NK Svoboda Ljubljana


Nogometni klub Svoboda Ljubljana, commonly referred to as NK Svoboda Ljubljana or simply Svoboda, is a Slovenian football club from Ljubljana which plays in the Slovenian Third League.

History

The club was formed as ŠD Svoboda in 1952 and was known as one of the best Slovenian clubs during the time of SFR Yugoslavia. It started in lower rangs, but then merged with Grafičar, took its place in Slovenian League and played under that name until 1962. The most successful years came in the seventies, when the club was playing in Yugoslav Second Division under the sponsorship of Mercator, national food market company. In 1971 they have won the Slovenian Republic League for the first time and earned a promotion to the Yugoslav Second Division West, where they played until 1982, with the exception of three triumphal republic seasons.
During this period they have also won two cup titles in 1976 and 1978. Therefore, they participated in the Yugoslav Cup in the next two seasons, in the latter they were eliminated by Borac Banja Luka in the Round of 16.
After the independence of Slovenia in 1991, Svoboda played in the Slovenian PrvaLiga for three seasons, finishing in 11th, 6th, and 13th place. In 1994 the club was replaced by Slavija with many players leaving from them to Vevče. Svoboda then played several seasons in lover divisions, before returning to the scene in 2003, when they were promoted to the Slovenian Second League. They have played there for three seasons, scoring the best result in the 2004–05 season with third place, which was not enough to secure promotion, due to Slovenian First League being decreased to ten teams. In the next two seasons Svoboda was relegated from the second and third division, having serious financial troubles. The club was taken over by NK Interblock in 2008 to become their feeder team for youth selections, but this collaboration lasted only one season. Svoboda started on their own again in 2009. In 2018, Svoboda returned to the Slovenian Third League after they won a promotion play-off against Žiri.

Managers

Honours

League
Cup
SeasonLeaguePositionPtsPWDLGFGACup
1991–921. SNL1140401412145155Round of 64
1992–931. SNL638341410103833Quarter-finals
1993–941. SNL13233095163159First round
1994–952. MNZ LJ1281813234320First round
1995–961. MNZ LJ3482615384833x
1996–971. MNZ LJ3452514385433x
1997–983. SNL2422511954121x
1998–993. SNL3472614577850x
1999–20003. SNL11262668123439x
2000–013. SNL933268993234x
2001–023. SNL3472613854532x
2002–033. SNL1622519517623x
2003–042. SNL8343297164847x
2004–052. SNL3613318785233First round
2005–062. SNL9252774162633First round
2006–073. SNL11292691523959x
2007–082. MNZ LJ8212070134050x
2008–09xxxxxxxxxx
2009–102. MNZ LJ1381612227122x
2010–11Regional1562617546027x
2011–123. SNL – West14222657142349x
2012–13Regional2552617456431x
2013–14Regional8322695124450x
2014–15Regional628199193331x
2015–16Regional2442214265234x
2016–17Regional4402212464231x
2017–18Regional1582218406518x
2018–193. SNL – Centre6322771194452x
Totals1. SNL0 Titles1011043727401201470 Cups