Full name Nogometni klub Osijek Ground Capacity 18,856 2015–16 Prva HNL, 8th Manager Zoran Zekić Founded 27 February 1947 | Ground Stadion Gradski vrt Chairman Ivan Meštrović Arena/Stadium Stadion Gradski vrt Location Osijek, Croatia | |
Nickname(s) Bijelo-plavi
(The White-blues) League Croatian First Football League Profiles | ||
NK Osijek is a professional football club from Osijek in eastern Croatia. Founded in 1947, it was the club from Slavonia with most seasons in the Yugoslav First League, and, after the independence of Croatia in 1992, it is part of the four clubs that were never relegated from the Croatian First League, the others being Dinamo Zagreb, Hajduk Split and Rijeka.
Contents
Freestyle foci team show at nk osijek
History
NK Osijek's early roots are found in club called NK Udarnik that was formed in 1945 under FPR Yugoslavia's new communist authorities after the dissolution of HŠK Slavija. Slavija was founded in 1916 and competed in several editions of the national league of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia between 1923 and 1940.
In 1946, NK Udarnik and another local club NK Jedinstvo, merged to form a new entity – NK Slavonija. On 2 February 1947, NK Slavonija merged with NK Bratstvo, again creating a new club, NK Proleter, a date that marks the formation of the present club NK Osijek. The club's colours were red and blue, which in the 1970s were changed to white and blue.
The club entered the Yugoslav First League for the first time in 1953. On 1 September 1962, NK Proleter merged with the Boxing and Athletic Club Mladost and formed a multi-sport organisation called Sportsko društvo Slavonija (Slavonija Sporting Society). The football club started competing under the name NK Slavonija.
Until the 1980s, the club played mostly in the Yugoslav Second League. In 1973, Osijek played Zagreb in a play-off for promotion to the First Division. In the second leg in Zagreb, Osijek lost on penalties in front of a record 64,000 attendance. In 1977, the club were promoted to the top division, where with the exception of one season, they remained until the collapse of Yugoslavia. Their best league position was sixth place in 1984.
In 1992, in the first season of the new Croatian league, Prva HNL, Osijek finished third. The next two seasons saw weaker results, but in 1994–95, Osijek's Robert Spehar was the league's top scorer as the club finished third and qualified for the UEFA Cup for the first time. They were eliminated in the first round by Slovan Bratislava, and failed to qualify for Europe again for the next two seasons, before they again finished third, in the 1997–98 season. They were eliminated from the UEFA Cup on away goals by Anderlecht, after winning 3–1 at home and losing 2–0 in Brussels. The same season, led by Jurica Vranjes, Osijek won their first national trophy, the Croatian Cup, beating Cibalia in the final after extra time. Cibalia led 1–0 until Mitu equalized in injury time, and in extra-time Davor Lasić scored a golden goal to win the cup for Osijek. The following season, Osijek lost 6–1 on aggregate to West Ham United in the UEFA Cup and finished in the third place in the league.
In the 2000–01 UEFA Cup, Osijek beat the Danish club Brøndby (2–1 on aggregate) and Rapid Wien (4–1 on aggregate) but were eliminated by Slavia Prague in the third round, when they won 2–0 but were beaten 5–1 in Prague. In 2000, Osijek were the Croatian league's autumn champions, but finished the championship in third place. They equaled their best league finish in the 2007–08 season, finishing third for the sixth time.
The club's most famous former player is Croatia's Davor Šuker, who won the Golden Boot at the 1998 World Cup.
Stadium
NK Osijek host domestic matches at Stadion Gradski vrt which has a capacity of 22,050.
Supporters
The team's fans are known as Kohorta.
Rivalries
Slavonian derby match between the two largest Croatia Football Club from eastern Croatia, Osijek and Cibalia. Each new match these two great rivals, means a great match on the field, but also in the stands where the overruling of Kohorta from Osijek and Ultrasi from Vinkovci.
Honours
In the following table, defunct competitions are listed in italics.
Recent seasons
Key
League: P = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; Pts = Points won; Pos = Final position; Cup / Europe: PR = Preliminary round; QR = Qualifying round; R1 = First round; R2 = Second round; QF = Quarter-final; SF = Semi-final; RU = Runner-up; W = Competition won;Summary
Source: uefa.com, Last updated on 26 July 2012
Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against. Defunct competitions indicated in italics.
By season
Last updated on 26 July 2012
Player records
UEFA club coefficient ranking
(As of 29 September 2016), Source: Bert Kassies website
First-team squad
As of 28 August 2016Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Out on loan
As of 6 January 2016Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Youth academy
NK Osijek Academy are the youth team of NK Osijek. There are a total of six age categories within the academy, the oldest being the Junior Team and youngest being the Limači Team. Among notable academy graduates are Dino Špehar and Domagoj Vida.
Notable players
To appear in this section a player must have:
Years in brackets indicate their spells at the club.
Former managers
incomplete list