RK Celje
| Celje | |
|---|---|
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| Full name | Rokometni Klub Celje |
| Nickname(s) | Pivovarji (The Brewers) |
| Founded | 1947 |
| Arena | Zlatorog Arena |
| Capacity | 5,500 |
| President | Bojan Cizej |
| Head coach | Branko Tamše |
| League | Slovenian First League |
| 2015–16 | 1st |
| Colours | |
| Club colours | |
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Website Official site |
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Rokometni Klub Celje (English: Celje Handball Club), currently named Celje Pivovarna Laško due to sponsorship reasons, and commonly referred to as RK Celje or simply Celje, is a handball club from Celje, Slovenia. They were the winners of the Champions League in the 2003–04 season, becoming European club champions. The team plays its home matches in the Zlatorog Arena, a 5,500 capacity multi-purpose arena in Celje. The club is famous for its passionate and devoted supporters, led by the organised fan group Florijani.
The first handball match in Celje was played in 1942. After the World War II, handball became the most popular sport in this Slovenian town. By May 1945, there were already two established teams in Celje: Celje and Olimp. The two teams were city rivals and played multiple matches against each other. Therefore, the year 1946 is marked as the official beginning of handball in Celje.
In 1947, the two rival teams finally united to form a new, central sports society, Kladivar Sports Association. Among the 21 sports that were incorporated in this association, was the handball club. The first season of the national league began in 1949, and Celje won the first title amongst the competition of six other teams without a defeat. The winning streak continued until 1954; with an exception of a single draw against other Slovenian teams. The knowledge and skill of the game was successfully transferred from a former German national handball player and a World War II prisoner of war Fritz Knoffler, and thanks to him, the Celje handball club was already one of the best in former Yugoslavia. The first Yugoslavian league season, where Celje handball club participated, was in 1950. But nevertheless, interest in the sport of large arena handball was slowly dying down in the 1950s. Most of the teams then turned to a small arena handball, which was becoming increasingly popular. The first generation of Celje players started to practice small arena handball, and played their first game on concrete, on the open, in front of the local railway station. They played against Ljubljana handball club and won with staggering 43–4. In 1953, the first such league season in Yugoslavia had begun, but the Celje team only took a disappointing last place among the six teams. The Celje handball club wasn't so successful as anticipated, for they were playing in a regional league until 1961, when after two failed qualifications in 1959 and 1960, finally managed to enter the First Republic (Slovenian) League. With this event, the rise of the small arena handball (handball as we know it today) in Celje began.
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Wikipedia