Eternal derby of Slovenian football (2007)

Olimpija was founded on 2 March 2005 under the name NK Bežigrad.[1][2] They later changed their name twice, first to NK Olimpija Bežigrad and finally to NK Olimpija Ljubljana. Although the board of the newly established club and its fans see the team as the spiritual continuation of the old club, they are not regarded as the legal successors of the old NK Olimpija by the Football Association of Slovenia and are not entitled to claim the honours won by the defunct club.[3][4]

However, because the new Olimpija is supported by most of the fans of the previous Olimpija, including their ultras group the Green Dragons, who has a long-standing rivalry with Maribor's own ultras group Viole Maribor, many see the matches between Maribor and the new club as the continuation of the rivalry and refer to it by the same name.[5][6] The first match between NK Maribor and the new NK Olimpija took place on 24 October 2007 in a Slovenian Cup quarter-final match, won by Maribor 3–1.[7] At the time, Olimpija was still competing under the name NK Olimpija Bežigrad.[7]

Besides the city of Maribor itself and the surrounding area, NK Maribor also has a large fan base in the whole regions of Lower Styria and Slovenian Carinthia.[8] The club also draws significant number of supporters from northern Upper Carniola and northeastern Lower Carniola as well as the capital city of Ljubljana itself, due to a large number of students and workers from eastern part of the country. Olimpija on the other hand inherited much of the fan base that belonged to the dissolved Olimpija and draws much of its fans from the central part of the country, the majority from the city of Ljubljana with the surrounding area of southern Upper Carniola and northwestern Lower Carniola. A significant fan base is also present in the region of Inner Carniola. Overall, the two clubs were always the most popular football clubs in the country.

Both, Maribor and Olimpija, always had support on their matches from ultras groups called Viole Maribor, supporting NK Maribor, and the Green Dragons who supports NK Olimpija. The two groups are among the largest in the country[9] and it is not uncommon that the matches between the two clubs were sometimes interrupted by violent clashes between the two groups or with the police.[10] On many occasions, before or after the matches, the fans of the two clubs would also meet up and fight on the streets. One of the worst incidents, in April 2010 after a match, resulted in a stabbing of a member of the Green Dragons who, with a group of friends, got into a fight with members of the Viole in Ljubljana's railway station.[11] However, to date, there has not been any fatalities in the country related to football violence. Fans of Olimpija traditionally occupy the northern stands of the stadiums, while Maribor fans are present on the southern stands.

Official statistics of honours won by NK Maribor and NK Olimpija, established in 2005 under the name NK Bežigrad, as treated by the Football Association of Slovenia.[12][13]