavija was formed by the Slovenes of Gorizia.
October 1947 marks the beginning of the club with the foundation of Gorica Physical Culture Club in Šempeter pri Gorici, where it operated until 1963. They started in the second-level but quickly promoted to the Slovenian Republic League in 1950 under the new name Železničar Nova Gorica. Five years later they became republic champions and qualified for the Yugoslav Second League, which was club's biggest achievement during the time of Yugoslavia. In 1963 the club merged with Branik Solkan and the club's activity was transferred to Nova Gorica, where it remains ever since. They stabilised as a mid-table club in the 1960s, renamed to NK Vozila in 1971 and achieved better results only in the last years before the Slovenian independence. Managed by Pavel Pinni, Vozila finished third in the 1988–89 season of the Slovenian Republic League.

Slovenian independence (1991 to present)

After the independence of Slovenia in 1991, the club played in the 1. SNL under the name HIT Gorica and during the 1995–96 season, Gorica won the Slovenian championship for the first time. In the next season, the club played its first Slovenian Supercup final and won their second trophy with a 3–1 victory over Olimpija. During the league domination of Maribor, the club managed to win two Slovenian cup titles in a row.
On the last day of the 2003–04 season on 30 May 2004, Gorica won its second title after one of the most dramatic rounds in the Slovenian league history. Before the last round, Maribor was leading the table with 54 points, one point ahead of Gorica. In the final round, Maribor played an away match against their rivals Mura and Gorica played at home against Koper. Both matches were played at the same time, and after the first half things did not look good for Gorica. Maribor was leading 1–0, while Gorica finished the first half with the score 0–0. At the start of the second half, Gorica took the lead. In the other match, the score remained 1–0 for Maribor up until the 68th minute, when Mura equalised to 1–1. Later, Maribor was cut down with yet another goal from Mura in the 89th minute for the final score 2–1. That result meant that Gorica, who eventually won against Koper 2–0, had secured their second title.
The second title started an impressive run for Gorica as the team won another two league titles in a row. By now Gorica, a four times Slovenian league champions, was recognized as one of the top football clubs in the country. After the last title, Gorica was a runner-up in the 2006–07 and 2008–09 seasons, while finishing 3rd in 2007–08 and 2009–10.
In 2013, Gorica became associated with Parma. On 21 May 2014 they won their first trophy after eight years as they defeated Maribor 2–0 in the cup final. After 28 seasons in the top division, Gorica was relegated for the first time in the 2018–19 season after losing a relegation play-offs against Tabor Sežana.

Current squad

As of 21 February 2020

Honours

League
Cup
The following managers have won at least one trophy when in charge of Gorica after the independence of Slovenia in 1991:
SeasonLeaguePositionPtsPlayedWDLGFGACup
1991–921. SNL44640151696340Round of 16
1992–931. SNL123134119143946First round
1993–941. SNL53530121174038First round
1994–951. SNL3413018576630Quarter-finals
1995–961. SNL16736181354922Quarter-finals
1996–971. SNL36536181175233Round of 16
1997–981. SNL36536205116436Round of 16
1998–991. SNL2623318875531First round
1999–20001. SNL2623319595534Semi-finals
2000–011. SNL74333134165246Winners
2001–021.SNL45133149103840Winners
2002–031. SNL83431713113443Quarter-finals
2003–041. SNL15632151165529Round of 16
2004–051. SNL16532181134923Runners-up
2005–061. SNL17336211057530Semi-finals
2006–071. SNL25836177126663Semi-finals
2007–081. SNL35736169116150Round of 16
2008–091. SNL25636175146055Semi-finals
2009–101. SNL35536167137460Quarter-finals
2010–111. SNL54836139144253Quarter-finals
2011–121. SNL553361411114937Quarter-finals
2012–131. SNL641361011154560Quarter-finals
2013–141. SNL458361610106032Winners
2014–151. SNL93736107194046Quarter-finals
2015–161. SNL45236157144849First round
2016–171. SNL26036161284839Quarter-finals
2017–181. SNL64736145174048Semi-finals
2018–191. SNL93136710194463Quarter-finals
Totals1. SNL4 Titles1449973418251304146311763 Cups

European record

All results list Gorica's goal tally first.
SeasonCompetitionRoundOpponentHomeAwayAgg.
1996–97UEFA CupPR Vardar0–11–21–3
1997–98UEFA Cup1Q Oţelul Galaţi2–02–44–4
1997–98UEFA Cup2Q Club Brugge3–50–33–8
1999–2000UEFA CupQ Inter Cardiff2–00–12–1
1999–2000UEFA Cup1R Panathinaikos0–10–20–3
2000–01UEFA CupQ Neftchi Baku3–10–13–2
2000–01UEFA Cup1R Roma1–40–71–11
2001–02UEFA CupQ Neftchi Baku1–00–01–0
2001–02UEFA Cup1R Osijek1–20–11–3
2002–03UEFA CupQ Rapid Bucureşti1–30–21–5
2004–05UEFA Champions League1Q Flora Tallinn3–14–27–3
2004–05UEFA Champions League2Q Copenhagen1–25–06–2
2004–05UEFA Champions League3Q Monaco0–30–60–9
2004–05UEFA Cup1R AEK Athens1–10–11–2
2005–06UEFA Champions League1Q Tirana2–00–32–3
2006–07UEFA Champions League1Q Linfield2–23–15–3
2006–07UEFA Champions League2Q Steaua Bucureşti0–20–30–5
2007–08UEFA Cup1Q Rabotnički1–21–22–4
2008UEFA Intertoto Cup1R Hibernians0–03–03–0
2008UEFA Intertoto Cup2R Chernomorets Burgas0–21–11–3
2009–10UEFA Europa League2Q Lahti1–00–21–2
2010–11UEFA Europa League2Q Randers0–31–11–4
2014–15UEFA Europa League2Q Molde1–11–42–5
2016–17UEFA Europa League1Q Maccabi Tel Aviv0–10–30–4
2017–18UEFA Europa League1Q Shirak2–22–04–2
2017–18UEFA Europa League2Q Panionios2–30–22–5

;Notes