Football Club Gorica
Photograph from 1955: a friendly match between Železničar Nova Gorica (the club’s name at the time) and Juventina from Štandrež, played in Šempeter, where the hospital stands today.
1 / 5
The photograph shows the team that won the Slovenian championship in the 1954/55 season and subsequently competed in the Western zonal league the following season, a competition at the level of the later Second Federal League—marking the club’s greatest achievement in the Yugoslav period.
2 / 5
Season 1963/64, the first year after the opening of the Sports Park and the simultaneous relocation of the club’s matches and headquarters from Šempeter to Nova Gorica. The photograph shows the team representing the club at the time, then competing under the name NK Nova Gorica.
3 / 5
Friendly match against Hajduk in 1982, played on the occasion of the club’s 35th anniversary. The match set the stadium attendance record of 5,500 spectators, which still stands today—and likely always will.
4 / 5
Gorica–Olimpija match in 1996, the second most attended match in the club’s history.
5 / 5
The history of the Nova Gorica football club, today known as ND Gorica, officially began in October 1947. The boards of the Physical Education Society Gorica (TD Gorica), based in Šempeter pri Gorici, TVD Partizan from Bilje, and NK Adria from Miren agreed to merge into a single club dedicated to football. This marked the foundation of a new club, initially named the Physical Culture Society Gorica (FD Gorica), whose name changed several times in the following decades.
All players, staff, and management were based in Šempeter pri Gorici, at a field located where the General Hospital “Dr. Franc Derganc” Nova Gorica stands today.
The club’s greatest success in the Yugoslav period came in the 1954/55 season, when it competed under the name Železničar Nova Gorica (ŽNK Nova Gorica). That season, the team won the western group of the Slovenian league. In the final, played against Rudar Trbovlje, they overturned a 4:1 defeat from the first leg and won 5:1 at home, becoming Slovenian champions. This success led to promotion to the Slovenian-Croatian league, a demanding competition in which the team ultimately finished last.
The club remained based in Šempeter until 1963, when the construction of the regional hospital required relocation. The team moved to Nova Gorica, to the newly built stadium in the Sports Park. At the same time, ŽNK Nova Gorica merged with NK Branik from Solkan, forming NK Nova Gorica.
The most attended match in the club’s history took place on 12 July 1982, when NK Vozila Gorica hosted Hajduk Split in a friendly match to mark its 35th anniversary, drawing around 5,500 spectators.
The club’s golden era came after Slovenia’s independence. In the 1995/96 season, then known as NK HIT Gorica, the team won its first Slovenian league title, ending Olimpija’s dominance. The most memorable match of that season, against Olimpija on 1 May 1996, attracted 4,500 spectators. Between 2004 and 2006, Gorica added three more national titles, bringing the total to four, alongside three Slovenian Cup victories (2001, 2002, 2014). Between 1996 and 2017, the club also played 48 matches in European competitions.
Since 2003, the club has officially been named ND Gorica. In recent years, however, it has faced serious financial and organisational difficulties. At the end of the 2018/19 season, the club was relegated to the Slovenian Second League for the first time in its history. Despite brief returns to the top division, it currently remains below the level expected of a club with such a rich tradition. Nevertheless, its supporters continue to stand by the club, believing that better days will return.
Avtor: Andrej Močnik