Celje Pivovarna Lasko
Encyclopedia
Celje Pivovarna Laško is a handball
club from Celje
, Slovenia
. They were the winners of the Champions League
in the 2003-04 season, becoming European club champions. The team plays its home matches in the Zlatorog Arena
, a 6,000 capacity handball arena in Celje. The club is famous for its passionate and devoted supporters, led by the organised fan group Florijani.
was played in the year 1942. After World War II
, handball became the most popular sport in this Slovenian town. By May 1945, there were already two established teams in Celje: Celje and Olimp. The two teams were city rivals and played multiple matches against each other. Therefore, the year 1946 is marked as the official beginning of handball in Celje.
In 1947, the two rival teams finally united to form a new, central sports society, Športno društvo Kladivar. Among the 21 sports that were incorporated in this association, was the handball club. The first season of the national league began in 1949, and Celje won the first title amongst the competition of six other teams without a defeat. The winning streak continued until 1954; with an exception of a single draw against other Slovenian teams. The knowledge and skill of the game was successfully transferred from a former German national handball player and a WWII POW Fritz Knoffler, and thanks to him, the Celje handball club was already one of the best in former Yugoslavia
. The first Yugoslavian league season where Celje handball club participated, was in 1950. But nevertheless, interest in the sport of large arena handball was slowly dying down in the 1950s. Most of the teams then turned to a small arena handball, which was becoming increasingly popular. The first generation of Celje players started to practice small arena handball, and played their first game on concrete, on the open, in front of the local railway station. They played against Ljubljana
handball club and won with staggering 43:4. In 1953, the first such league season in Yugoslavia had begun, but the Celje team only took a disappointing last place among the six teams.
The Celje handball club wasn't so successful as anticipated, for they were playing in a regional league until 1961, when after two failed qualifications in 1959 and 1960, finally managed to enter the First Republic (Slovenian) League. With this event, the rise of the small arena handball (handball as we know it today) in Celje began.
In the meantime, talented players from the youngster team of Celje (such as Persinger, Telič, the Goršič brothers etc.) led by Jože Kuzma with the help of Tone Goršič and Franc Ramskugler had become 4 time consecutive vice-champions of the youngster First Republican League.
In the winter of 1964, the new city rivals-ŽRK Celje and Partizan Celje, unified once again under the name of ŽRK Celje. In the same year, ŽRK Celje became the Slovenian vice-champion. One year later, they won the Slovenian national cup against their arch rivals, Ljubljana
, with the score of 17:11. In the new 1965/66 season, Celje finally became the Slovenian republic first league champions, and after successful qualifications one season later in Slavonski Brod
, finally became members of the elite First Yugoslavian Federal Handball League. The maiden season in the first Yugoslavian league wasn't so successful, as Celje was relegated back to the republic league (the Slovenian First Republican league was basically the Yugoslavian second division), but managed to come back to the first league the following season. Jure Koren was the first Celje player who was drafted in the Yugoslavian national team. Celje managed to stay in the first division for three seasons, when it was once again relegated to a newly established Second Yugoslavian Federal Handball League in 1971. Tone Goršič and Franc Ramskugler created a new generation of players, such as Peunik, Luskar, Mrovlje and others, with the support of more experienced players such as Marguc, Koren, Levstik and Pucko. The Celje team was playing in the second division for four full seasons, gaining valuable experience and skill. The work on the young players had paid of, for in 1976, in the new Arena Golovec, the Celje team beat Veleš
in the qualifications, and once again became a member of the first division. The success of regaining a place amongst the elite obviously had a positive impact, because the Celje team managed to come to three Yugoslavian Cup finals, although all three of them were lost to Partizan
in 1976, Medveščak
in 1978 and Metaloplastika in 1980. The star of this successful team was Vlado Bojovič
, who was also successful in the national team, where he played 108 matches scoring 124 goals. He was the captain of the national team nine times, and participated on two world cups in 1978 and 1982. He was also part of the team on 1976 Montreal Summer Olympics, making him the most successful Slovenian player, who played for Celje. The youngster team of Celje, on the other hand, were already the first division champions in 1977, 1979, 1980 and 1982, and vice-champions in 1976, 1978, 1981, 1987 and 1988.
In 1978 the sponsorship of the team was in Aero
hands. After two consecutive 7th places in the first division, Celje was again relegated in the 1978/79 season, came back in 1983/84 season, but was relegated back into the second division the same year. A seven year crisis occurred, when Celje was struggling even in the second division until the season 1988/89, when they were preparing a new, better team, which would be capable of regaining a position in the first division.
In 1990, the sponsor became Pivovarna Laško (Laško Brewery
), which hugely contributed to the prosperity of the club. Pivovarna Laško is still the sponsor of the team. In the 1990/91 season, the team smoothly won the second division and once again formally came into the first Yugoslavian league. The celebrations of the Celje players lasted for only a month, for Slovenia
declared its independence from Yugoslavia
on June 26, 1991. The next day JLA
tanks stormed into Slovenia and Yugoslavia
was no more.
The years of 1991 to 2000 Celje Pivovarna Laško dominated the domestic league, winning every season. To contribute to that, the youngsters had won 17 trophies in the mentioned nine years.
Representatives of Celje, such as Turnšek and Jug, were the most active in the creation of the newly formed Rokometna Zveza Slovenije (Slovenian Handball Federation). The first match of the Slovenian national team was played in the Arena Golovec on March 18, 1992. The vast majority of the national team consisted of players from Celje Pivovarna Laško.
League
Cup
International
Team handball
Handball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team...
club from Celje
Celje
Celje is a typical Central European town and the third largest town in Slovenia. It is a regional center of Lower Styria and the administrative seat of the Urban Municipality of Celje . The town of Celje is located under Upper Celje Castle at the confluence of the Savinja, Ložnica, and Voglajna...
, Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
. They were the winners of the Champions League
EHF Champions League
The EHF Champions League is the most important professional club handball competition in Europe . The competition was started in the 1956–57 season, and is administered by the European Handball Federation.The most successful teams are from Germany and Spain...
in the 2003-04 season, becoming European club champions. The team plays its home matches in the Zlatorog Arena
Zlatorog Arena
Zlatorog Arena is an indoor sporting arena located in Celje, Slovenia. The capacity of the arena is 6,000 and was opened in 2003. It hosts the home games of Celje Pivovarna Laško team handball club.-External links:* of the management company ZPO Celje...
, a 6,000 capacity handball arena in Celje. The club is famous for its passionate and devoted supporters, led by the organised fan group Florijani.
History
The first handball match in CeljeCelje
Celje is a typical Central European town and the third largest town in Slovenia. It is a regional center of Lower Styria and the administrative seat of the Urban Municipality of Celje . The town of Celje is located under Upper Celje Castle at the confluence of the Savinja, Ložnica, and Voglajna...
was played in the year 1942. After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, handball became the most popular sport in this Slovenian town. By May 1945, there were already two established teams in Celje: Celje and Olimp. The two teams were city rivals and played multiple matches against each other. Therefore, the year 1946 is marked as the official beginning of handball in Celje.
In 1947, the two rival teams finally united to form a new, central sports society, Športno društvo Kladivar. Among the 21 sports that were incorporated in this association, was the handball club. The first season of the national league began in 1949, and Celje won the first title amongst the competition of six other teams without a defeat. The winning streak continued until 1954; with an exception of a single draw against other Slovenian teams. The knowledge and skill of the game was successfully transferred from a former German national handball player and a WWII POW Fritz Knoffler, and thanks to him, the Celje handball club was already one of the best in former Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
. The first Yugoslavian league season where Celje handball club participated, was in 1950. But nevertheless, interest in the sport of large arena handball was slowly dying down in the 1950s. Most of the teams then turned to a small arena handball, which was becoming increasingly popular. The first generation of Celje players started to practice small arena handball, and played their first game on concrete, on the open, in front of the local railway station. They played against Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
handball club and won with staggering 43:4. In 1953, the first such league season in Yugoslavia had begun, but the Celje team only took a disappointing last place among the six teams.
The Celje handball club wasn't so successful as anticipated, for they were playing in a regional league until 1961, when after two failed qualifications in 1959 and 1960, finally managed to enter the First Republic (Slovenian) League. With this event, the rise of the small arena handball (handball as we know it today) in Celje began.
In the winter of 1964, the new city rivals-ŽRK Celje and Partizan Celje, unified once again under the name of ŽRK Celje. In the same year, ŽRK Celje became the Slovenian vice-champion. One year later, they won the Slovenian national cup against their arch rivals, Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
, with the score of 17:11. In the new 1965/66 season, Celje finally became the Slovenian republic first league champions, and after successful qualifications one season later in Slavonski Brod
Slavonski Brod
Slavonski Brod is a city in Croatia, with a population of 59,507 in 2011. The city was known as Marsonia in the Roman Empire, and as Brod na Savi 1244–1934. It is the sixth largest city in Croatia, after Zagreb, Split, Rijeka, Osijek and Zadar. Located in the region of Slavonia, it is the...
, finally became members of the elite First Yugoslavian Federal Handball League. The maiden season in the first Yugoslavian league wasn't so successful, as Celje was relegated back to the republic league (the Slovenian First Republican league was basically the Yugoslavian second division), but managed to come back to the first league the following season. Jure Koren was the first Celje player who was drafted in the Yugoslavian national team. Celje managed to stay in the first division for three seasons, when it was once again relegated to a newly established Second Yugoslavian Federal Handball League in 1971. Tone Goršič and Franc Ramskugler created a new generation of players, such as Peunik, Luskar, Mrovlje and others, with the support of more experienced players such as Marguc, Koren, Levstik and Pucko. The Celje team was playing in the second division for four full seasons, gaining valuable experience and skill. The work on the young players had paid of, for in 1976, in the new Arena Golovec, the Celje team beat Veleš
Veles
Veles may refer to:*Veles , Slavic deity*Veles , in the Republic of Macedonia*Veles municipality, in the Republic of Macedonia*Veles, singular of velites, a class of infantry in the early Roman Republic...
in the qualifications, and once again became a member of the first division. The success of regaining a place amongst the elite obviously had a positive impact, because the Celje team managed to come to three Yugoslavian Cup finals, although all three of them were lost to Partizan
Partizan
Partizan is the Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, and Slovene term for a partisan. It is usually used in those languages to denote a member of the World War II resistance movement, the Yugoslav Partisans, which are always mentioned in those languages without the adjective "Yugoslav", i.e...
in 1976, Medveščak
Medvešcak
Medveščak may refer to:* Gornji Grad - Medveščak; city district in Zagreb, Croatia* Medveščak ; neighborhood in the aforementioned city district* Medveščak ; creek running underground below Tkalčićeva Street in Zagreb...
in 1978 and Metaloplastika in 1980. The star of this successful team was Vlado Bojovič
Vlado Bojovic
Vlado Bojović is a former handball player who competed for Yugoslavia in the 1976 Summer Olympics.He was born in Celje.In 1976 he was part of the Yugoslav team which finished fifth in the Olympic tournament. He played four matches and scored two goals.-External links:*...
, who was also successful in the national team, where he played 108 matches scoring 124 goals. He was the captain of the national team nine times, and participated on two world cups in 1978 and 1982. He was also part of the team on 1976 Montreal Summer Olympics, making him the most successful Slovenian player, who played for Celje. The youngster team of Celje, on the other hand, were already the first division champions in 1977, 1979, 1980 and 1982, and vice-champions in 1976, 1978, 1981, 1987 and 1988.
In 1978 the sponsorship of the team was in Aero
Aero
Aero is a Greek prefix relating to flight, and air. It British English it is used as an adjective related to flight , as in "aero engine"Aero may also refer to:-In aeronautics:...
hands. After two consecutive 7th places in the first division, Celje was again relegated in the 1978/79 season, came back in 1983/84 season, but was relegated back into the second division the same year. A seven year crisis occurred, when Celje was struggling even in the second division until the season 1988/89, when they were preparing a new, better team, which would be capable of regaining a position in the first division.
In 1990, the sponsor became Pivovarna Laško (Laško Brewery
Laško Brewery
Laško Brewery is a brewery in the Slovenian town of Laško and the largest brewery of the country.The brewery was founded in 1825 by Franz Geyer, a gingerbread baker and mead producer. After World War II ended in 1945, Laško was the fifth-largest in Yugoslavia...
), which hugely contributed to the prosperity of the club. Pivovarna Laško is still the sponsor of the team. In the 1990/91 season, the team smoothly won the second division and once again formally came into the first Yugoslavian league. The celebrations of the Celje players lasted for only a month, for Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
declared its independence from Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
on June 26, 1991. The next day JLA
Yugoslav People's Army
The Yugoslav People's Army , also referred to as the Yugoslav National Army , was the military of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.-Origins:The origins of the JNA can...
tanks stormed into Slovenia and Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
was no more.
The years of 1991 to 2000 Celje Pivovarna Laško dominated the domestic league, winning every season. To contribute to that, the youngsters had won 17 trophies in the mentioned nine years.
Representatives of Celje, such as Turnšek and Jug, were the most active in the creation of the newly formed Rokometna Zveza Slovenije (Slovenian Handball Federation). The first match of the Slovenian national team was played in the Arena Golovec on March 18, 1992. The vast majority of the national team consisted of players from Celje Pivovarna Laško.
Honours
Total titles: 35League
- Slovenian ChampionshipsSlovenian First League of HandballThe Slovenian First League of Men's Handball is the top men's team handball league in Slovenia. It is organized by the Handball Federation of Slovenia. The league comprises twelve teams.-History:...
:
-
- Winners (17) : 1991/92, 1992/93, 1993/94, 1994/95, 1995/96, 1996/97, 1997/98, 1998/99, 1999/00, 2000/01, 2002/03, 2003/04, 2004/05, 2005/06, 2006/07, 2007/08, 2009/10
- Runners-up (1) : 2001/02
Cup
- Slovenian CupHandball Cup of SloveniaHandball Cup of Slovenia was first played after Slovenian independece in 1991. Most successful clubs are Celje Pivovarna Laško and Krim Ljubljana .-History:...
:
-
- Winners (14) : 1991/92, 1992/93, 1993/94, 1994/95, 1995/96, 1996/97, 1997/98, 1998/99, 1999/00, 2000/01, 2003/04, 2005/06, 2006/07, 2009/10
- Runners-up (3) : 2001/02, 2004/05, 2008/09
- Slovenian Super Cup :
-
- Winners (2) : 2007, 2010
- Yugoslav Cup:
-
- Runners-up (3): 1975/76, 1977/78, 1979/80
International
- EHF Champions LeagueEHF Champions LeagueThe EHF Champions League is the most important professional club handball competition in Europe . The competition was started in the 1956–57 season, and is administered by the European Handball Federation.The most successful teams are from Germany and Spain...
:
-
- Winners (1) : 2003/04
- Semi Final (6) : 1996/97, 1997/98, 1998/99, 1999/00, 2000/01, 2004/05
- EHF Super cup :
-
- Winners (1) : 2004
- Runners-up (1) : 2007
- EHF Cup Winners' Cup :
-
- Semi Final (1) : 2002/03
2010-11 Team
| 1 |  |
Urban Lesjak | Goalkeeper |
| 2 | |
Dejan Čančar | Left Back |
| 3 | |
Nejko Buhtl | Right Wing |
| 5 | |
Jakec Rober | Left Back |
| 7 | |
Renato Vugrinec | Right Back Right Back -Guest Artists:This album features many additional artists, including:* Barrington Levy, performing on "Righteous Dub" & "Saw Red"* H.R., performing on "New Sun"* Dangr, performing on "Kick Down"* Tippa Irie, performing on "Sensi"... |
| 8 | |
Aleš Pajovič | Left Back |
| 9 | |
David Razgor | Left Wing |
| 10 |  |
Alem Toskić | Pivot Team handball Handball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team... |
| 12 | |
Beno Lapajne Beno Lapajne Beno Lapajne is a professional handball player currently playing for the national team of Slovenia as its goalkeeper. He has taken part in many international events including the Athens Olympics in 2004 and Sydney Olympics in 2000.He started his career in the handball club HC Inles - Ribnica... |
Goalkeeper |
| 14 | |
Nikola Kojić | Right Wing |
| 15 | |
Miladin Kozlina | Left Back |
| 16 | |
Aljoša Rezar | Goalkeeper |
| 18 | |
Miha Gorenšek | Pivot Team handball Handball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team... |
| 22 |  |
Marko Koljanin | Right Back Right Back -Guest Artists:This album features many additional artists, including:* Barrington Levy, performing on "Righteous Dub" & "Saw Red"* H.R., performing on "New Sun"* Dangr, performing on "Kick Down"* Tippa Irie, performing on "Sensi"... |
| 23 |  |
Eduard Koksharov | Left Wing |
| 24 | |
Uroš Zorman | Pivot Team handball Handball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team... |
| 25 | |
Predrag Dačević | Pivot Team handball Handball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team... |