1995 - 2004
A Turbulent Period of False Rises and a Hard Fall
In the following seasons, things did not go as planned for Olimpija, and their results in the Slovenian First League standings were far from impressive. In the 1999/2000 season, a victory in the Slovenian Cup brought the club its first trophy in four years. In 2000, Bojan Prašnikar took over as head coach, and the league’s top striking duo, Sebastjan Cimerotič and Ermin Raković, returned to the squad. Despite these efforts, Olimpija struggled to achieve significant success, with their best result being a second-place finish in the 2000/2001 Slovenian championship.
In 2002, businessman Jurij Schollmayer took over the management of Olimpija and brought big names to the Bežigrad Stadium. Branko Oblak was appointed head coach, while Croatian star Robert Prosinečki led the team on the field. Additionally, Mladen Rudonja rejoined the club, followed by Miran Pavlin during the winter transfer window. Despite the financial investment and relatively favorable conditions, Olimpija once again failed to secure the national championship but found success in the Slovenian Cup competition.
In the 2003/2004 season, Suad Beširević replaced Branko Oblak as head coach, leading the team in European competitions. The most notable moments included strong performances against English giants Liverpool. Domestically, Olimpija finished second in the Slovenian championship, trailing Gorica by just one point. However, this success only served as temporary relief from the severe challenges that followed. Due to various issues and legal disputes, sponsors began to withdraw from the club, and eventually, even Jurij Schollmayer stepped away. What followed was the darkest period in the club’s history.
In 2004, after long delays, a so-called crisis assembly was finally held. The old management, bolstered by new promises, was given a renewed mandate. However, the financial situation did not improve, leading to the disintegration of the team. Players began to leave, and the management scrambled to assemble a makeshift squad for the second half of the season.
Complications arose due to the failure to submit licensing applications, which could have provided a glimmer of hope for competing at the highest level of the Football Association of Slovenia (NZS). Due to formal errors and ongoing disputes, the saga of the club’s dissolution officially ended in December 2008, long after the idea of a new Olimpija had taken root, giving rise to the rebirth of the club.