Nogometno društvo Gorica, commonly referred to as ND Gorica or simply Gorica, was a Slovenian football club based in Nova Gorica. They were one of the most successful Slovenian clubs with four Slovenian PrvaLiga and three Slovenian Cup titles. The club played its home matches at the Nova Gorica Sports Park with a capacity of 3,100 seats.

In 2026, the club was dissolved due to financial problems.

History Yugoslav period (1947–1991) The history of 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 FD Gorica 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 as NK Vozila in 1971 and achieved better results only in the last years before Slovenia's independence. Managed by Pavel Pinni, Vozila finished third in the 1988–89 season of the Slovenian Republic League.

Slovenian independence (1991 to 2026) Following Slovenia's independence 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 (2000–01 and 2001–02).

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. Maribor lost the game 2–1 after a second-half comeback by Mura, meaning 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 (2004–05 and 2005–06). After the last title, Gorica was a runner-up in the 2006–07 and 2008–09 seasons, while finishing third in 2007–08 and 2009–10.

In 2013, Gorica started cooperating with Italian club Parma. In May 2014, they won their first trophy in 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 the relegation play-offs against Tabor Sežana.

Honours League Slovenian First League Winners (4): 1995–96, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06 Runners-up (5): 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2006–07, 2008–09, 2016–17 Slovenian Second League Winners: 2021–22

Cup Slovenian Cup Winners (3): 2000–01, 2001–02, 2013–14 Runners-up (2): 2004–05, 2023–24 Slovenian Supercup Winners: 1996 Runners-up: 2014

Domestic league and cup results

SeasonLeaguePositionPtsPWDLGFGACup1991–921. SNL44640151696340Round of 161992–931. SNL123134119143946First round1993–941. SNL53530121174038First round1994–951. SNL3413018576630Quarter-finals1995–961. SNL16736181354922Quarter-finals1996–971. SNL36536181175233Round of 161997–981. SNL36536205116436Round of 161998–991. SNL2623318875531First round1999–20001. SNL2623319595534Semi-finals2000–011. SNL74333134165246Winners2001–021. SNL45133149103840Winners2002–031. SNL83431713113443Quarter-finals2003–041. SNL15632151165529Round of 162004–051. SNL16532181134923Runners-up2005–061. SNL17336211057530Semi-finals2006–071. SNL25836177126663Semi-finals2007–081. SNL35736169116150Round of 162008–091. SNL25636175146055Semi-finals2009–101. SNL35536167137460Quarter-finals2010–111. SNL54836139144253Quarter-finals2011–121. SNL553361411114937Quarter-finals2012–131. SNL641361011154560Quarter-finals2013–141. SNL458361610106032Winners2014–151. SNL93736107194046Quarter-finals2015–161. SNL45236157144849First round2016–171. SNL26036161284839Quarter-finals2017–181. SNL64736145174048Semi-finals2018–191. SNL9↓3136710194463Quarter-finals2019–202. SNL2↑412013254022Round of 162020–211. SNL10↓293678212458did not qualify2021–222. SNL1↑723023345520First round2022–231. SNL9↓2736512193157First round2023–242. SNL4533015875128Runners-up2024–252. SNL3593017856034Second round2025–262. SNL15↓2230410163145Second round Notes

Key

P – Matches played W – Matches won D – Matches drawn L – Matches lost GF – Goals for GA – Goals against Pts – Points

WinnersRunners-upPromoted ↑Relegated ↓

European record All results (home and away) list Gorica's goal tally first.

Season Competition Round Opponent Home Away Agg.1996–97UEFA CupPR Vardar0–11–21–31997–98UEFA Cup1Q Oţelul Galaţi2–02–44–4 (a)2Q Club Brugge3–50–33–81999–2000UEFA CupQ Inter Cardiff2–00–12–11R Panathinaikos0–10–20–32000–01UEFA CupQ Neftchi Baku3–10–13–21R Roma1–40–71–112001–02UEFA CupQ Neftchi Baku1–00–01–01R Osijek1–20–11–32002–03UEFA CupQ Rapid București1–30–21–52004–05UEFA Champions League1Q Flora Tallinn3–14–27–32Q Copenhagen1–25–06–23Q Monaco0–30–60–92004–05UEFA Cup1R AEK Athens1–10–11–22005–06UEFA Champions League1Q Tirana2–00–32–32006–07UEFA Champions League1Q Linfield2–23–15–32Q Steaua București0–20–30–52007–08UEFA Cup1Q Rabotnički1–21–22–42008UEFA Intertoto Cup1R Hibernians0–03–03–02R Chernomorets Burgas 0–21–11–32009–10UEFA Europa League2Q Lahti1–00–21–22010–11UEFA Europa League2Q Randers0–31–11–42014–15UEFA Europa League2Q Molde1–11–42–52016–17UEFA Europa League1Q Maccabi Tel Aviv0–10–30–42017–18UEFA Europa League1Q Shirak2–22–04–22Q Panionios2–30–22–5 Notes PR: Preliminary round Q: Qualifying round 1Q: First qualifying round 2Q: Second qualifying round 3Q: Third qualifying round 1R: First round 2R: Second round

Notable managers The following managers have won at least one trophy when in charge of Gorica since Slovenia's independence in 1991:

Head coachPeriodHonours Milan Miklavič1995–19961995–96 Slovenian First Division1996 Slovenian Supercup Toni Tomažič20012000–01 Slovenian Football Cup Pavel Pinni2001–20062001–02 Slovenian Football Cup2003–04 Slovenian First Division2004–05 Slovenian First Division2005–06 Slovenian First Division Miran Srebrnič20092011–201320142015–20182021–20232023–20242021–22 Slovenian Second League Luigi Apolloni2013–20142013–14 Slovenian Football Cup

References

External links

ND Gorica at PrvaLiga ND Gorica at Soccerway