The Eternal derby of Slovenian football, simply known as the Eternal derby () or Slovenian derby (), is a football rivalry between NK Maribor and NK Olimpija Ljubljana. The match between the two rivals was first contested on 24 October 2007 in a quarter-final match of the Slovenian Cup, which was won by Maribor 3–1.
History and rivalry culture Olimpija was founded in March 2005 under the name NK Bežigrad. They later changed their name twice, first to NK Olimpija Bežigrad and finally to NK Olimpija Ljubljana. Although the board of the newly established club and its fans see the team as the spiritual continuation of the old club, they are not regarded as the legal successors of the old NK Olimpija by the Football Association of Slovenia.
However, because the new Olimpija is supported by most of the fans of the previous Olimpija, including their ultras group, Green Dragons, who have a long-standing rivalry with Maribor's own ultras group Viole Maribor, many see the matches between Maribor and the new club as the continuation of the rivalry and refer to it by the same name. The first match between NK Maribor and the new NK Olimpija took place on 24 October 2007 in a Slovenian Cup quarter-final match, won by Maribor 3–1. At the time, Olimpija was still competing under the name NK Olimpija Bežigrad.
Fans Besides the city of Maribor itself and the surrounding area, NK Maribor also has a large fan base in the whole regions of Lower Styria and Slovenian Carinthia. Olimpija on the other hand inherited much of the fan base that belonged to the dissolved club and draws much of its fans from the central part of the country, the majority from the city of Ljubljana with the surrounding area of southern Upper Carniola and northwestern Lower Carniola. Overall, the two clubs have always been the most popular football clubs in the country.
Both clubs always have support on their matches from ultras groups called Viole Maribor, supporting NK Maribor, and Green Dragons who supports NK Olimpija. The two groups are among the largest in the country and it is not uncommon that the matches between the two clubs were sometimes interrupted by clashes between the two groups or with the police. On many occasions, before or after the matches, the fans of the two clubs would also meet up and fight on the streets. One of the worst incidents occurred in April 2010 after a match, when a member of the Green Dragons was stabbed after a group of his friends got into a fight with members of Viole at the Ljubljana railway station. However, to date, there has not been any fatalities in the country related to football violence.
Honours Official statistics of honours won by NK Maribor and NK Olimpija as listed by the Football Association of Slovenia.
Major honours won Competition Maribor Olimpija1. SNLSlovenian CupSlovenian Supercup Total
Head-to-head Matches Slovenian PrvaLiga Host Maribor OlimpijaSeasonRoundDateVenueAttendanceScoreReportRoundDateVenueAttendanceScoreReport2009–1048 August 2009Ljudski vrt6,000Rep.1317 October 2009ŽŠD Ljubljana2,000Rep.229 December 2009Ljudski vrt2,500Rep.3116 April 2010ŽŠD Ljubljana2,0001–1Rep.2010–111316 October 2010Ljudski vrt8,0000–0Rep.429 September 2010Stožice10,000Rep.314 May 2011Ljudski vrt9,5002–2Rep.2212 March 2011Stožice5,0000–0Rep.2011–121630 October 2011Ljudski vrt12,5002–2Rep.728 August 2011Stožice8,000Rep.3412 May 2012Ljudski vrt10,000Rep.2521 March 2012Stožice8,000Rep.2012–131420 October 2012Ljudski vrt9,000Rep.511 August 2012Stožice5,5000–0Rep.3211 May 2013Ljudski vrt9,000Rep.2310 March 2013Stožice2,0001–1Rep.2013–14136 October 2013Ljudski vrt6,500Rep.42 March 2014Stožice5,000Rep.313 May 2014Ljudski vrt5,500Rep.2215 March 2014Stožice100Rep.2014–15124 October 2014Ljudski vrt10,0003–3Rep.38 April 2015Stožice5,0000–0Rep.3029 April 2015Ljudski vrt8,500Rep.214 March 2015Stožice6,500Rep.2015–16616 August 2015Ljudski vrt10,000Rep.1521 November 2015Stožice13,5002–2Rep.245 March 2016Ljudski vrt12,1600–0Rep.337 May 2016Stožice14,000Rep.2016–1748 August 2016Ljudski vrt11,0001–1Rep.1315 October 2016Stožice13,770Rep.2225 February 2017Ljudski vrt12,000Rep.3129 April 2017Stožice7,0000–0Rep.2017–181617 November 2017Ljudski vrt9,000Rep.727 August 2017Stožice13,0000–0Rep.3419 May 2018Ljudski vrt12,166Rep.2531 March 2018Stožice12,000 1–1Rep.2018–191427 October 2018Ljudski vrt12,000Rep.519 August 2018Stožice8,600Rep.3211 May 2019Ljudski vrt12,000Rep.2316 March 2019Stožice9,5000–0Rep.2019–20328 July 2019Ljudski vrt6,6000–0Rep.1228 September 2019Stožice7,000Rep.2122 February 2020Ljudski vrt9,0001–1Rep.3028 June 2020Stožice70Rep.2020–2164 October 2020Ljudski vrt01–1Rep.153 December 2020Stožice0Rep.2427 February 2021Ljudski vrt01–1Rep.339 May 2021Stožice00–0Rep.2021–22122 October 2021Ljudski vrt6,6000–0Rep.31 August 2021Stožice3,500Rep.309 April 2022Ljudski vrt8,250Rep.2113 February 2022Stožice750Rep.2022–2347 August 2022Ljudski vrt7,000Rep.1315 October 2022Stožice8,000Rep.2219 February 2023Ljudski vrt9,611Rep.3116 April 2023Stožice9,129Rep.2023–24173 December 2023Ljudski vrt7,500Rep.816 September 2023Stožice5,380Rep.3511 May 2024Ljudski vrt10,460Rep.2617 April 2024Stožice6,345Rep.2024–25625 August 2024Ljudski vrt9,6501–1Rep.1510 November 2024Stožice9,8450–0Rep.249 March 2025Ljudski vrt9,500Rep.333 May 2025Stožice9,000Rep.2025–261623 November 2025Ljudski vrt8,9001–1Rep.731 August 2025Stožice5,500Rep.349 May 2026Ljudski vrt6,500Rep.258 March 2026Stožice6,7000–0Rep.2026–271431 October 2026Ljudski vrt515 August 2026Stožice6,0001–1Rep.3224 April 2027Ljudski vrt2320 February 2027Stožice • Total: Maribor 26 wins (38%), 27 draws (39%), Olimpija 16 wins (23%).
Slovenian Cup SeasonRoundLegDateVenueAttendanceHostScoreWinnerReport2007–08Quarter-final24 October 2007Ljudski vrt3,500MariborRep.2009–10Round of 1621 October 2009ŽŠD Ljubljana1,700OlimpijaRep.2012–13Quarter-finalFirst27 February 2013Stožice4,000OlimpijaRep.Second6 March 2013Ljudski vrt5,000MariborRep.2013–14Semi-finalFirst26 March 2014Ljudski vrt7,000MariborRep.Second2 April 2014Stožice4,000Olimpija1–1Rep.2016–17Semi-finalFirst5 April 2017Stožice6,000OlimpijaRep.Second12 April 2017Ljudski vrt10,500Maribor1–1Rep.2017–18Quarter-finalFirst11 November 2017Stožice7,000OlimpijaRep.Second29 November 2017Ljudski vrt3,000Maribor1–1Rep.2018–19Final30 May 2019Stadion Z'dežele (N)8,623OlimpijaRep.2022–23Final6 May 2023Stadion Z'dežele (N)9,217OlimpijaRep. • Series won: Maribor 4 (50%), Olimpija 4 (50%).
Slovenian Supercup SeasonDateVenueAttendanceHostScoreWinnerReport20128 July 2012Ljudski vrt4,150OlimpijaRep.20137 July 2013Arena Petrol (N)1,800 MariborRep. • Series won: Maribor 2 (100%), Olimpija 0 (0%).
Statistics The table below is accurate as of match played 15 August 2026. Mariborwins Draws Olimpijawins 1. SNLAt Maribor home 13At Olimpija home 14Total27 Slovenian CupAt Maribor home 2At Olimpija home 1Neutral field 0Total3 Slovenian SupercupAt Maribor home 0At Olimpija home 0Neutral field 0Total0 Total8330
League ranking The head-to-head ranking table shows the results of NK Maribor and NK Olimpija, when they played in the same division. Maribor's positions are marked with a purple background, while Olimpija's positions are marked with a green background. Position2009–102010–112011–122012–132013–142014–152015–162016–172017–182018–192019–202020–212021–222022–232023–242024–252025–2612345678910 • Total: Maribor 12 times higher (71%), Olimpija 5 times higher (29%).
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