Rokometni klub Maribor Branik (), commonly referred to as RK Maribor Branik or simply Branik, is a handball club from Maribor, Slovenia. As of the 2026–27 season, the club competes in the 1. B SRL, the second tier of Slovenian handball. They play their home games at Lukna Sports Hall, a 2,100-capacity multi-purpose sports venue in Maribor. Between 2004 and 2010, the team was known as RK Klima Petek Maribor due to sponsorship reasons. Their biggest success is reaching the final of the Slovenian Handball Cup twice and reaching the quarter-finals of the EHF Cup in the 2012–13 season.

History

Handball in Maribor

The first handball team in Maribor was formed in 1925, when the women's section of the 1. SSK MB played their first Czech handball match at the Ljudski vrt area. The first men's handball team, named Polet, was formed in 1949. They renamed as Branik in 1951, when they participated in the Yugoslav First League qualifiers. In 1954, Branik won their first Slovenian Republic League title, and were promoted to the Yugoslav First League. Between 1955 and 1968, Branik did not achieve any major success and were even relegated to the local Styrian League in 1966, but returned to the top Slovenian division two years later. They were relegated again in 1972, but once again returned in 1979 after spending a few years in the local regional leagues. In 1977, the team merged with Kovinar Tezno to form Maribor. The team was struggling in the next decade and did not achieve any major results. After Slovenia's independence in 1991, the team was reformed with a help from some former handball players, including Marko Šibila, and reached the Third National Handball League (3. DRL).

Maribor Branik In 2003, a new club called Maribor Branik was founded. In their first season, the team was promoted to the 2. DRL East. In 2005–06, they were promoted to the 1. B DRL, where they stayed until the 2008–09 season, when the team was promoted to the top tier Slovenian First League of Handball. In the same year, they also finished third in the Slovenian Handball Cup. In their first season in the top division, they finished eighth and were runners-up of the Slovenian Handball Cup, where they lost to Celje in the final. As runners-up, they gained a place in the 2010–11 EHF Cup Winners' Cup. They reached the quarter-finals, where they lost to the Spanish side San Antonio. In the same season, Branik finished fifth in the league. They again finished fifth in the 2011–12 season, and were eliminated in the quarter-finals of the 2011–12 EHF Challenge Cup by Maccabi Tel Aviv from Israel. The most successful international season for the club was in 2012–13, when they reached the group stages of the EHF Cup, defeating Dudelange, Kópavogs and Siscia in the qualifications. They were drawn in the group with Danish team Tvis Holstebro, Norwegian Elverum and Polish Wisła Płock. With seven points out of six games, Maribor Branik qualified to the quarter-finals of the competition, where they were eliminated by Göppingen with 57–56 on aggregate. In 2013–14 and 2014–15, the club finished third in the Slovenian League, which is their best result since the establishment. The club was about to enter the regional SEHA League alongside Celje and Gorenje in the 2014–15 season, but all three Slovenian clubs refused entry due to unacceptable financial requirements. In the 2016–17 season, Maribor Branik reached the final of the Slovenian Cup for the second time in its history, where they lost to Celje 36–28.

Arena Until 2025, Maribor Branik played its home games at the 3,261-capacity Tabor Hall in the Tabor District of Maribor, with some matches also being played at the club's secondary venue, the Lukna Sports Hall, which can accommodate 2,100 spectators. In early 2025, however, the club permanently moved to the Lukna Sports Hall.

Supporters and rivalries Kristijan Petek, the former president of the club, was the first to organize a fan group which would support the team at home matches. As he was also the owner of the air conditioning company Klima Petek, which was the main sponsor of the club, the fan group consisted mostly of company employees. In 2010, when Andrej Bauman has been appointed a new director of Maribor Branik, the club gained a new group of fans, named Maribor Supporters, which supposedly consisted of the younger members of Viole Maribor, the supporters of football club NK Maribor.

In February 2012, Maribor Supporters chanted a song about the Srebrenica massacre against the Bosnian team Gradačac during the 2011–12 EHF Challenge Cup match. The match was temporarily suspended, and the incident received wide coverage in the Slovenian and Bosnian media. The group was banned by Maribor Branik from attending any home matches, and a police investigation was ordered.

Maribor Branik do not have any major rivals; however, matches between Maribor Branik and RK Celje are dubbed as the Styrian derby (), named after Styria, with Maribor and Celje being the two largest cities in the region. Matches between Maribor Branik and RK Jeruzalem Ormož are also called Styrian derby or Neighbourhood derby ().

Colours, kits and crest During the club's first years, the kit colours were blue, white and black, with the last two also being the traditional colours of the Branik Sports Association. Before the start of the 2011–12 season, Maribor Branik changed its main colour to purple due to the popularity of NK Maribor, the most successful football club in Slovenia, which plays in purple jerseys. A decade later, ahead of the 2021–22 season, the club reverted to white kits for home games and black kits for away games. The club crest is in the form of a shield with a stylized minimalist silhouette of a handball player. In 2012, the colours of the crest were changed from black and white to purple and white.

Season-by-season records SeasonDivisionLeagueCupSupercupEuropean competitionHead coach2003–0443. League3↑———2004–0532. National League13Round of 32——Sebastijan KovačičMilan Šimac2005–0632. National League2↑———Milan ŠimacKristjan Ladič2006–0721. B League5Round of 32——Sebastjan OblakPrimož Hoenigmann2007–0821. B League3Round of 16——Sebastjan Oblak2008–0921. B League2↑Third place——Bojan Čotar2009–101First League8Runners-up——Bojan Čotar2010–111First League5Round of 16Runners-upEHF Cup Winners' CupQuarterfinalsMarko Šibila2011–121First League5Fourth place—EHF Challenge CupQuarterfinalsMarko Šibila2012–131First League4Quarterfinals—EHF CupQuarterfinalsMarko Šibila2013–141First League3Round of 32—EHF CupRound 3Marko Šibila2014–151First League3Round of 32—EHF CupRound 2Marko ŠibilaBoris Denič2015–161First League5Quarterfinals—EHF CupRound 3Boris Denič Slavko Ivezič2016–171First League7Runners-up——Slavko IvezičSebastjan Sovič2017–181First League7QuarterfinalsRunners-up—Marko Šibila2018–191First League4Round of 16——Marko Šibila2019–201First League11Quarterfinals—EHF Challenge CupRound 3Marko ŠibilaDavor Rokavec2020–211First League9Not held——Siniša Markota2021–221First League8Round of 32——Luka Žvižej2022–231First League13↓Quarterfinals——Luka Žvižej2023–2432. National League4Round of 16——Kristijan Ladič2024–2532. National League7Round of 32——Kristijan Ladič2025–2632. National League1↑Round of 32——Kristijan Ladič Notes

Key Promoted ↑Relegated ↓

Maribor Branik in European handball The table includes matches from the official European Handball Federation competitions only. All results (home and away) list Branik's goal tally first.

Competitions QR2 = Second qualification round QR3 = Third qualification round R1 = First round R2 = Second round R3 = Third round L16 = Last 16 QF = Quarter-final G = Group stage

Matches Pld = Number of matches played W = Matches won D = Matches drawn L = Matches lost Win% = Winning percentage

SeasonCompetitionRoundOpponentHomeAwayAggregate2010–11EHF Cup Winners' Cup R3 Karviná28–2233–2861–50 L16 Kolubara32–2740–2672–53 QF Amaya Sport San Antonio28–3427–3555–692011–12EHF Challenge Cup R3 Radnički Kragujevac26–2223–2749–49 (a) L16 Gradačac30–2226–3156–53 QF Maccabi Tel Aviv29–2829–3158–592012–13EHF Cup R1 Dudelange39–2427–2866–52 R2 Kópavogs35–2542–2577–50 R3 Siscia35–2229–3064–52 G Tvis Holstebro31–2726–26Second place(Group C) G Elverum34–2927–30 G Wisła Płock26–2326–30 QF Göppingen26–2630–3156–572013–14EHF Cup QR2 Bregenz37–2325–2662–49 QR3 Tatran Prešov30–2826–3456–62 2014–15 EHF Cup QR2 Kristianstad26–2524–3650–61 2015–16 EHF Cup QR3 Dinamo București27–2625–3152–572019–20EHF Challenge Cup R2 H7131–2424–2555–49 R3 Madeira Andebol SAD20–2323–3143–54

By competition

EHF competitionsCompetitionPldWDLWin%Last season playedEHF Cup ||2015–16EHF Cup Winners' Cup ||2010–11EHF Challenge Cup ||2019–20Total

Honours League Slovenian Championship Third place: 2013–14, 2014–15

Slovenian Second Division Runners-up: 2008–09

Slovenian Third Division Winners: 2025–26 Runners-up: 2005–06

Cup Slovenian Cup Runners-up: 2009–10, 2016–17 Semi-finalist: 2008–09, 2011–12

Slovenian Supercup Runners-up: 2010, 2017

International players The following Maribor Branik players have made at least one appearance for their senior national team.

Bosnia and Herzegovina Duško Čelica Dejan Malinović Marko Tarabochia

Croatia Goran Bogunović Zvonimir Kapular Marino Marić Ivan Pešić Mario Šoštarić Nikola Špelić

Estonia Andris Celminš

Macedonia Renato Vugrinec

Montenegro Mile Mijušković

Serbia Milan Mirković

Slovenia

Darko Cingesar Dragan Gajić Mitja Janc Urh Kastelic Tilen Kodrin Gregor Lorger Borut Mačkovšek Niko Medved Matjaž Mlakar Žiga Mlakar Marko Oštir Simon Razgor Aljoša Štefanič Matic Verdinek Jure Vran Miha Zarabec Dani Zugan Igor Žabić Stefan Žabić Luka Žvižej

Notes

References

External links Official website EHF profile