The 2017–18 season was the 58th season in the history of Nogometni klub Maribor. It began on 1 June 2017 and concluded on 31 May 2018, with competitive matches played between July and May. It was the first season since 2007–08 in which Maribor did not win a single trophy during the season as the team lost the league title to Olimpija Ljubljana due to worse head-to-head record after finishing with the same number of points (80) in 36 rounds. Olimpija also eliminated Maribor in the quarter-finals of the Slovenian Cup. However, Maribor fared better in European competitions as the team reached the group stages of the UEFA Champions League for the third time in club's history.
32 different players represented the club in three competitions and there were 17 different goalscorers. Maribor's top goalscorer was Marcos Tavares, who scored 22 goals in 47 games.
Transfers In June 2017, Maribor signed Jean-Claude Billong and Jasmin Mešanović, both on a free transfer. Mešanović signed from Bosnian team Zrinjski Mostar, who were Maribor's opponents in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League. Dejan Vokić, Martin Kramarič and Sunny Omoregie returned to squad after their loan spells ended. On 6 August 2017, Maribor signed Martin Milec, who already played for the club between 2010 and 2014. Dare Vršič, who was selected as the best player of the 2016–17 Slovenian PrvaLiga season, has re-signed with Maribor on 29 August 2017 after his previous contract with the club ran out after the 2016–17 season. On the same day, Maribor signed forward Adnan Ahmetović, who was the top goalscorer of the 2016–17 Slovenian U19 League. On the last day of the summer transfer window, Maribor acquired Israeli player Lior Inbrum on a season-long loan from Gent. In December 2017, Maribor announced a two new signings, a Malian defender Kassim Doumbia from FH and a Bosnian goalkeeper Kenan Pirić from Zrinjski. However, Maribor and Zrinjski reached an agreement that Pirić would stay at Zrinjski until the end of the season before joining Maribor in July 2018. On 12 January 2018, Maribor signed a Serbian defender Saša Ivković from Voždovac until 2021 for an undisclosed transfer fee. On 25 January 2018, Maribor acquired the Slovenian under-21 international forward Jan Mlakar from Fiorentina on a free transfer. On 13 February 2018, Maribor signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with Romanian defensive midfielder Alexandru Crețu, who previously played for Maribor's "eternal rivals" Olimpija Ljubljana.
Milivoje Novaković, who scored twelve goals in all competitions during the previous season, has retired. Defender Rodrigo Defendi and midfielder Sintayehu Sallalich have left the club after their contract ran out. On 1 August 2017, Žan Celar transferred to the Italian side Roma for a transfer fee of about €1 million. In December 2017, Jean-Claude Billong moved to the Serie A team Benevento for an undisclosed transfer fee, believed to be around €2 million. In January 2018, Matej Palčič left for Wisła Kraków. On the last day of the winter transfer window, Marwan Kabha signed with Hapoel Be'er Sheva.
In No.PositionPlayerTransferred fromFeeDateRef3DFJean-Claude BillongRudar VelenjeFree transfer5 June 201727FWJasmin MešanovićZrinjski MostarFree transfer21 June 201722DFMartin MilecStandard LiègeUndisclosed6 August 2017FWAdnan AhmetovićKoperFree transfer29 August 201712MFDare VršičFree agentFree transfer29 August 201715DFKassim DoumbiaFHFree transfer13 December 201731DFSaša IvkovićVoždovacUndisclosed12 January 201829FWJan MlakarFiorentinaFree transfer25 January 20188MFAlexandru CrețuOlimpija Ljubljana€100,00013 February 2018
Out No.PositionPlayerTransferred toFeeDateRefDFDamjan VukliševićRudar VelenjeFree transfer27 June 2017DFRobert PušaverRudar VelenjeUndisclosed27 June 201711FWMilivoje NovakovićRetiredFree transfer1 July 20178MFSintayehu SallalichFree agentFree transfer1 July 201722MFDare VršičFree agentFree transfer1 July 201735DFRodrigo DefendiAvesFree transfer12 July 201799FWŽan CelarRoma€1 million1 August 20173DFJean-Claude BillongBenevento€2 million20 December 201729DFMatej PalčičWisła KrakówUndisclosed23 January 20188MFMarwan KabhaHapoel Be'er Sheva€400,00031 January 201872MFDejan VokićTriglav KranjFree transfer15 February 2018
Loans in No.PositionPlayerLoaned fromLoan commencedLoan expiredRef99MFLior InbrumGent31 August 2017January 2018
Loans out No.PositionPlayerLoaned toLoan commencedLoan expiredRefFWAnel HajrićRadomlje5 July 2017End of seasonFWAdnan AhmetovićVeržej1 September 2017January 201818MFSandi OgrinecKrško24 January 2018End of season44DFDenis ŠmeAluminij25 January 2018End of season17FWLuka ŠtorAluminij1 February 2018End of seasonDFMedin BajramiIlirija 19117 February 2018End of season25MFRanko MoravacFužinar19 February 2018End of season14FWSunny OmoregieAlashkert21 February 2018End of season
Slovenian League
The 2017–18 season of the Slovenian PrvaLiga saw 10 teams play 36 matches; four against every other team, with two matches at each club's stadium. Three points were awarded for each win, one point per draw, and none for defeats. At the end of the season the top team qualified for the first qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League; teams in second and third qualified for the qualifying stages of the UEFA Europa League instead. The fixture list was released on 22 June 2017.
July–September
Maribor hosted Aluminij at Ljudski vrt on the opening weekend of the season. Aleks Pihler scored the only goal of the game early in the second half. In the second round, Maribor played against newly promoted Triglav Kranj. After 60 minutes, Triglav were leading 2–0; however, Maribor managed to turn the game around, scoring three goals in the last twenty minutes for a 3–2 victory. One week later, Maribor defeated Rudar Velenje 1–0 for the third consecutive league victory. Maribor ended July in second place with the same number of points (nine) as Olimpija Ljubljana. In the first week of August, Maribor defeated Ankaran Hrvatini 5–1 away from home, topping the league for the first time in the season. In the fifth round, Maribor failed to win a match for the first time in the season after a goalless draw against Domžale. A 95th-minute goal by Aleks Pihler secured three points against Krško in a 3–2 victory. Head coach Darko Milanič has made several changes to the starting lineup with a purpose to rest the players for the return leg of the Champions League play-offs against Hapoel Be'er-Sheva. The first derby of the season between "eternal rivals" Olimpija and Maribor, contested on 27 August 2017 at the Stožice Stadium in Ljubljana, has ended in a goalless draw.
After the international break in early September, Maribor contested in another goalless draw, this time against Celje at home. In the ninth round, a brace from Jasmin Mešanović secured three points against Gorica in a 3–0 victory. Maribor won another game with a score of 3–2 after a comeback in the last twenty minutes, this time against Aluminij; in this match, Lior Inbrum was sent-off on his debut appearance for the club. After two consecutive victories, Maribor contested in yet another goalless draw against Triglav at home.
October–December In October, Maribor played three league games, against Ankaran Hrvatini at home and against Rudar Velenje and Domžale away, narrowly winning all three games, scoring four goals and conceding one. Three out of four team goals were scored by Mešanović. In the first week of November, Maribor secured their highest win of the season after defeating Krško 5–0, with a hat-trick scored by team captain Marcos Tavares and a brace by Aleksander Rajčević. In the second "Eternal derby" of the season on 17 November 2017, Maribor defeated Olimpija 1–0 at home in front of 9,000 spectators with another goal scored by Tavares, topping the league table for the first time since early August. However, in the next round, Maribor suffered their first defeat of the season, losing 2–1 in the "Styrian derby" against Celje. In this match, Tavares scored his 130th goal in the Slovenian top division, tying himself with Štefan Škaper as the all-time top goalscorer in the PrvaLiga. Tavares became the sole record holder when he scored a winning goal in the next round against Gorica in a 2–1 victory. In the last round of the autumn part of the season, Maribor should have played against Aluminij, but the match was postponed to February 2018 due to snowy conditions. Before the winter break, Maribor were top of the league with 43 points out of 18 games.
February–May Maribor began the spring part of the season with a goalless draw at home against Aluminij on 25 February 2018. After the match against Triglav was postponed due to snow, Maribor contested in another home draw against Rudar and dropped to second place by early March, behind their rivals Olimpija. Maribor won their first match in the spring part of the season on 10 March after defeating Ankaran Hrvatini 3–0 with a goals by Dare Vršič, Luka Zahović, and Jasmin Mešanović, before suffering their first home defeat of the season in the next round against Domžale. This was followed by another home defeat, this time against Krško. After the match, during the press conference, Zlatko Zahovič, a Director of Football at Maribor, made a personal attack against the journalist of the sports newspaper EkipaSN, which caused a major controversy among the media and the public. As a result, Zahovič was suspended by the club and the Football Association of Slovenia. In the third "Eternal derby" of the season, Maribor and Olimpija drew 1–1 in Ljubljana as Olimpija retained a ten-point lead over Maribor after 25 matches. In the 26th round, Maribor ended their home ground winless drought after defeating Celje 3–2 with a hat-trick by Luka Zahović. At Stanko Mlakar Stadium, Maribor equalised their highest win of the season as they defeated Triglav 5–0 in a previously postponed match. In the next round, however, Maribor surpassed this record as they defeated Gorica 6–0 in Nova Gorica, extending their winning streak to three games, in which the team scored fourteen goals. In the two remaining games of April, Maribor defeated Aluminij and Triglav, reducing Olimpija's lead to only one point. Maribor began the last month of the season with another two victories, over Rudar and Ankaran, extending their winning streak to seven games, before drawing 1–1 with Domžale in the 32nd round after a 91st-minute equalizer by Tavares. In the next round, Maribor topped the league table for the first time since late February after defeating Krško 2–1 at Matija Gubec Stadium, while Olimpija dropped points against Ankaran. In the last derby of the season on 19 May, Maribor lost 3–2 to Olimpija after Andrés Vombergar's last-minute winner in front of 12,166 spectators, again dropping to second place. Maribor have won two remaining matches, 4–0 and 2–0 against Celje and Gorica, respectively, but lost the league title to Olimpija with the same number of points, but worse head-to-head record.
Matches
Colour key: Green = Maribor win; Yellow = draw; Red = opponents win.
Notes
Classification
Results summary
Results by round
Slovenian Cup
Maribor entered the competition in the Round of 16, receiving a bye as one of the four Slovenian teams that competed in the UEFA competitions during the season. Their opening match was a 3–0 away win against Tabor Sežana on 5 September 2017, with two goals scored by Jasmin Mešanović and one goal by Aleksander Rajčević. In the quarter-finals, Maribor was eliminated 4–1 on aggregate by their "Eternal rivals" Olimpija Ljubljana, failing to qualify for the semi-finals for the first time since the 2002–03 season.
Colour key: Green = Maribor win; Yellow = draw; Red = opponents win.
UEFA Champions League