S
unkwithouttrace
in 20 17,seasiders
FCKoperwererevived
toclaimthreestraight
promotions,thentake
thetitleracetothe
wirethisMay.In
Slovenia’sownmini-versionof the
final-daydramathatplayed outin
England,Koperhadtogotomid-
tableBravo andwin– andhope
thatleadersMaribor would slip
upatbitter localrivalsandlast
year’schampions,Mura.
Itwasn’ttobe.Slovenia’srecord
championsclaimedtheir 16 thcrown
witha3-1 win,whileKoperwere
heldtoa goallessdraw.
Frustratingly fortherunners-up,
theycouldhavegoneintothelast
gamewithouthavingtodependon
favoursfromMura.Withthetitlein
sightinthepreviousroundof fixtures,
Koper only neededto beat lowly
Radomljetoopenupa gapover
Maribor. Despitehomesupport at the
Bonifika, Koper’sstadiuma stone’s
skimfromthe Adriatic,the Canaries
lost 3 -1.Thelast gamewasalways
goingtobeanuphillstruggle.
Still,Kopercanbecontentwith
winningthe SlovenianCupandwiping
theslatecleanafterthefinancial
collapseof 20 17.
Atthe helm of
thisresurgence
isZoranZeljkovic.
Inhisfirst season
asa top-flight
coach,this
formerDomzale midfielder moulded
a completelynewteamandhad
themplayingandwinningwithin
weeksofarrivinginthesummer
of 20 21.
“Iwas most attractedbythe
challengeofthe first league,as
I wasaware thatthiswasastep
forwardin my career,”Zeljkovictold
WorldSoccer. “Koperis a verygood
clubinSlovenianterms,witharich
history, so I didn’tneedtogiveit
a secondthought.”
Indeed,Koperwon theSlovenian
leaguetitlein 2010 andcompeted
inEuropeanclubcompetitions
seven timesbetween 20 06-07
and 2015 -16.Then,undercity
mayor andprofligate clubowner
BorisPopovic,inthralltopersuasive
players’agents,Koper’ssquadand
wagebillballooned.Creakingveterans
suchasformerLiverpoolstarAlbert
Riera failedtocopewith themodest
demandsoftheSlovenianleague.
TheclubfailedtomakeEuropein
2016 -17,failedtopay wagesand
failedtogaina professionallicence
forthe 20 17- 1 8 campaign.
Thewithdrawalofsponsorshipby
thecity’sharbourauthorities proved
tobethelaststraw.
“Fanstooka while to rallyround
thislatest team,” saidleadingKoper
supporter DavidKlemenc.“They’d
hadenoughoflocalpolitics.But the
atmosphere fortheRadomljegame
wasat Everestlevels.”
Ittooka whirlwindseasonunder
Zoran Zeljkovictoget there,though.
Previouslythe coachatlower-league
IlirijaandKrka,the 42 -year-old
Zeljkovichadto make a significant
leapuponceowner Ante Guberac
hadplacedhis faith in him.
“Thedifferenceishuge,fromthe
qualityofthe playerstothe training
conditions,” he saidofthe top-flight
PrvaLiga.
“Iknew theKoperteamasI
watchedthe first leaguea lot,and
wealsoplayedaqualifyingmatch
withthem.” Hislast gameincharge
ofKrkabeforeleavingforKoperwas
a promotionalplay-offbetweenthe
twoin June 2021. Hislessillustrious
chargesalmostreverseda 0-2
scorelinefromthefirstleg,going
3-0upbutconcedinglate.Koper
hadstayedupbut lackedspark.
24 WRLDSCCER
Cupchampions...
Koperplayerslift
theSlovenianCup
Credit:FCKoper.SI
Coach...Zeljkovic
watchesonduringthe
SlovenianCupfinal
Theclubfailedto make Europe in 2016-17, failed
topaywagesandfailedto gaina professional
licence forthe 2 017-18 campaign
FCKoper
ZoranZeljkovicsteersoutsidersintoEurope
Headliners
