2011–12 NK Maribor season

The 2011–12 season was the 52nd season in the history of NK Maribor and the club's 21st consecutive season in the Slovenian PrvaLiga since the league establishment in 1991. The team participated in the Slovenian PrvaLiga, Slovenian Football Cup, UEFA Champions League, and UEFA Europa League. The season covers the period from 1 June 2011 to 31 May 2012. Darko Milanič was a head coach of the club.

NK Maribor

2011–12 season
President	Drago Cotar
Head Coach	Darko Milanič
Stadium	Ljudski vrt
Slovenian League	Winners
Slovenian Cup	Winners
Slovenian Supercup	Runners-up
Champions League	Third qualifying round
Europa League	Group stage
Top goalscorer	League: Dalibor Volaš (17) All: Dalibor Volaš (24)
Highest home attendance	12,500 vs Olimpija (30 October 2011)
Lowest home attendance	1,000 vs Triglav (2 October 2011) and vs Gorica (23 November 2011)
Average home league attendance	3,800[1]
Home colours Away colours

The 2011–12 season was one of the most successful in history of the club as Maribor won the domestic double, having won the league and cup title. In addition, Maribor became the first Slovenian club that qualified to the UEFA Europa League. They have also finished the season as runners-up of the 2011 Slovenian Supercup.

Supercup

The 2011 Slovenian Supercup was the seventh edition of the Slovenian Supercup, an annual football match contested by the winners of the previous season's Slovenian PrvaLiga and Slovenian Cup competitions. The match was played on 8 July 2011, in Ljudski vrt stadium between 2010–11 Slovenian PrvaLiga winners Maribor and 2010–11 Slovenian Cup winners Domžale. Both teams contested for their second Supercup title.[2] The match was played by the best two teams of the 2010–11 season. During the course of that season Maribor was a league champion with Domžale being the only serious contender through most of the season, eventually finishing as runners up.[3] The two teams were the only ones in the league that earned 20 or more victories, with Maribor achieving 21 and Domžale 20.[3] In addition, both teams were part of the Slovenian cup final, held on Stožice stadium in Ljubljana and won by Domžale with the score 4–3 after regulation.[4] The match is arguably one of the best cup finals ever held, since the competition was first introduced during the 1991–92 season.[4]

Domžale won the 2011 Slovenian Supercup with the score 2–1 after regulation and became the most successful team in history of the competition as the only club with more than one victory.[5] This was the second consecutive victory for Domžale over Maribor in domestic cup finals in five weeks, after winning the Slovenian cup in May 2011.[5] Controversies arose at the end of the match as Zlatko Zahovič, Maribor's director of football, publicly stated that Maribor was not allowed to win and was disappointed with some of the main referee's decisions in second half, especially the one in 82nd minute when a clear penalty[6][7] was not ruled in favour of his club.[8] Maribor later made an official press statement expressing their concerns with the referees regarding the club's upcoming league season.[9]

8 July 2011 Final	Maribor	1–2	Domžale	Maribor
20:45 CET	Ibraimi  59' Vidović  90+3'	Report	Juninho  9' Apatič  45' Knezović  51'	Stadium: Ljudski vrt Attendance: 2,500 Referee: Matej Jug

Colour key: Green = Maribor win; Yellow = draw; Red = opponents win.

Slovenian League

July–September

Marcos Tavares, team captain during the 2011–12 season

Maribor began their campaign at Ljudski vrt stadium on 16 July against Gorica, with Aleš Mertelj captaining his side after the absence of Marcos Tavares.[10] A header from Aris Zarifović in the 67th minute put Gorica ahead but the home side responded late in the second half with the goals from Nebojša Kovačević (own goal) and Dejan Mezga, which were enough for the first win of the season.[3] The team faced Nafta Lendava in their first away match of the season with Slovenia international goalkeeper, Jasmin Handanović, between the posts for the first time after his signing with the club.[11] A late goal in the 88th minute from Nafta was merely a consolation, as Maribor was at the time already leading with two goals difference and the match eventually finished with the score 2–1.[11] The result was identical in the next round when Maribor defeated Rudar Velenje at home, with all three goals being scored in the final twenty minutes of the game.[12]

The club's good form continued in their next away match against Triglav as they achieved their fourth straight 2011–12 victory (2–0)[13] and topped the league table for the first time of the season.[14] During the next round their run was stopped with a goalless home draw against the two times champions, Domžale.[15] In the week that followed Maribor played another home match, this time against their rivals Mura 05. The team proved to be too strong against the visiting side, a team that played in the second division during the previous season, and comfortably won the match with the score 6–0.[16] Dalibor Volaš, Etien Velikonja and Agim Ibraimi each scored two goals.[17] Days later club legend Ante Šimundža left the club and became the head coach of Mura 05.[18] Saša Gajser replaced Šimundža as an assistant coach at Maribor.[18] Immediately after their victory over Mura 05 the team traveled to Edinburgh where they faced Scottish champions Rangers in the second leg of the UEFA Europa League play-offs. The match in Scotland ended with a score 1–1 and Maribor proceeded to the next round with the score 3–2 on aggregate, thus becoming the first Slovenian club that qualified to the group stages of the Europa League. They were on the road again less than 72 hours after the historic night when they faced their "eternal" rivals Olimpija, the team considered as Maribor's main contender for the 2011–12 title, at the Stožice Stadium in Ljubljana. Unrecognizable during the first half Maribor went down by three goals at halftime and was unable to turn the result back in their favour. Eventually they lost the game 4–1 and sustained their first league defeat of the season.[19] In addition, this was the first loss for Maribor after 17 consecutive league rounds without defeat (2 April 2011 vs Koper).

Due to the international break at the start of September it was almost two weeks before the next round was played. A timeout well needed by the club that played two matches per week for the better part of the season. After the break Maribor bounced back with another home victory, 5–2 against Celje.[20] In the ninth round they salvaged a point against Koper who took the lead twice during the match. The final score at Bonifika stadium was 2–2.[21] After the first quarter of the season Maribor was on first place, with three-point lead over Olimpija.[22] Poor form continued when the club won only one point in matches against Gorica (1–1) and Nafta (2–0). The loss against the side from Lendava was the first home league defeat since 16 March 2011 when Maribor was defeated 1–0, also by Nafta. The final league match in September, against Rudar Velenje, was postponed as Maribor had obligations in the UEFA Europa League where they faced Birmingham City.[23]

October–December

The club began October with a 2–0 home win against Triglav and continued their good form with two away wins, 4–1 over Domžale and 3–1 over Mura 05. With three consecutive victories the team was in high spirits as they faced their rivals Olimpija in the final match of the month. Before the 16th round the visiting team from Ljubljana was tied second on the league table and was four points behind the league leaders from Maribor, who still had a deficit of one game due to their postponed match with Rudar Velenje. The match against Olimpija was played in front of 12,500 spectators, the highest of the season, and after dominating the first phase of the game, Maribor found themselves a man down when in the 22nd minute Dejan Mezga received a straight red card for intentionally hitting an opponent.[24] Soon afterwards Olimpija took the first lead in the match when Davor Škerjanc placed a superb volley shot past the home goalkeeper and into the netting.[24] Although they were with only ten players, Maribor regained their composore and had a couple of great chances until the 45th minute when Olimpija's former member, Agim Ibraimi, scored an equaliser from a shot with his weaker right foot.[24] However, one minute later in the injury time of the first half Olimpija took another lead when Dare Vršič's long effort was saved by Jasmin Handanović, and picked up by Filip Valenčič who easily put the ball into the empty net.[24] During most of the second half Maribor had the upper hand and couple of chances when in the 69th minute Goran Cvijanović scored with an excellent shot from the distance.[24] The home side tried to score the winning goal by the end of the 90th minute, however, the match eventually finished 2–2 with both teams earning a point, maintaining the four-point difference between them on the league table.[24]

In the next round Maribor played against Celje on their Arena Petrol stadium and were losing 2–1 until the late equaliser from Cvijanović in the 88th minute.[25] One minute later Dalibor Volaš scored another goal and Maribor won 3–2, taking important three points with them.[25] On 12 November the team played their postponed match of the 12th round against Rudar Velenje and won in Velenje with the score 3–0, bringing their league advantage to seven points.[26] During the next two rounds the club played two consecutive matches at their Ljudski vrt stadium, both times against teams from the Primorska region, Koper and Gorica. The matches were won by Maribor with the identical score, 2–1. The club's good form continued when they won against Nafta Lendava 3–0 away and against Rudar Velenje 1–0 at home thus finishing the first part of the season strong, with six straight victories. The victory goal against Rudar Velenje was scored by Mezga in the injury time of the second half from a penalty shot.[27] Other clubs did not follow Maribor with their good run and fell behind on the league table.[27] Eventually Maribor went into the winter break with 15 points ahead of Gorica and Olimpija who were tied second on the league table.[27] With 15-point clearance and 15 rounds to be played in the second part of the season, the fans and the media already saw Maribor as the 2011–12 PrvaLiga champions.[28]

March–May

The second part of the season started in early March, after nearly three months pause due to the winter break. Maribor played their first spring match in Kranj where they were surprisingly defeated by Triglav, a team from the bottom of the table. The club then faced Domžale and Mura 05 in two consecutive home matches. Maribor defeated both of them and won all six points available. They then faced their rivals Olimpija at the Stožice Stadium, where the club suffered their highest defeat of the season when they were defeated 4–1 in the seventh round. In front of 8,000 spectators Maribor pressed from the start and Velikonja scored in the sixth minute. The score did not change until early in the second half when Cvijanović increased Maribor's lead, with a superb long distance effort. During the rest of the match, which was at one point suspended for about ten minutes due to crowd trouble, Olimpija tried to make a comeback and in the 88th minute they lowered the score with a penalty shot by Dare Vršič. However, this was not enough as the time eventually ran out and Maribor won with the score 2–1. The club increased their league on the table to over 20 points and it was clear that they were very close in securing their 10th title. Maribor then won their fourth consecutive match when they defeated Celje 3–1, at home. History repeated itself in early April when Maribor traveled to the Primorska region to face Koper and Gorica in two consecutive away games for the second time in the season. Similarly to the two matches in September, Maribor again only managed to win two points in Koper and Nova Gorica. The team bounced back, however, and managed to win the next seven consecutive matches, making the longest winning run of any club during the 2011–12 Slovenian PrvaLiga season. During this period Maribor scored 26 goals and conceded only four. In addition, the run included two dominant home victories over Nafta 6–0 and Triglav 8–0, and also a 3–2 victory over Olimpija. The win over Triglav in the 31st round also secured the title and Maribor became the first club in history of the PrvaLiga, who won the title with five rounds remaining.

During the final round of the season, Maribor played at home against Koper, who needed a win to secure their third-place finish and thus qualify to the UEFA Europa League in the next season. The team from Koper had the desired score when they took the lead in the 25th minute, however, their European dreams was shattered in the last minute of the match when Robert Berić's strike from 20 meters caught their goalkeeper by surprise, for the final score 1–1. This was Darko Milanič's fourth season as the head coach of Maribor and he has led the club to their third league title during this period. After the match, the club officials and players took the trophy and carried it on to the southern platform of the stadium, below which thousand of supporters gathered to celebrate the club's record 10th league title. In honor of this achievement, the club added a permanent golden star on top of their crest.

Standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Maribor (C)	36	26	7	3	88	35	+53	85	Qualification to Champions League second qualifying round
2	Olimpija	36	19	8	9	60	38	+22	65	Qualification to Europa League first qualifying round
3	Mura 05	36	18	5	13	52	46	+6	59
4	Koper	36	16	10	10	48	35	+13	58
5	Gorica	36	14	11	11	49	37	+12	53

Source: PrvaLiga website
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champion.

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
36	26	7	3	88	35	+53	85	14	3	1	50	16	+34	12	4	2	38	19	+19

Last updated: 20 May 2012.
Source: [29]

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36
Ground	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H
Result	W	W	W	W	D	W	L	W	D	D	L	W	W	W	W	D	W	W	W	W	W	L	W	W	W	W	D	D	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	D
Position	3	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1

Updated to match(es) played on 20 May 2012. Source: PrvaLiga official website
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

16 July 2011 1	Maribor	2–1	Gorica	Maribor
20:00 CET	Mertelj  43' Arghus  53' Jelić  73' Kovačević  79' (o.g.) Mezga  82' (pen.)	Report	N. Mevlja  42'  63'  M. Mevlja  51' Plut  51' Zarifović  67'  81' A. Jogan  82' Galešić  89'	Stadium: Ljudski vrt Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Vojko Goričan

23 July 2011 2	Nafta Lendava	1–2	Maribor	Lendava
20:00 CET	Korošec  5' Matjašec  45' Polareczki  83'  88' Levačič  90'	Report	Volaš  37' Berić  84'	Stadium: Športni park Lendava Attendance: 1,500 Referee: Stanko Preradovič

30 July 2011 3	Maribor	2–1	Rudar Velenje	Maribor
20:00 CET	Trajkovski  47' Velikonja  69' Črnic  80'	Report	Mujaković  36' Rotman  74' Djokić  88'	Stadium: Ljudski vrt Attendance: 1,200 Referee: Dragoslav Perić

6 August 2011 4	Triglav Kranj	0–2	Maribor	Kranj
18:00 CET	Stjepanović  59' Najdenov  66' Đurković  74'	Report	Vidović  11' Trajkovski  22' Berić  36'  44' Mezga  69' (pen.)	Stadium: Stanko Mlakar Stadium Attendance: 700 Referee: Roberto Ponis

13 August 2011 5	Maribor	0–0	Domžale	Maribor
20:00 CET	Mejač  68' Črnic  73' Ibraimi  88'	Report	Drevenšek  37' Vidmar  88' Zec  90+2'	Stadium: Ljudski vrt Attendance: 2,500 Referee: Darko Čeferin (1HT); Sašo Habjanič (2HT)

21 August 2011 6	Maribor	6–0	Mura 05	Maribor
19:00 CET	Volaš  29', 69' Velikonja  35', 53' Ibraimi  37', 60'	Report	Janža  62' Kouter  85'	Stadium: Ljudski vrt Attendance: 3,500 Referee: Dejan Balažič

28 August 2011 7	Olimpija	4–1	Maribor	Ljubljana
19:00 CET	Lovrečič  19' Čadikovski  34' Radujko  39' Sretenović  65' Vršič  85'	Report	Milec  28' Ibraimi  62' Volaš  73' Tavares  76'	Stadium: Stožice Attendance: 8,000 Referee: Damir Skomina

10 September 2011 8	Maribor	5–2	Celje	Maribor
20:00 CET	Mezga  22', 82' Arghus  25'  54' Tavares  32' Volaš  67' Mertelj  90+2'	Report	Močivnik  6' Bezjak  30' Gobec  33' Akakpo  75'	Stadium: Ljudski vrt Attendance: 1,500 Referee: Bojan Mertik

18 September 2011 9	Koper	2–2	Maribor	Koper
20:00 CET	Bubanja  18' Gavrič  29' Djukić  51'  58' Aganović  78' Bagarić  88' Handanagić  90+1'	Report	Lesjak  26'  38' Mejač  32' Viler  37' Tavares  64'	Stadium: Bonifika Attendance: 1,300 Referee: Davor Drečnik

21 September 2011 10	Gorica	1–1	Maribor	Nova Gorica
20:00 CET	Širok  34' Vicente  69' M. Mevlja  71' Plut  65'	Report	Trajkovski  17' Filipović  50' Mertelj  61' Tavares  90'	Stadium: Sports Park Attendance: 800 Referee: Roberto Ponis

25 September 2011 11	Maribor	0–2	Nafta Lendava	Maribor
18:00 CET		Report	Gabriel  11' Caban  48'  87' Raduha  68' Jovanović  76'	Stadium: Ljudski vrt Attendance: 4,500 Referee: Darko Čeferin

12 November 2011 12	Rudar Velenje	0–3	Maribor	Velenje
16:00 CET	Jeseničnik  23' Črnčič  58'  69'	Report	Volaaš  35', 74' Arghus  65' Velikonja  90+3'	Stadium: Ob Jezeru Attendance: 1,800 Referee: Jože Vehar

2 October 2011 13	Maribor	2–0	Triglav Kranj	Maribor
18:00 CET	Rajčević  9' Arghus  10' Mezga  40' Velikonja  53' Filipović  63' Berić  75' Tavares  87'	Report	Smolej  64' Dolžan  69' Burgar  74'	Stadium: Ljudski vrt Attendance: 1,000 Referee: Damir Skomina

15 October 2011 14	Domžale	1–4	Maribor	Domžale
20:00 CET	Balkovec  15' Rems  21' Horvat  55'	Report	Tavares  22' Filipović  45' Volaš  62' Mezga  63' Milec  90+5'	Stadium: Sports Park Attendance: 2,100 Referee: Miran Bukovec

23 October 2011 15	Mura 05	1–3	Maribor	Murska Sobota
15:00 CET	Fajić  14'  15' Janža  26'	Report	Berić  44' Mezga  76' Cvijanović  90+2'	Stadium: Fazanerija Attendance: 5,000 Referee: Matej Jug

30 October 2011 16	Maribor	2–2	Olimpija	Maribor
18:00 CET	Mezga  22' Mertelj  35' Volaš  41' Ibraimi  45'  45' Rajčević  58' Cvijanović  68'	Report	Fink  22' Škerjanc  28' Ranić  43' Valenčič  45+4' Džafić  68' Jović  80'	Stadium: Ljudski vrt Attendance: 12,500 Referee: Darko Čeferin

6 November 2011 17	Celje	2–3	Maribor	Celje
15:00 CET	Đaković  20' Krljanović  72'  83'  Pavlovič  74' Radulović  86' Romih  88'	Report	Cvijanović  7', 88' Filipović  22' Majer  47' Mertelj  53' Milec  73' Volaš  89'	Stadium: Arena Petrol Attendance: 2,500 Referee: Dragoslav Perić

19 November 2011 18	Maribor	2–1	Koper	Maribor
17:00 CET	Volaš  33' Mezga  45'  88' Trajkovski  51'	Report	Linić  24' Guberac  32'  36' Palčič  53'	Stadium: Ljudski vrt Attendance: 1,200 Referee: Miran Bukovec

23 November 2011 19	Maribor	2–1	Gorica	Maribor
17:30 CET	Majer  38' Volaš  73' Cvijanović  78' Mezga  90+1'	Report	Gregorič  34' Plut  39' Kovacevic  73' Galešić  83' Jogan  90+3'	Stadium: Ljudski vrt Attendance: 1,000 Referee: Dejan Balažič

27 November 2011 20	Nafta Lendava	0–3	Maribor	Lendava
15:00 CET	Matjašec  84'	Report	Volaš  34' Rajčević  36' Potokar  39' Majer  42' Tavares  54' Arghus  62' Filipović  72'	Stadium: Športni park Lendava Attendance: 1,000 Referee: Matej Jug

4 December 2011 21	Maribor	1–0	Rudar Velenje	Maribor
16:00 CET	Milec  89' Mezga  90+3' (pen.)	Report	Majcen  84' Mujakovič  89' Dedič  89'	Stadium: Ljudski vrt Attendance: 1,500 Referee: Mitja Žganec

4 March 2012 22	Triglav Kranj	2–1	Maribor	Kranj
13:00 CET	Pokorn  3' Jelar  29' Đurić  56' Đurković  60'  60' Burgar  90'	Report	Volaš  90+4'	Stadium: Stanko Mlakar Stadium Attendance: 1,600 Referee: Dejan Balažič

10 March 2012 23	Maribor	2–1	Domžale	Maribor
16:00 CET	Velikonja  37' Volaš  61' Milec  76'	Report	Zec  14' Živec  45' Knezović  62' Skubic  81'	Stadium: Ljudski vrt Attendance: 3,000 Referee: Miran Bukovec

17 March 2012 24	Maribor	3–1	Mura 05	Maribor
17:30 CET	Cvijanović  23' Mejač  36' Ibraimi  44', 46'	Report	Horvat  34' Fajić  76' Sreš  80'	Stadium: Ljudski vrt Attendance: 4,000 Referee: Mitja Žganec

21 March 2012 25	Olimpija	1–2	Maribor	Ljubljana
18:00 CET	Ivelja  23' Nikezić  26' Jović  57' Vršič  88' (pen.)	Report	Velikonja  6' Filipović  30' Milec  40' Cvijanović  53' Handanović  63' Ibraimi  90+2'	Stadium: Stožice Attendance: 8,000 Referee: Damir Skomina

25 March 2012 26	Maribor	3–1	Celje	Maribor
17:00 CET	Velikonja  17' Filipović  26' Cvijanović  47' Tavares  65' (pen.)	Report	Romih  13' Centrih  65' Kapič  79' Krajcer  89'	Stadium: Ljudski vrt Attendance: 3,500 Referee: Darko Čeferin

1 April 2012 27	Koper	2–2	Maribor	Koper
17:00 CET	Brečević  14', 65' Struna  33' Palčič  55' Aganović  63' Blažič  87'	Report	Velikonja  5' Tavares  80' Volaš  87'	Stadium: Bonifika Attendance: 2,300 Referee: Bojan Mertik

4 April 2012 28	Gorica	0–0	Maribor	Nova Gorica
18:00 CET	Kovačevič  53' Zarifovič  74'	Report	Berić  41' Viler  51'	Stadium: Sports Park Attendance: 500 Referee: Dragoslav Perić

7 April 2012 29	Maribor	6–0	Nafta Lendava	Maribor
18:00 CET	Volaš  2' (pen.) Ibraimi  27'  28' Viler  39' Tavares  61', 73' Berić  88'	Report	Osaj  1' Dolinar  18' S. Vinko  76'	Stadium: Ljudski vrt Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Mitja Žganec

14 April 2012 30	Rudar Velenje	0–2	Maribor	Velenje
18:00 CET	Krefl  1' Novaković  11'	Report	Lesjak  13'  65' Mezga  64' Berić  79'	Stadium: Ob Jezeru Attendance: 1,400 Referee: Damir Skomina

23 April 2012 31	Maribor	8–0	Triglav Kranj	Maribor
17:30 CET	Velikonja  15', 17', 69' Ibraimi  36', 81' Šušteršič  42' (o.g.) Rajčević  56' Volaš  89'	Report	Stjepanović  9' Krcić  65'	Stadium: Ljudski vrt Attendance: 4,500 Referee: Roman Glažar

27 April 2012 32	Domžale	0–2	Maribor	Domžale
19:00 CET	Balkovec  42'	Report	D. Topič  50' (o.g.) Ibraimi  57' Cvijanović  60'	Stadium: Sports Park Attendance: 1,000 Referee: Miran Bukovec

6 May 2012 33	Mura 05	1–3	Maribor	Murska Sobota
16:00 CET	Bohar  24' (pen.) Kous  34' Travner  79'	Report	Mertelj  18'  23' Vidović  23'  47'  Arghus  56' Volaš  71'	Stadium: Fazanerija Attendance: 3,700 Referee: Emir Huselja

12 May 2012 34	Maribor	3–2	Olimpija	Maribor
20:00 CET	Filipović  14' Volaš  32' Mejač  41' Velikonja  42', 57'	Report	Vršič  27' Jović  40' Lovrečič  63' Ivelja  71' Bešić  90'	Stadium: Ljudski vrt Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Dragoslav Perić

17 May 2012 35	Celje	1–2	Maribor	Celje
18:00 CET	Bezjak  10' (pen.) Krajcer  16' Kovjenić  32'	Report	Vidović  5' Arghus  10' Mezga  16' (pen.), 68' Lesjak  59'	Stadium: Arena Petrol Attendance: 400 Referee: Sašo Habjanič

20 May 2012 36	Maribor	1–1	Koper	Maribor
17:00 CET	Ibraimi  42' Velikonja  57' Berić  89'	Report	Pučko  25'  85' Đukić  43' Handanagić  48' Palčič  67' Žibret  82'	Stadium: Ljudski vrt Attendance: 9,000 Referee: Darko Čeferin

Colour key: Green = Maribor win; Yellow = draw; Red = opponents win.

Slovenian Cup

Maribor entered the 2011–12 Slovenian Cup in the second round (Round of 16), in which they were drawn to face Adria Miren of the Slovenian third division. The two teams met in Miren, a small town in the Primorska region near the Italian border, and Maribor won 2–0 with plenty of missed opportunities. They then faced another third division side, Zavrč, in the quarter-final. The match was played over two legs, the first leg being played in Zavrč. Maribor quickly found themselves in trouble when they faced a surprising two-goal deficit within 28 minutes of play. They then fought back and with the goal from Željko Filipović they finished the first half, losing 2–1. Zavrč scored their third goal at the start of the second half to take a 3–1 lead before Maribor staged a comeback with goals from Etien Velikonja and Dragan Jelić, for the final score 3–3. In the second leg, in front of 4,500 spectators, Maribor dominated throughout the match, but only managed to score once for the final score 1–0, thus qualifying in the semi-final with the score 4–3 aggregate.

The club then faced Rudar Velenje in the semi-final. The first leg was played in Velenje on 11 April 2011 and Maribor quickly showed why they were considered favourites, when Etien Velikonja scored early in the match. However, the home side equalised with a goal from Leon Črnčič in the 22nd minute and 1–1 was the final score of the first half. During the second Maribor went forward and started creating chances. This tactic capitalized during a span of eight minutes, from 57th to 65th, when Maribor scored three goals (Mejač, Velikonja, Ibraimi) for a comfortable three-goal lead. Eventually, the home side managed to score again in the 81st minute for the final score 4–2 in favour of the guests. The second leg was played one week later at Ljudski vrt stadium, and, after a 2–2 score after first half, Maribor again prevailed in the second, scoring twice for another 4–2 victory and an aggregate score 8–4. Velikonja again showed his good form with another two goals in the competition.

8 October 2011 Round of 16	Adria	0–2	Maribor	Miren
15:30 CET		Report	Lesjak  25' Volaš  53'	Stadium: Pri Štantu Stadium Attendance: 700 Referee: Andrej Žnidaršič

26 October 2011 Quarter-finals 1st leg	Zavrč	3–3	Maribor	Zavrč
15:00 CET	Lenart  15' Murat  28' Murko  31' Darmopil  37' Šnajder  50'  87' Kuserbanj  89'	Report	Filipović  33'  35' Velikonja  56' (pen.) Jelić  73' Trajkovski  79'	Stadium: Zavrč Sports Park Attendance: 1,500 Referee: Mitja Žganec

16 November 2011 Quarter-finals 2nd leg	Maribor	1–0 (4–3 agg.)	Zavrč	Maribor
18:00 CET	Velikonja  76'	Report	Filipovič  19' Gabrovec  27, 60'  Letonja  59'	Stadium: Ljudski vrt Attendance: 4,500 Referee: Nejc Kajtazović

11 April 2012 Semi-finals 1st leg	Rudar Velenje	2–4	Maribor	Velenje
18:00 CET	Črnčič  15'  22' Rotman  80' Majcen  81'	Report	Velikonja  7', 61' Mejač  57' Ibraimi  65'	Stadium: Ob Jezeru Attendance: 1,400 Referee: Matej Jug

18 April 2012 Semi-finals 2nd leg	Maribor	4–2 (8–4 agg.)	Rudar Velenje	Maribor
17:30 CET	Berić  10' Ibraimi  15' Milec  48' Velikonja  18', 81' Tavares  90'	Report	Rotman  9' Klinar  37' Novaković  65'	Stadium: Ljudski vrt Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Dragoslav Perić

23 May 2012 Final	Celje	2–2 (a.e.t.) (2–3 p)	Maribor	Ljubljana
20:45 CSET	Ristovski  15' Medved  22' Romih  36'  36' Kapić  59' Gobec  86' Verbić  92'  92' Kotnik T.  110' Moćić  119'	Report	Mejač  36' Volaš  46' Viler  88' Cvijanović  94' Črnic  99' Volaš  110' Ibraimi  113'  117'	Stadium: Stožice Attendance: 4,132 Referee: Matej Jug
	Penalties
	Verbič Gobec Bezjak Romih Centrih		Cvijanović Rajčević Volaš Mejač Tavares

Colour key: Green = Maribor win; Yellow = draw; Red = opponents win.

UEFA Champions League

Qualified as the 2010–11 Slovenian PrvaLiga champions, Maribor started their European campaign in the second qualifying round of the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League against Dudelange from Luxembourg, a team that advanced through the first qualifying round with a 4–0 aggregate victory over Santa Coloma.[30] The first match between Maribor and Dudelange was played in Ljudski vrt stadium and won by Maribor with the score 2–0; Arghus and Ibraimi were the goalscorers.[31] Seven days later the team played a rematch with the Luxembourg side and comfortably achieved another victory (3–1), thus qualifying to the next round.[32] They then faced Israeli Premier League champions Maccabi Haifa, in the first meeting in European competitions between Maribor and a team from Israel.[33] The match was lost 3–2 on aggregate, relegating Maribor to the Play-off round of the UEFA Europa League, where they faced a home draw against the Scottish Premier League champions Rangers.[34]

Second qualifying round

13 July 2011 First leg	Maribor	2–0	Dudelange	Maribor, Slovenia
20:00 CET	Berić  18' Arghus  36' Ibraimi  45' Mertelj  90+4'	Report Report	Melisse  56' Caillet  58' Legros  77' Abdullei  85' Joubert  90+4'	Stadium: Ljudski vrt Attendance: 5,500 Referee: Veaceslav Banari (Moldavia)

19 July 2011 Second leg	Dudelange	1–3 (1–5 agg.)	Maribor	Dudelange, Luxembourg
18:00 CET	Caillet  7'  75'  Da Mota  54'  70'  76'  Wiggers  89'	Report Report	Mezga  27', 76' (pen.) Arghus  50' Berić  72'	Stadium: Stade Jos Nosbaum Attendance: 1,152 Referee: Adrian Azzopardi (Malta)

Colour key: Green = Maribor win; Yellow = draw; Red = opponents win.

Third qualifying round

27 July 2011 First leg	Maccabi Haifa	2–1	Maribor	Haifa, Israel
20:05 CET	Dvalishvili  8' (pen.) Golasa  50' Yampolsky  70' Vered  81' Davidovich  84'	Report Report	Arghus  7' Tavares  27' Cvijanović  87'	Stadium: Kiryat Eliezer Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Artur Manuel Ribeiro Soares Dias (Portugal)

3 August 2011 Second leg	Maribor	1–1 (2–3 agg.)	Maccabi Haifa	Maribor, Slovenia
20:45 CET	Mezga  29' Tavares  32' Mejač  53'	Report Report	Vered  10' Buljat  16' Twatiha  19' Meshumar  75' Dvalishvili  78'	Stadium: Ljudski vrt Attendance: 12,000 Referee: Said Ennjimi (France)

Colour key: Green = Maribor win; Yellow = draw; Red = opponents win.

UEFA Europa League

Handanović

Arghus

Rajčević

Mejač

Viler

Filipović

Mertelj

Mezga

Ibraimi

Berić

Volaš

The 2011–12 UEFA Europa League starting lineup that beat Rangers 2–1 in Maribor.

It was the second time in European competitions that Maribor played against Rangers as the two clubs have faced each other during the 2001–02 UEFA Champions League second qualifying round, when the side from Glasgow easily prevailed with the score 6–1 aggregate.[35] One decade later the two teams met in a crucial two-legged qualifiers that would determine which club would advance into group stage of the UEFA Europa League. First leg was played at the Ljudski vrt stadium in Maribor and after suffering by a goal deficit at halftime, the home side turned the score around with two goals in the second to win the match 2–1.[36] Maribor's second goal of the night came from a back-heel kick by Etien Velikonja during the final seconds of injury time.[36] It later turned out that the goal from Velikonja was decisive as the second leg at Ibrox Stadium finished with the score 1–1.[37] Maribor thus qualified to the group stages of the UEFA Europa League for the first time in their history.[38] The match in Scotland was played on 25 August, the same date as the twelve years earlier when Maribor defeated Lyon and qualified to the elite UEFA Champions League.[39]

For their first appearance in the Europa League, Maribor was drawn into Group H together with 2010–11 runners up Braga, 1975–76 runners up Club Brugge and English Championship side Birmingham City, which qualified to the competition as the winners of the 2011 Football League Cup. The club won one point in six matches, eventually finishing at the bottom of the table. Their campaign started in Bruges against Club Brugge. The home side showed their quality in the opening minutes and quickly took a two-goal lead, which was enough for their 2–0 victory. Maribor then played their first home match against Birmingham City and fared well during the first hour when they were leading 1–0 from a first half goal by Dalibor Volaš. The English side, however, bounced back with two goals in the final 30 minutes and won the match 2–1. Almost a month later Maribor played their second consecutive home match, this time against Braga. Agim Ibraimi's strike in the 14th minute gave the home side a lead until Elderson equalised in the final seconds of the first half. The goal was controversial as it was scored from an offside position. Both teams failed to score a decisive goal in the second half and the match finished as a draw, giving Maribor their first point.

Moments before the opening kickoff between Maribor and Birmingham City

Early in November the team traveled to Portugal to face Braga for the second time. There they were outplayed from the start as the Portuguese team took a two-goal lead within the ten-minute mark, with another first-half goal coming from Elderson in the 38th minute. During the second half, Maribor showed a better performance, with Volaš reducing the home lead in the 62nd minute. Minutes later Ibraimi had a chance to bring his side to a one-goal deficit; however, his free kick strike hit the crossbar. During the final minutes Braga scored two more goals for a 5–1 victory. The club then made headlines across Europe when they hosted Club Brugge at the Ljudski vrt stadium. During much of the match Maribor showed one of their best performances of the season, taking a 3–0 lead in the 68th minute with two goals coming from Volaš and an own goal by Ryan Donk. The score stayed the same until the goal by Nabil Dirar in the 74th minute, which started a comeback for the Belgians. Soon afterwards Dirar scored his second, followed by a goal from Joseph Akpala and by the 82nd minute the score was 3–3. Club Brugge then pressed forward in hopes of scoring a winning goal, which would bring them a much needed three points in their battle for promotion. The goal came in the final seconds of the match and was scored by Donk who corrected his mistake in the 51st minute when he was responsible for an own goal. Without a chance for promotion, Maribor played their last Europa League match of the season at the St Andrew's stadium in Birmingham. The poor performance on the pitch produced one goal from the home side and Birmingham City won the match 1–0, with both teams concluding their European campaign of the season.

Play-off round

18 August 2011 First leg	Maribor	2–1	Rangers	Maribor, Slovenia
20:45 CET	Ibraimi  52' Mejač  53' Arghus  80' Velikonja  90+2'	Report Report	Juanma  31' Naismith  37' Lafferty  81'	Stadium: Ljudski vrt Attendance: 11,000 Referee: Manuel Gräfe (Germany)

25 August 2011 Second leg	Rangers	1–1 (2–3 agg.)	Maribor	Glasgow, Scotland
20:30 CET	Juanma  45+2' Bocanegra  76' Healy  81' Lafferty  86' Broadfoot  89'	Report Report	Arghus  43' Volaš  55' Ibraimi  64' Handanović  86' Viler  90+1'	Stadium: Ibrox Attendance: 32,223 Referee: Aleksandar Stavrev (Macedonia)

Colour key: Green = Maribor win; Yellow = draw; Red = opponents win.

Group H

15 September 2011 Matchday 1	Club Brugge	2–0	Maribor	Bruges, Belgium
21:05 CET	Odjidja  7' Dirar  24' Blondel  76' Zimling  83'	Report Report	Filipović  3' Rajčević  10'  85' Ibraimi  64'	Stadium: Jan Breydel Stadion Attendance: 16,668 Referee: Fırat Aydınus (Turkey)

29 September 2011 Matchday 2	Maribor	1–2	Birmingham	Maribor, Slovenia
19:00 CET	Volaš  29' Lesjak  90+2'	Report Report	Ridgewell  44' Burke  64' Elliott  79' Gomis  80'	Stadium: Ljudski vrt Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Tom Harald Hagen (Norway)

20 October 2011 Matchday 3	Maribor	1–1	Braga	Maribor, Slovenia
19:00 CET	Ibraimi  14' Lesjak  64' Trajkovski  66' Mezga  77'	Report Report	Elderson  44' Alan  57' Djamal  84'	Stadium: Ljudski vrt Attendance: 8,000 Referee: Stephan Studer (Switzerland)

3 November 2011 Matchday 4	Braga	5–1	Maribor	Braga, Portugal
21:05 CET	Lima  4'  39' Alan  8' Elderson  38' Barbosa  77' Vinícius  85' Mérida  90+1'	Report Report	Mezga  35' Milec  61' Volaš  62'	Stadium: Estádio Municipal de Braga Attendance: 7,185 Referee: Leontios Trattou (Cyprus)

30 November 2011 Matchday 5	Maribor	3–4	Club Brugge	Maribor, Slovenia
19:00 CET	Volaš  11', 68' Tavares  45+2' Cvijanović  49' Donk  51' (o.g.) Mertelj  89'	Report Report	Rafaelov  35' De Jonghe  42' Donk  45+2'  90' Dirar  74'  90' Volaš  77' (o.g.) Akpala  82'	Stadium: Ljudski vrt Attendance: 8,000 Referee: Libor Kovařik (Czech Republic)

15 December 2011 Matchday 6	Birmingham City	1–0	Maribor	Birmingham, England
21:05 CET	Gomis  11' Rooney  24' Murphy  70'	Report Report	Vidović  51' Arghus  60'	Stadium: St Andrew's Attendance: 21,436 Referee: Sascha Kever (Switzerland)

Colour key: Green = Maribor win; Yellow = draw; Red = opponents win.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Club Brugge	6	3	2	1	12	9	+3	11	Advance to knockout phase
2	Braga	6	3	2	1	12	6	+6	11
3	Birmingham City	6	3	1	2	8	8	0	10
4	Maribor	6	0	1	5	6	15	−9	1

Source:

Squad statistics

Key

Players No. = Shirt number Pos. = Playing position GK = Goalkeeper DF = Defender MF = Midfielder FW = Forward

Nationality = Brazil = Croatia = Macedonia = Slovenia

Competitions Apps = Appearances = Yellow card = Red card

Key

	The player was selected in the official 2011–12 Slovenian PrvaLiga team of the season
♦	The player was the top scorer in the respective competition

Appearances and goals

Correct as of 23 May 2011, end of the 2011–12 season. Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. The players squad numbers, playing positions, nationalities and statistics are based solely on match reports in Matches section above and the official website of NK Maribor. Only the players, which made at least one appearance for the first team, are listed.

List of Maribor players, who represented the team during the 2011–12 season, and displaying their statistics during that timeframe

No.	Pos.	Name	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
			League		Cup		Supercup		Champions League		Europa League		Total
2^[B]	MF	Matic Črnic	13	1	4	1	—	—	—	—	1	0	18	2
4	DF	Jovan Vidović	12	0	3	0	1	0	2	0	1	0	19	0
5	MF	Željko Filipović	26	0	4	1	1	0	3	0	5	0	39	1
6	DF	Martin Milec	24	1	3	0	1	0	3	0	6	0	37	1
7	DF	Aleš Mejač	20	0	5	1	—	—	4	0	2	0	31	1
8	MF	Dejan Mezga	19	10	2	0	1	0	4	2	8	0	34	12
9	FW	Marcos Tavares	31	10	6	1	1	0	4	2	7	0	49	13
10	MF	Agim Ibraimi	27	9	4	1	1	1 ♦	3	1	8	2	43	14
11	FW	Etien Velikonja	30	14	5	6 ♦	1	0	3	0	4	1	43	21
12	GK	Marko Pridigar	10	0	3	0	1	0	2	0	—	—	16	0
13	GK	Matej Radan	—	—	1	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	0
17	FW	Dalibor Volaš	34	17	5	2	1	0	3	0	8	5	51	24
20	MF	Goran Cvijanović	33	8	6	0	1	0	4	0	7	0	51	8
22	DF	Nejc Potokar	17	0	1	0	—	—	—	—	5	0	23	0
24	DF	Dejan Trajkovski	15	0	1	0	—	—	1	0	4	0	21	0
26	DF	Aleksander Rajčević	33	1	4	0	1	0	4	0	6	0	48	1
27	FW	Alen Ploj	—	—	2	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	2	0
28	DF	Mitja Viler	16	1	3	0	1	0	1	0	4	0	25	1
29	MF	Timotej Dodlek	1	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	0
30	MF	Petar Stojanović	2	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	2	0
31	MF	Zoran Lesjak	17	2	4	1	—	—	—	—	4	0	25	3
32	FW	Robert Berić	28	6	4	1	1	0	4	1	7	0	44	8
33	GK	Jasmin Handanović	26	0	2	0	—	—	2	0	8	0	38	0
36	DF	Aleš Majer	6	0	1	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	7	0
44	DF	Arghus^[C]	15	3	4	0	—	—	3	1	7	0	29	4
55	MF	Rajko Rep	2	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	2	0
61	FW	Dragan Jelić	2	0	2	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	4	1
70	MF	Aleš Mertelj	31	2	5	0	1	0	4	0	8	0	49	2
90	MF	Gabriel	2	0	—	—	—	—	1	0	—	—	3	0

Discipline

Correct as of 23 May 2011, end of the 2011–12 season. Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. The players squad numbers, playing positions, nationalities and statistics are based solely on match reports in Matches section above and the official website of NK Maribor. If a player received two yellow cards in a match and was subsequently sent off the numbers count as two yellow cards, one red card. Only the players, which received at least one yellow or red card, are listed

List of Maribor players, who represented the team during the 2011–12 season, and displaying their statistics during that timeframe

No.	Pos.	Name
			League		Cup		Supercup		Champions League		Europa League		Total
2^[B]	MF	Matic Črnic	1	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	0	0	1	0
4	DF	Jovan Vidović	4	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	6	1
5	MF	Željko Filipović	8	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	10	0
6	DF	Martin Milec	4	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	6	0
7	DF	Aleš Mejač	4	0	1	0	—	—	1	0	1	0	7	0
8	MF	Dejan Mezga	4	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	0	7	1
9	FW	Marcos Tavares	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	0
10	MF	Agim Ibraimi	5	0	3	1	0	0	0	0	2	0	10	1
11	FW	Etien Velikonja	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
17	FW	Dalibor Volaš	3	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
20	MF	Goran Cvijanović	1	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	4	0
22	DF	Nejc Potokar	1	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	0	0	1	0
24	DF	Dejan Trajkovski	4	0	1	0	—	—	0	0	1	0	6	0
26	DF	Aleksander Rajčević	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	4	1
28	DF	Mitja Viler	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	3	0
31	MF	Zoran Lesjak	3	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	2	0	5	0
32	FW	Robert Berić	3	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	4	0
33	GK	Jasmin Handanović	1	0	0	0	—	—	0	0	1	0	2	0
36	DF	Aleš Majer	3	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	3	0
44	DF	Arghus^[C]	5	0	0	0	—	—	2	0	4	0	11	0
61	FW	Dragan Jelić	1	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	0
70	MF	Aleš Mertelj	3	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	5	1

Transfers and loans

Summer transfer window

Transfer	Position	Name	Nat.	From / last	To	Note
Transfer out	DF	Luka Krajnc		Maribor	Genoa	Undisclosed transfer fee; alleged to be around €0,9 million[40]
Transfer out	FW	Armend Sprečo		Maribor	Mura 05	Released by the club[41]
Loan in	FW	Dalibor Volaš		Sheriff	Maribor	Loan until 1 June 2012[42]
Transfer in	MF	Agim Ibraimi		Nafta Lendava	Maribor	Free agent[43]
Transfer in	DF	Arghus^[C]		SE River Plate	Maribor	Free agent[44]
Transfer out	MF	Tomislav Pavličić		Maribor	Cibalia	Released by the club[45]
Transfer out	FW	Liridon Osmanaj		Maribor	Domžale	Free agent[46]
Loan out	FW	Alen Ploj		Maribor	Aluminij	Loan until 1 June 2012[47] (double registration)
Loan out	DF	Mitja Rešek		Maribor	Heerenveen	Loan until 1 June 2012[48]
Transfer in	GK	Jasmin Handanović		Empoli	Maribor	Free agent[49]
Loan out	MF	Rajko Rep		Maribor	Mura 05	Loan until 1 June 2012[50]
Loan out	MF	Timotej Dodlek		Maribor	Mura 05	Loan until 1 June 2012[50]
Transfer in	MF	Zoran Lesjak		Nafta Lendava	Maribor	Undisclosed transfer fee; alleged to be around €0,15 million[51]
Loan out	MF	João Gabriel da Silva		Maribor	Nafta Lendava	Loan until 1 June 2012[51]

Winter transfer window

Transfer	Position	Name	Nat.	From / last	To	Note
Loan out	DF	Matic Črnic		Maribor	Dravinja	Loan until 1 June 2012[52] (double registration)
Loan out	DF	Matjaž Kek		Maribor	Dravinja	Loan until 1 June 2012[52] (double registration)
Transfer out	FW	Dragan Jelić		Maribor	Mura 05	Released by the club[53]

Footnotes

• ^A Knockout matches which were decided on penalty kicks are listed as a draw.
• ^B Matic Črnic started the season with the number 2 on his jersey and changed it to 92 during the winter break.[54]
• ^C Arghus holds a dual citizenship of Brazil and Italy.[55]

See also

• List of NK Maribor seasons

References

1. "Statistični pregled 2011–12" (in Slovenian). Slovenian PrvaLiga. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
2. NZS. "Superpokal: Dosedanji zmagovalci" [Supercup: Previous winners] (in Slovenian). Football Association of Slovenia official website. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
3. Sportal (29 May 2011). "Svečano v LV, Nafti obstanek" [Ceremonially in LV, Nafta stayed up] (in Slovenian). Siol. Archived from the original on 1 June 2011. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
4. Sportal (25 May 2011). "Domžalčanom pokalni prvenec" [Domzale won the cup for the first time] (in Slovenian). Siol. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
5. Sportal (8 July 2011). "Tudi Domžalčani v Mariboru do superpokala" [Domzale won Supercup in Maribor] (in Slovenian). Siol. Archived from the original on 9 July 2011. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
6. T.V. (8 July 2011). "V Ljudskem vrtu rajanje Domžalčanov" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
7. Rok Plestenjak (8 July 2011). "Domžalam lovorika, sodniku Jugu žvižgi" [Trophy to Domzale, Jug gets booed] (in Slovenian). Siol. Archived from the original on 10 July 2011. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
8. Rok Plestenjak (9 July 2011). "Zahovič: Maribor ne sme biti prvi" [Zahovic: Maribor is not allowed to be first] (in Slovenian). Siol. Archived from the original on 10 July 2011. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
9. "Napake in namerne napake" (in Slovenian). NK Maribor official website. 9 July 2011. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
10. STA (16 July 2011). "Prvaki s preobratom do zmage" (in Slovenian). SIOL. Archived from the original on 20 August 2011. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
11. STA (23 July 2011). "Handanovič pri Mariboru debitiral z zmago" [Handanovic debuted with a win] (in Slovenian). SIOL. Archived from the original on 20 August 2011. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
12. STA (30 July 2011). "Dobra Mariborska popotnica za Maccabi" [Good Maribor's prospect for Maccabi] (in Slovenian). Siol. Archived from the original on 21 August 2011. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
13. STA (6 August 2011). "Maribor še naprej stoodstoten" (in Slovenian). Siol. Archived from the original on 19 August 2011. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
14. STA (7 August 2011). "Olimpija do točke, Maribor na vrhu" [Olimpija to the point, Maribor on top] (in Slovenian). Siol. Archived from the original on 21 August 2011. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
15. STA (19 August 2011). "Domžale prekinile vijoličasti niz" [Domzale ended Maribor's winning streak] (in Slovenian). Siol. Archived from the original on 24 August 2011. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
16. Sportal (21 August 2011). "Maribor spet navdušil, Olimpiji zmaga" [Maribor impressed again, Olimpija won] (in Slovenian). Siol. Archived from the original on 20 August 2011. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
17. STA (21 August 2011). "Evropski Maribor ponižal Muro" [European Maribor humiliated Mura] (in Slovenian). SIOL. Archived from the original on 20 August 2011. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
18. Miran Zore (24 August 2011). "Šimundža uradno v Muri" (in Slovenian). Nogomania. Retrieved 20 September 2011.
19. Rok Plestenjak (28 August 2011). "Razigrana Olimpija nadigrala Maribor" (in Slovenian). Siol. Archived from the original on 29 August 2011. Retrieved 20 September 2011.
20. M.R. (10 September 2011). "Lepa zmaga Maribora pred potjo v Brugge" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
21. M.R. (18 September 2011). "Maribor v Kopru dvakrat zaostajal, a izvlekel točko" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
22. Rok Plestenjak (19 September 2011). "Maribor dobil bitko, ne pa še vojne" [Maribor won the battle, but not yet the war] (in Slovenian). Siol. Retrieved 20 September 2011.
23. "Maribor in Rudar 16. novembra" (in Slovenian). Nogomania. 13 October 2011. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
24. M.L. (30 October 2011). "Maribor z igralcem manj do točke v večnem derbiju" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
25. A.V. (6 November 2011). "Maribor v dveh minutah do popolnega preobrata" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
26. "Maribor že na plus sedem" [Maribor is seven points clear] (in Slovenian). Siol. 12 November 2011. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
27. Š.Ro. (4 December 2011). "1. SNL: vijolični jesenski del sklenili s prednostjo 15 točk" (in Slovenian). Delo. Retrieved 29 April 2012.
28. Rok Plestenjak (29 February 2012). "Trenerji enotni: prvak bo Maribor" [Managers are unified: Maribor will be a champion] (in Slovenian). Siol. Retrieved 29 April 2012.
29. "Analiza lestvice – 2011–12" (in Slovenian). Slovenian PrvaLiga. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
30. Sportal (6 July 2011). "Mariborčani z Luksemburžani, napredovala še Valletta" [Maribor with Luxembourg team, Valletta advanced as well] (in Slovenian). Siol. Retrieved 15 July 2011.
31. Rok Viškovič (12 July 2011). "Maribor zanesljivo in neprepričljivo" [Maribor reliably, but unconvincingly] (in Slovenian). Siol. Retrieved 15 July 2011.
32. STA (19 July 2011). "Maribor zanesljivo čez Dudelange" [Maribor reliably over Dudelange] (in Slovenian). Siol. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
33. Rok Plestenjak (22 July 2011). "Izraelce čaka v Ljudskem vrtu pekel" [Israelis awaits for the hell of Ljudski Vrt] (in Slovenian). Siol. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
34. Spletno uredništvo (5 August 2011). "Stari znanci: Maribor bo igral z Glasgow Rangersi" (in Slovenian). Večer. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
35. R. K., M. R. (5 August 2011). "Maribor po desetih letih spet z Rangersi, "Sarma" za LP na noge Arsenalu" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
36. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/14486506.stm
37. "Gers crash out of Europe". Sky Sports. 25 August 2011. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
38. Sportal (25 August 2011). "Maribor še drugič spisal zgodovino" [Maribor wrote history for the second time] (in Slovenian). Siol. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
39. Rok Viškovič (26 August 2011). "Najpomembnejši dan v zgodovini Maribora" (in Slovenian). Siol. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
40. Rok Viškovič (14 April 2011). "Krajnc je spisal zgodovino" [Krajnc wrote history] (in Slovenian). Siol. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
41. Uredništvo (1 February 2012). "Karič spet aktiviran" [Karic activated again] (in Slovenian). Nogomania.com. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
42. Miran Zore (2 December 2011). "Volaša bi odkupili nazaj" [They would bought Volas back] (in Slovenian). Nogomania. Retrieved 2 December 2011.
43. "Podpisal tudi Agim Ibraimi" [Agim Ibraimi signed as well] (in Slovenian). NK Maribor official website. 10 June 2011. Retrieved 10 June 2011.
44. "Tretji Brazilec v LV" [Third Brazilian in LV] (in Slovenian). NK Maribor official website. Retrieved 4 July 2011.
45. "Tomislav Pavličić se vratio u Cibaliju" [Pavlicic returned to Cibalia] (in Croatian). tportal.hr. 6 July 2011. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
46. Dario Dotto (3 July 2011). "Obdržali Elsnerja in zvabili mladce" [Keep Elsner and lured youngsters] (in Slovenian). Siol. Archived from the original on 4 July 2011. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
47. "Krško drži korak z vrhom" [Krsko is keeping up with the top] (in Slovenian). Nogomania. 28 August 2011. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
48. Dario Dotto (20 July 2011). "Rešek predstavljen pri Heerenveenu" [Resek introduced in Heerenveen] (in Slovenian). Siol. Retrieved 21 July 2011.
49. "Jasmin Handanovič v Ljudskem vrtu!" [Jasmin Handanovic in Ljudski Vrt] (in Slovenian). Ekipa. 20 July 2011. Retrieved 20 July 2011.
50. Smiljan Kuhar (23 August 2011). "Dodlek in Rep v Muro" [Dodlek and Rep to Mura] (in Slovenian). Nogomania.com. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
51. M. L. (31 August 2011). "Odlični Lesjak okrepil vezno linijo Maribora" [Excellent Lesjak strengthened Maribor's midfield] (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. Retrieved 31 August 2011.
52. "Volaš ostaja, Črnic in Kek k Dravinji" [Volas is staying, Crnic and Kek to Dravinja] (in Slovenian). NK Maribor official website. 7 February 2012. Retrieved 7 February 2012.
53. "Dragan Jelić prekinil pogodbo" [Dragan Jelic's contract terminated] (in Slovenian). NK Maribor official website. 27 February 2012. Retrieved 28 February 2012.
54. NK Maribor. "Črnic z novo številko" (in Slovenian). nkmaribor.com. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
55. "Tretji Brazilec v LV" [Third Brazilian in LV] (in Slovenian). NK Maribor official website. Retrieved 6 July 2011.