OK Maribor

Odbojkarski klub Merkur Maribor (English: Merkur Maribor Volleyball Club) or simply OK Maribor is a Slovenian professional volleyball team based in Maribor. The team play their home games at Tabor Hall and competes in the Slovenian Volleyball League, the top division of Slovenian volleyball. Founded in 1945, the club has won the national championship three times (1992, 1993 and 2021) and the Slovenian national cup four times (1992, 1994, 1995 and 2006).

Merkur Maribor
Full nameOdbojkarski klub Merkur Maribor
Founded14 June 1945 (14 June 1945)[1]
GroundTabor Hall
Maribor, Slovenia
(Capacity: 3,261)
ChairmanBlaž Pesjak
ManagerSebastijan Škorc
CaptainUroš Planinšič
LeagueSlovenian Volleyball League
2021−22Regular season: 2nd
Postseason: Third place
WebsiteClub home page
Uniforms
Home
Away
Championships
1992, 1993, 2021

History

Immediately after the Second World War, on 14 June 1945, the men's volleyball section of the Železničar Sports Association was established.[1] They played in the inaugural edition of the Slovenian national championship in 1946 and finished in fourth place.[1] In 1947, the club was renamed as Odbojkarski klub Železničar (English: Železničar Volleyball Club).[1] In 1951, the team was relegated from the Slovenian championship.[1]

In 1976, Železničar merged with its city rival Branik and became Odbojkarski klub Maribor (English: Maribor Volleyball Club).[1] In 1980, Maribor won the Yugoslav second division and qualified for the highest level of Yugoslav volleyball, the Yugoslav Volleyball Championship.[2] The club was relegated during its first top division season, but the following year they won the second division and were thus immediately promoted back.[2] They were also the runners-up of the Yugoslav Cup in 1983.[1] Maribor remained in the top division until 1989, when the Yugoslav League was reorganized and reduced to eight teams.[2] Maribor again immediately returned to the top tier after winning the A2 division in 1990, but the following year the club again dropped out of the Yugoslav top tier. This was also the last season before the breakup of Yugoslavia.[2]

In 1991, Slovenia gained independence from Yugoslavia, and the Volleyball Federation of Slovenia established its own league system. OK Maribor won the first two editions of the newly established Slovenian Volleyball League, becoming back-to-back national champions in 1992 and 1993.[3] As Slovenian champions, the team competed in the 1992–93 edition of the CEV European Champions Cup, where they were eliminated in the first round by the Swiss team Lausanne UC.[4] During the 1990s, Maribor also won the national cup three times and was the league runner-up on several occasions.[5] In January 2006, Maribor, competing under the sponsorship name Prevent Gradnje IGM, won its fourth national cup title by defeating Salonit Anhovo in the final, the first major trophy won by the club in eleven years.[6]

Between 2009 and 2019, the club went through a period of stagnation, never finishing higher than fourth in the league. In 2009–10, Maribor even finished in the last, 12th place.[7] In December 2019, the club signed a sponsorship deal with Merkur and changed its name to Merkur Maribor.[8] In 2021, Maribor won their third national championship after defeating ACH Volley 3–2 in the final, preventing them from winning their 17th consecutive title.[9]

Name changes

Throughout its history, OK Maribor has been named after their main sponsor on numerous occasions:

  • Stavbar/MTT Maribor (until 1989)
  • Tehno Mobil (1989–1990)
  • Vileda Maribor (1990–1994)
  • Bella Viola Maribor (1994–1995)[10]
  • Marles Maribor (1995–1996)
  • Gradis Maribor (1997–1998)
  • Stavbar IGM Maribor (1998–2004)
  • Prevent Gradnje IGM (2004–2007)
  • MTB Maribor (2008–2010)
  • Lunos Maribor (2013–2015)
  • Merkur Maribor (2019–present)

Season-by-season records
Season League Position Domestic cup Europe
1991–92 1. DOL Champions Winners N/A
1992–93 1. DOL Champions Runners-up CEV European Champions CupPR
1993–94 1. DOL Runners-up Winners CEV European Champions CupR16
1994–95 1. DOL 3rd Winners CEV Cup Winners' CupQF
1995–96 1. DOL Runners-up Runners-up CEV Cup Winners' CupGS
1996–97 1. DOL Runners-up Runners-up CEV Cup Winners' CupGS
1997–98 1. DOL 3rd Semi-final CEV Cup Winners' CupGS
1998–99 1. DOL Runners-up Semi-final CEV CupMP
1999–00 1. DOL 5th Runners-up CEV CupMP
2000–01 1. DOL 6th Quarter-final N/A
2001–02 1. DOL 3rd Quarter-final CEV CupMP
2002–03 1. DOL Runners-up Semi-final CEV CupMP
2003–04 1. DOL 5th Semi-final CEV CupMP
2004–05 1. DOL 5th Round of 16 N/A
2005–06 1. DOL Runners-up Winners N/A
2006–07 1. DOL Runners-up Quarter-final CEV CupR16
CEV Top Teams CupPR
2007–08 1. DOL 3rd Quarter-final CEV Challenge CupR3
CEV CupR32
2008–09 1. DOL 6th Quarter-final CEV Challenge CupR2
2009–10 1. DOL 12th Round of 16 N/A
2010–11 1. DOL 10th Fourth round N/A
2011–12 1. DOL 8th Round of 16 N/A
2012–13 1. DOL 5th Semi-final N/A
2013–14 1. DOL 5th Semi-final N/A
2014–15 1. DOL 7th Round of 16 N/A
2015–16 1. DOL 5th Quarter-final N/A
2016–17 1. DOL 5th Round of 16 N/A
2017–18 1. DOL 5th Quarter-final N/A
2018–19 1. DOL 4th Quarter-final N/A
2019–20 1. DOL 3rd Runners-up N/A
2020–21 1. DOL Champions Quarter-final N/A
2021–22 1. DOL 3rd Runners-up CEV Champions LeagueGS

Players

2021−22 Team
NumberNameBirthdateHeight (cm)Position
1 Miha Cafuta (1998-10-15) 15 October 1998198Middle blocker
3 Aljaž Herman (1998-03-24) 24 March 1998185Libero
5 Sani Adžović (2002-11-03) 3 November 2002197Opposite
6 Filip Kovačević (1996-03-19) 19 March 1996200Outside hitter
7 Uroš Pavlović (1992-03-30) 30 March 1992202Middle blocker
8 Rok Bračko (2004-04-21) 21 April 2004194Outside hitter
10 Alan Košenina (1996-08-30) 30 August 1996189Libero
11 Žiga Donik (1995-09-21) 21 September 1995193Outside hitter
14 Adi Adžović (1999-11-19) 19 November 1999188Setter
17 Uroš Planinšič (1998-05-09) 9 May 1998186Setter
18 Janž Janez Kržič (2003-06-26) 26 June 2003202Middle blocker
24 Ahmed Ikhbayri (1996-11-01) 1 November 1996203Opposite
32 Tit Kovačič (1999-03-18) 18 March 1999199Middle blocker
88 Roland Gergye (1993-02-24) 24 February 1993198Outside hitter
Coach: Sebastijan Škorc
Assistant coach: Alen Kranjc
Physiotherapist: Matic Fras

Source: Official website[11]

Honours
  • Slovenian Volleyball League
    • Winners (3): 1991–92, 1992–93, 2020–21
    • Runners-up (7): 1993–94, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 2002–03, 2005–06, 2006–07
  • Slovenian Cup
    • Winners (4): 1991–92, 1993–94, 1994–95, 2005–06
    • Runners-up (6): 1992–93, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1999–2000, 2019–20, 2021–22

References
  1. Železničarsko športno društvo Maribor (2007). "Železničarsko športno društvo Maribor 1927 – 2007" (PDF). navdih.net (in Slovenian). p. 168. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  2. Studia Historica Slovenica (2003). "Maribor skozi čas II". issuu.com (in Slovenian). Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  3. "Dosedanji državni odbojkarski prvaki". odbojka.si (in Slovenian). Volleyball Federation of Slovenia. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  4. "LAUSANNE UC 3–1 Vileda MARIBOR". cev.eu. European Volleyball Confederation. Archived from the original on 14 July 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  5. "Dosedanji zmagovalci Pokala Slovenije". odbojka.si (in Slovenian). Volleyball Federation of Slovenia. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  6. "Mariborčani po 11 letih spet pokalni prvaki". sta.si (in Slovenian). Slovenian Press Agency. 22 January 2006. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  7. "1. DOL Radenska Classic 2009/2010 – Končni vrstni red". odbojka.si (in Slovenian). Volleyball Federation of Slovenia. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  8. Š. L. (16 December 2019). "Mariborčani odslej z novim generalnim sponzorjem in imenom" (in Slovenian). Siol. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  9. "Konec 16-letne prevlade ACH-ja, Maribor je tretjič državni prvak" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. 25 April 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  10. "Mariborski odbojkarji dobili pokrovitelja". sta.si (in Slovenian). Slovenian Press Agency. 28 November 1994. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  11. "Člani 1. ekipa" (in Slovenian). OK Maribor. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
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