NK Varaždin (2012)

Nogometni klub Varaždin, commonly referred to as NK Varaždin or simply Varaždin, is a professional Croatian football club, based in the town of Varaždin. It currently competes in the Croatian Second Football League.

This article is about the football club established in 2012. For the dissolved club, see NK Varaždin (1931–2015).

NK Varaždin
Full nameNogometni klub Varaždin
Short nameVAR
Founded1 July 2012 (2012-07-01)
GroundStadion Varteks
Capacity10,800
PresidentDražen Vitez
Head coachMario Kovačević
LeagueDruga HNL
2020–21Prva HNL, 10th (relegated)
WebsiteClub website

History

The club was founded as FC Varaždin Football School (Croatian: NK Varaždin Škola Nogometa, Varaždin ŠN) as a phoenix club of NK Varaždin (1931–2015) in 2012 after the latter's suspension; the club was suspended during the second part of the 2011–12 Prva Liga season, due to a high financial debt. Legally, the two clubs' track records and honours are kept separate by the Croatian Football Federation, but the 2012 club is a continuation of the older club, which did return to competition in 2013, overlapping with the life of Varaždin ŠN. However, the older club finally declared bankruptcy and dissolved in 2015 making the name NK Varaždin available once again.[1]

After steadily progressing through the levels of the Croatian football league system, NK Varaždin competed in the Prva Liga for the first time in the 2019–20 season, a league that predecessor NK Varaždin had competed in for 21 seasons. They ultimately finished 8th overall. They were relegated the following season.

Seasons
Season League Cup European competitions Top scorer
Division P W D L F A Pts Pos Player Goals
2012–13 2. ŽNL Varaždin County East 22 14 3 5 71 24 45 3rd DNQ
2013–14 2. ŽNL Varaždin County East 22 14 4 4 62 24 46 3rd ↑[1] DNQ
2014–15 1. ŽNL Varaždin County 30 21 5 4 81 38 68 1st ↑ DNQ
2015–16 3. HNL East 30 10 4 16 40 47 34 11th DNQ
2016–17 3. HNL East 30 18 6 6 53 27 60 2nd ↑[2] R1
2017–18 2. HNL 33 18 7 8 50 32 61 2nd R1
2018–19 2. HNL 26 16 3 7 40 30 51 1st ↑ R2 Leon Benko 22
2019–20 1. HNL 36 9 9 18 29 50 36 8th R2 Domagoj Drožđek,
Dejan Glavica		 6
2020–21 1. HNL 36 6 10 20 30 61 28 10th ↓ R2 Jorge Obregón 7
Key
League: P = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; Pts = Points won; Pos = Final position
Cup / Europe: PR = Preliminary round; QR = Qualifying round; R1 = First round; R2 = Second round; Group = Group stage; QF = Quarter-final; SF = Semi-final; RU = Runner-up; W = Competition won

Top scorer shown in bold when he was also top scorer for the division.

Notes
1. a : Although NK Varaždin finished 3rd in the 2013–14 2. ŽNL Varaždin County East, it appears that teams above them did not apply for promotion, so Varaždin gained promotion to 1. ŽNL
2. b : Although NK Međimurje finished top of the 2016–17 3. HNL East, they did not apply for promotion, so runners-up NK Varaždin gained promotion to 2. HNL

Current squad
As of 17 April 2021

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  CRO Oliver Zelenika
2 DF  CRO Ricardo Bagadur
4 FW  CRO Fran Brodić (on loan from Gorica)
5 DF  CRO Hrvoje Crncec
6 DF  CRO Jakov Karabatic
7 FW  VEN Andris Herrera
8 MF  CRO Igor Postonjski
9 MF  CRO Tonio Teklić (on loan from Hajduk Split)
10 MF  CRO Ivan Posavec
11 FW  CRO Michele Šego (on loan from Hajduk Split)
12 GK  CRO Matija Kovačić
13 MF  CRO Leonard Vuk
14 MF  CRO Karlo Lusavec
15 MF  CRO Stjepan Igrec
No. Pos. Nation Player
16 FW  CRO Noa Vugrinec
17 MF  CRO Mateo Topic
18 MF  CRO Matija Kolarić
19 MF  CRO Leon Belcar
20 MF  CRO Tomislav Jagić
21 GK  CRO Karlo Sentić (on loan from Hajduk Split)
23 DF  CRO Filip Mekić
24 MF  CRO Mateo Topic
25 DF  JPN Itsuki Urata
28 DF  CRO Luka Škaričić (on loan from Hajduk Split)
29 FW  CRO Niko Domjanić
30 MF  CRO Matej Senić
78 MF  MKD Agon Elezi

On loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— FW  CRO Dejan Glavica (on loan at NK Polet SMnM until 30 June 2022)
— DF  ALB Jorgo Pëllumbi (on loan at FK Kukësi until 30 June 2022)
— DF  CRO Marko Stolnik (on loan at FK Auda until 30 June 2022)

References
  1. "Promjenom imena do kluba neopterećenog s dugovima" [Bankrupt club changes its name to avoid its debts] (in Croatian). Regionalni tjednik. 19 July 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
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