Yugoslav period (1947–1991)
The history of football in the Goriška region goes back to 1907, when the first football club Jugoslavija was formed by the Slovenes of Gorizia. [1]
October 1947 marks the beginning of the club with the foundation of FD Gorica in Šempeter pri Gorici, where it operated until 1963. [1] They started in the second-level but quickly promoted to the Slovenian Republic League in 1950 under the new name Železničar Nova Gorica. Five years later they became republic champions and qualified for the Yugoslav Second League, which was club's biggest achievement during the time of Yugoslavia. In 1963 the club merged with Branik Solkan and the club's activity was transferred to Nova Gorica, where it remains ever since. [2] They stabilised as a mid-table club in the 1960s, renamed as NK Vozila in 1971 and achieved better results only in the last years before Slovenia's independence. Managed by Pavel Pinni, Vozila finished third in the 1988–89 season of the Slovenian Republic League.
Slovenian independence (1991 to present)
Following Slovenia's independence in 1991, the club played in the 1. SNL under the name HIT Gorica and during the 1995–96 season, Gorica won the Slovenian championship for the first time. In the next season, the club played its first Slovenian Supercup final and won their second trophy with a 3–1 victory over Olimpija. During the league domination of Maribor, the club managed to win two Slovenian cup titles in a row (2000–01 and 2001–02).
On the last day of the 2003–04 season on 30 May 2004, Gorica won its second title after one of the most dramatic rounds in the Slovenian league history. Before the last round, Maribor was leading the table with 54 points, one point ahead of Gorica. In the final round, Maribor played an away match against their rivals Mura and Gorica played at home against Koper. Maribor lost the game 2–1 after a second-half comeback by Mura, meaning that Gorica, who eventually won against Koper 2–0, had secured their second title. [3]
The second title started an impressive run for Gorica as the team won another two league titles in a row (2004–05 and 2005–06). [4] After the last title, Gorica was a runner-up in the 2006–07 and 2008–09 seasons, while finishing third in 2007–08 and 2009–10. [5]
In 2013, Gorica started cooperating with the Italian club Parma. [6] On 21 May 2014 they won their first trophy after eight years as they defeated Maribor 2–0 in the cup final. [7] After 28 seasons in the top division, Gorica was relegated for the first time in the 2018–19 season after losing the relegation play-offs against Tabor Sežana. [8]
