NK Olimpija Ljubljana is pleased to announce that Necat Ayg\u00fcn has been appointed as the club’s new Sports Director. The 46-year-old German, who boasts both playing and management experience, including in the German Bundesliga, has signed a contract with the Dragons until September 2028 and begins his work in the capital immediately. <\/p>\n
For those who might not know you yet\u2014how would you introduce yourself? Who is Necat Ayg\u00fcn? <\/strong> Can you tell us a bit more about your football journey and the experiences that have shaped you the most?<\/strong> How did the first contact with Olimpija come about, and what were your initial feelings when this opportunity arose?<\/strong> What kind of person and professional can the players, coaching staff, and fans of Olimpija expect from you?<\/strong> What message would you like to send to Olimpija fans at the start of this new chapter for the club?<\/strong> Welcome to the Dragons’ Nest, Necat!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" NK Olimpija Ljubljana is pleased to announce that Necat Ayg\u00fcn has been appointed as the club’s new Sports Director. The 46-year-old German, who boasts both playing and management experience, including in the German Bundesliga, has signed a contract with the Dragons until September 2028 and begins his work in the capital immediately. For those who […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":133430,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[882],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-133432","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-https-nkolimpija-si-en-news-first-team-2"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nkolimpija.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133432","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nkolimpija.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nkolimpija.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nkolimpija.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nkolimpija.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=133432"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nkolimpija.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133432\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nkolimpija.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/133430"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nkolimpija.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=133432"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nkolimpija.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=133432"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nkolimpija.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=133432"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nI was born in Munich, I’m 46 years old, and I have a wife and a child. I was a professional footballer for many years, and my career took me through Germany and Turkey, including Be\u015fikta\u015f. Now I’m coming to Ljubljana, where I’m already looking for a home, as it’s very important to me to be as close as possible to the club’s daily pulse and fully committed to this new role. <\/p>\n
\nFootball has always been a central part of my life. After my playing career, I knew I wanted to stay in the game, so I studied sports management with the clear goal of continuing my path in football, but from a different perspective. I started as a scout at 1860 Munich and later took on the role of Sports Director at the club. After that, I spent several years as Technical Director at Karlsruhe SC. These diverse experiences helped shape my understanding of the game both on and off the pitch and gave me a broader perspective on what is needed to build a successful football environment. <\/p>\n
\nAdam and I have known each other for a long time; we used to meet in Munich as well. When this opportunity arose, he called me and presented the challenge. I felt great excitement from the very first conversation. Olimpija wasn’t an unfamiliar name to me\u2014one of my best friends in Germany is from Trebnje and is a huge Olimpija fan, so I had already heard a lot about the club, its identity, and its significance. This made the opportunity even more unique for me. It immediately sparked something special, a desire and motivation to accept the challenge without much hesitation. <\/p>\n
\nBy nature, I am a very positive person and I always try to look at both life and work with optimism. It’s rare to see me in a negative mood. I highly value honesty, openness, and direct relationships. My door will always be open to everyone, as I believe that communication and trust are crucial in football. I love talking about football and everything related to it, and I want to create an environment where people feel good, respected, and united around a common goal. <\/p>\n
\nFirst of all, I want to say that it is a great honor to become the Sports Director of a club like Olimpija. This is a club with a rich history, a strong identity, and passionate fans, so I am fully aware of the responsibility this role brings\u2014not only to the club but also to the fans and the city of Ljubljana. We must look to the future with ambition, set high goals, strengthen our connection with the fans, and progress together. My wish is to help return Olimpija to the path it deserves, both in domestic football and on the international stage. Success doesn’t happen overnight; it requires a clear strategy, a well-thought-out plan, unity, and hard work. And of course, the ultimate goal is for Olimpija to once again compete competitively in European competitions. <\/p>\n