- FC Koper
-
Luka Koper 
Full name Football Club Koper Nickname(s) The Canaries (Kanarčki) Founded 1955 Ground Bonifika,
Koper
(Capacity: 4,010)Chairman 
Aldo BabičManager 
Milivoj BračunLeague 1.SNL 2010–11 3rd 
Home colours
Away coloursFC Koper is a Slovenian football club, playing in the town of Koper. The club is one of only three football clubs in the country, the others being Maribor and former Olimpija, that won all three domestic competitions (League, Cup, Supercup). The team plays its matches on Bonifika stadium that was built in 2010 and has a capacity of 4,010 seats. Currently the club competes under the name FC Luka Koper due to sponsorship deal with the Port of Koper, Luka Koper.
Contents
History
From the records, it appears that football in Koper was played as early as in the 1920s, but officially, the club took the name NK Koper in the year 1955, when it was formed by the merger of two football teams: Aurora and Meduza. The club played under this name in different Yugoslavian leagues until 1991 and was one of the most successful Slovenian clubs. After Slovenia became independent, the club started to play in the 1.SNL and 2.SNL. At the beginning of the 1990s, the club was achieving mid-table success. By the end of the 1990s, the club had been relegated to the second division twice, had serious financial problems and renamed itself to FC Koper, thereby avoiding the necessity of paying off its debts. With the advent of the new millennium, FC Koper consistently achieved positions in the upper half of the table (achieving third place in the 2001–2002 season, its highest since Slovenian independence). In the 2003–2004 season, they were playing in a European competition for the first time since 1991: the UEFA Intertoto Cup. Two years of mid-table anonymity and significant financial difficulties followed, in part because the former owner, Georg Suban, left substantial debts to the club and took half the team with him when he moved to the other 1.SNL team NK Mura.
The fans took control of the club and tried to improve its finances to save it from going bankrupt and disappearing like three other major Slovenian clubs (NK Olimpija, NK Mura and NK Ljubljana), with reasonable success. In the 2005–2006 season, Mladen Rudonja returned to the club and brought with him the Serbian-American businessman Milan Mandarić, who paid off all the remaining debts. After the first half of the season, before the arrival of the new patron, Koper was battling against relegation, but in the second part of the season, with a new coach, Milivoj Braćun, the club started an unbeaten run that led them to reach the 3rd place in the 1.SNL and to win the Slovenian Cup for the first time, FC Koper's first trophy since the Slovenian independence from Yugoslavia. This also qualified the team to play in the UEFA Cup qualifying rounds in the 2006–2007 season. The following seasons were more difficult, with the club narrowly avoiding relegation in 2009. In the 2009/2010 season, the team was expanded and, under the leadership of veteran playmaker/director-of-football Miran Pavlin eventually won the Slovenian league championship for the first time, winning a place in the UEFA Champions League qualifiers where they succumbed to a spirited 5–4 agg. defeat by NK Dinamo Zagreb (5–1, 0–3). In the aftermath, Pavlin left the club.
- 1955: Fusion from Aurora Koper and Meduza Koper to NK Koper
- 1990: Renaming to FC Koper Capodistria
- 2002: Renaming to FC Koper
- 2003: Renaming to FC Anet Koper
- 2008: Renaming to FC Luka Koper
Stadium
- See main article SRC Bonifika Stadion
The Bonifika is the team's home stadium, which is named after the area where it is situated in the town of Koper. It has a capacity of 4,010 spectators.
Fan base
There are two main supporting groups for FC Koper. The first one, the older, is an ultras group formed in 1987 and it goes by the name of Tifozi Koper. It is the oldest ultras group in Slovenia and it is known for its unconditional loyalty to FC Koper. The second group, formed in March 2002, is a fan group called 12. Kopra.
Current squad
As of 11 November 2011[update]
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
No. Position Player 1 GK Ermin Hasić 2 DF Denis Šme 3 MF Urban Žibert 5 DF Miha Blažič (Captain) 6 DF Enes Handanagić 7 MF Ivica Guberac 8 MF Siniša Linić 9 FW Ivan Brečević 10 MF Srebrenko Posavec 12 GK Matko Obradović 15 MF Marko Vukelič 17 DF Aljaž Struna 18 MF Leo Štulac 20 MF Adnan Aganović No. Position Player 21 GK Igor Nenezić 22 MF Danijel Marčeta 23 DF Denis Perger 25 DF Davor Bagarić 26 MF Dino Stančić 27 DF Damir Hadžić 28 DF Bojan Đukić 29 MF Matej Palčič 30 
DF Filip Timov 32 FW Davor Bubanja 35 FW Milan Osterc 49 MF Matej Pučko 70 MF Doris Kelenc For recent transfers, see List of Slovenian football transfers summer 2009.
Managers
Manager Period Lučo Pertič 1982–85 Dragan Popadić 1985–87 Milan Miklavič 1987–90 Branko Zupan 1990–92 Vlado Klinčarovski 1992–94 Marijan Jantoljak 1994–95 Predrag Stilinović 1995–96 Vladan Mladenović / Edi Pobega 1996–97 Branko Zupan / Vlado Badžim 1997–98 Marin Kovačić / Tone Hrovatič 1998–99 Branko Zupan 1999–00 Branko Oblak 2000–01 Nenad Gračan 2001–02 Milivoj Bračun 2002–03 Igor Benedejčič 2003–04 Borut Jarc / Ivan Marjon 2004–05 Samir Zulić / Milivoj Bračun / Borut Jarc 2005–06 Milivoj Bračun / Borut Jarc 2006 Vlado Badžim 2007–08 Nedžad Okčič 2008–2010 Primož Gliha 2010–11 Vlado Badžim 3 May 2011–16 August 2011 Milivoj Bračun 2011– Honours
Total titles: 4
League
- Slovenian Championships:
-
- Winners (1): 2009/10
- Runners-up (1): 2007/08
Cup
- Slovenian Cup:
- Slovenian Supercup:
-
- Winners (1): 2010
- Runners-up (1): 2007
League Positions
- 1984/85: 1. place (Slovenian League)
- 1985/86: 2. place (Yugoslav Amateur League)
- 1986/87: ?
- 1987/88: 1. place (Slovenian League)
- 1988/89: 1. place (Yugoslav inter-republic League)
- 1989/90: 1. place (Yugoslav inter-republic League)
- 1990/91: ?
- 1991/92: 8. place (1.SNL)
- 1992/93: 8. place (1.SNL)
- 1993/94: 7. place (1.SNL)
- 1994/95: 11. place (1.SNL)
- 1995/96: 6. place (2.SNL)
- 1996/97: 10. place (1.SNL)
- 1997/98: 2. place (2.SNL)
- 1998/99: 11. place (1.SNL)
- 1999/00: 1. place (2.SNL)
- 2000/01: 6. place (1.SNL)
- 2001/02: 3. place (1.SNL)
- 2002/03: 5. place (1.SNL)
- 2003/04: 4. place (1.SNL)
- 2004/05: 11. place (1.SNL)
- 2005/06: 3. place (1.SNL)
- 2006/07: 6. place (1.SNL)
- 2007/08: 2. place (1.SNL)
- 2008/09: 8. place (1.SNL)
- 2009/10: 1. place (1.SNL)
- 2010/11: 3. place (1.SNL)
Koper in European Cups
Koper goals always listed first.
Score results denote: "Home, Away".Season Competition Round Land Club Score 2002 Intertoto Cup 1R 
Helsingborgs IF 0–1, 0–0 2003 Intertoto Cup 1R NK Zagreb 1–0, 2–2 2R 
ZTS Dubnica 1–0, 2–3 3R 
Egaleo FC Athene 3–2, 2–2 1/2 
SC Heerenveen 0–2, 1–0 2006–07 UEFA Cup 1Q 
PFC Litex Lovech 0–1, 0–5 2007–08 UEFA Cup 1Q 
NK Siroki Brijeg 1–3, 2–3 2008–09 UEFA Cup 1Q 
Vllaznia Shkodër 1–2, 0–0 2010–11 UEFA Champions League 2Q Dinamo Zagreb 1–5, 3–0 2011–12 UEFA Europa League 1Q 
Shakhter Karagandy 1–1, 1–2 External links
- (Slovene) Unofficial FC Koper website, forum FCKOPER.NET
- (Slovene) Official FC Koper website
- (Slovene) 12. Kopra website
- (Slovene) Official Football Association of Slovenia website
Slovenian First League 2011–12 teams Former teams Associated competitions Seasons 1991–92 · 1992–93 · 1993–94 · 1994–95 · 1995–96 · 1996–97 · 1997–98 · 1998–99 · 1999–2000 · 2000–01 · 2001–02 · 2002–03 · 2003–04 · 2004–05 · 2005–06 · 2006–07 · 2007–08 · 2008–09 · 2009–10 · 2010–11 · 2011–12Categories:- Slovenian football clubs
- Yugoslav football clubs
- Association football clubs established in 1955
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