Nogometni klub Varaždin, commonly referred to as NK Varaždin or simply Varaždin, is a Croatian professional football club based in Varaždin, that competes in the Croatian Football League, the top tier of Croatian football.
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| Full name | Nogometni klub Varaždin | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1 July 2012 | ||
| Ground | Stadion Varteks | ||
| Capacity | 8,818 | ||
| President | Dražen Vitez | ||
| Head coach | Mario Kovačević | ||
| League | Croatian Football League | ||
| 2022–23 | Croatian Football League, 6th of 10 | ||
| Website | Club 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 dissolved during the second part of the 2011–12 season due to 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, leaving the name NK Varaždin available once again.
After steadily progressing through the levels of the Croatian football league system, NK Varaždin competed in the top division for the first time in the 2019–20 season, where they finished in eighth place. However, they were relegated the following season after finishing bottom of the table.
Players
Current squad
- As of 11 March 2024
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | MF | SUI | David Mistrafović |
| 21 | GK | CRO | Domagoj Mamić |
| 22 | FW | CRO | Marko Dabro |
| 24 | MF | CRO | Mario Marina |
| 25 | DF | CRO | Antonio Boršić |
| 26 | DF | CRO | Luka Jelenić |
| 27 | FW | CRO | Tomislav Gudelj |
| 28 | MF | CRO | Luka Škaričić |
| 29 | FW | CRO | Niko Domjanić |
| 30 | FW | CRO | Ante Vukušić |
| 31 | GK | CRO | Kruno Bašić |
| 32 | MF | CRO | Nick Ocvirek |
Out 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | MF | CRO | Bruno Bujan (at Beltinci until 15 June 2024) |
| — | MF | CRO | Ivan Težački (at Beltinci until 15 June 2024) |
| — | FW | CRO | Karlo Perić (at Sesvete until 15 June 2024) |
Season-by-season record
| Season | League | Cup | European competitions | Top scorer | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | 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 ↑ | 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 ↑[1] | R32 | ||||
| 2017–18 | 2. HNL | 33 | 18 | 7 | 8 | 50 | 32 | 61 | 2nd | R32 | ||||
| 2018–19 | 2. HNL | 26 | 16 | 3 | 7 | 40 | 30 | 51 | 1st ↑ | R16 | Leon Benko | 22 | ||
| 2019–20 | 1. HNL | 36 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 29 | 50 | 36 | 8th | R16 | Domagoj Drožđek Dejan Glavica | 6 | ||
| 2020–21 | 1. HNL | 36 | 6 | 10 | 20 | 30 | 61 | 28 | 10th ↓ | R16 | Jorge Obregón | 7 | ||
| 2021–22 | 2. HNL | 30 | 19 | 6 | 5 | 56 | 29 | 63 | 1st ↑ | R16 | Igor Postonjski Michele Šego | 7 | ||
| 2022–23 | HNL | 36 | 12 | 10 | 14 | 41 | 51 | 46 | 6th | R16 | Fran Brodić | 12 | ||
Key
- DNQ = Did not qualify
- R32 = Round of 32
- R16 = Round of 16
Notes
- 1. a : 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.