Celje defends its lead, but the trailing nine also have their plans: Today begins the spring football dance on Slovenian pitches
Photo: Vid Ponikvar / Sportida
And it’s back! 56 days after the conclusion of the autumn part of the season, the official start of the spring half of the 2023/24 competitive year begins today. Autumn was eventful, interesting, exciting, and at times even dramatic. We don’t doubt that spring will be similar. However, the battle for the title seems to be the least tense. Is the first place already secured? A question for a million euros… The answer? Let’s wait until May.
As expected and previously mentioned, the most satisfied after the autumn part are the players from NK Celje. In spring, the Štajerci will defend a ten-point lead over their closest pursuers. Especially Olimpija, Koper, and Maribor will strive to catch up with the leading Celje, while Mura and Domžale players could also intervene, although realistically expecting this is almost utopian. Anything other than Celje winning the title would be a truly surprising turn of events. The battle for Europe and the fight for survival might be more interesting.
Celje will start their title chase on Sunday when they host Mura at home, with whom they recently formed one of the most heated sports rivalries in the country. The Prekmurci also aim for Europe with ambitious plans, especially with a significantly changed lineup. The fact that the black and whites lost perhaps their best player in autumn, Dardan Shabanhaxhaj, is most notable.
As for Celje, they have not rested on their laurels but have further strengthened their squad. The most resonant reinforcement so far is Luka Menalo, who once thrilled in the colors of Olimpija. An even more significant move could be the final confirmation of the contract with Jegor Prucev, for whom Celje reportedly offered a record million euros to Red Star Belgrade. You can follow the developments of this transfer saga in the coming days on our portal.
Olimpija, the closest pursuer of Celje, will be in action today when they host the last-placed Rogaška at home. The black and whites will no longer be able to count on their exceptionally hot striker Nejc Gradišar, which is undoubtedly a significant blow for the club from Rogaška Slatina. Gradišar recently joined Hungarian Fehervar, where he scored on his debut. Olimpija will certainly not count on goals from their top scorer. Rui Pedro officially left the Dragons a day before the match with Rogaška, and the dragons were surprisingly calm during the winter break. Perhaps a bit too calm for coach Zoran Zeljković‘s taste.
The third-placed Koper will start the spring on their Bonifika against the Radomlje team. Koper enters the spring with a new coach, as former national team player Aleksandar Radosavljević took over, and the club’s management brought in a “small sea” of foreign players during the winter break. Safet Hadžić, his predecessor, had quite a few problems with the NZS rules regarding young players in the autumn, and it will be interesting to see how Gorenjec tackles the issues. The latter will certainly be under public scrutiny, while Radomlje will hope for a considerably better second half of the season. Oliver Bogatinov and his team failed to achieve good results in the fall, but who knows, history might repeat itself. Radomlje knew how to impress in spring.
Maribor players enter the spring battle from the fourth starting block and could undoubtedly be a thorn in the side of all three clubs chasing them in the Prva liga Telemach standings. In the largest Styrian city by the Drava River, they sought reinforcements mainly in defense and attack during the winter break. Attack was Maribor’s biggest weakness in the autumn part of the championship. While they can boast the second-best defense, they are so modest in attack that they are only found in fourth place, which is definitely not enough for a title challenge.
At home, the players under coach Ante Šimundža will host the Aluminij team on Sunday, currently in the last place that guarantees survival in the league at the end of the season. Despite considerable interest from other clubs in the best individuals of Aluminij, Robert Pevnik still has a highly quality squad at his disposal. If they play in spring as they did in autumn, i.e., attractively, the reds probably don’t have to worry about survival.
The Bravo footballers, who were a fantastic surprise in the opening part of the season, will start the second part of the season in Domžale, a team slowly getting back on its feet after the troubles following Simon Rožman’s departure. Dušan Kosić will try to prove in Šiška that the rise in form at the end of last year was not a coincidence. But Aleš Arnol also has his plans, which now include Milan Tučić and Jan Gorenc. Bravo seems to be a positive light in the championship in spring. Whether this will be the case, we will see!
Most importantly, we are back. After 56 days, the Prva liga Telemach is here again!
This text was automatically translated using AI.
Author: editorial Football Planet
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1. SNL
Aluminij
Bravo
Celje
Domžale
Koper
Maribor
Mura
Olimpija
Radomlje
Rogaška
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