RK Gorenje Velenje

1958–1972: Beginning of handball in Šoštanj In 1958, when section of handball was established at TVD Partizan, organized handball started to develop in the town of Šoštanj. Handball was pioneered by young men in local schools with the help of some basketball players. The first pioneers were Miligoj Jarnovič, Pavle Bukovac, and Jože Pukmajster. eliminated them from the 1/8 finals so they continued their season in the Cup Winners' Cup where they reached the quarter-finals and narrowly lost to Izvidač Ljubovski. 2005–2006 In the 2005–06 season, Gorenje reached the Round of 16 in the 2005–06 EHF Champions League, where they were eliminated by French side Montpellier Handball. In a domestic championship, the team was placed second after the regular part of the season, but finished the season in third place after defeats against RK Trimo Trebnje, RK Koper and RK Gold Club. After two years in the EHF Champions League they returned to the EHF Cup Winners' Cup. 2007–2009 Between 2006 and 2009 some major changes were made at RK Gorenje Velenje. In 2007, Gorenje hired a new promising coach, Ivica Obrvan, with a four-year contract and mission to bring home the first championship title before club's forthcoming 50th anniversary. That year they finished second. In the following season, they slipped to third place, with Koper in second and Celje claiming the title again. just one point behind the league winners Celje. The team from Velenje also participated for the fourth time in the EHF Champions league during the season. After qualifying to the European Top 16, they were defeated by Spanish side BM Ciudad Real. in 2013 2010–2011 After 19 victories in a row during the regular part of the Slovenian First League, Gorenje was leading by five points with ten rounds to go. However, things went downhill from there and the team's season rivals, Cimos Koper, caught up and won the title. Through the season, Gorenje and Cimos played three matches. Gorenje won the first match (27–24) and Cimos won the other two (28–25 and 26–21). That meant that Gorenje had to win the fourth and final match with a minimum of five goals difference in order to win the championship. The last match of the season was then played in Velenje, where Koper won 34–23. The team also competed in the EHF Cup as well where Frisch Auf Göppingen knocked them out in the quarter-finals. The German team won the first match 33–20, even though Gorenje won the second match 26–22. ==Team==

Current squad :Squad for the 2023–24 season ;Goalkeepers • 1 Matevž Skok • 12 Aljaž Verboten • 32 Emir Taletović ;Right wingers • 8 Ibrahim Haseljić • 10 Urban Pipp • 11 Kenan Pajt ;Left wingers • 14 Goti Maričić • 24 Tilen Sokolič • 25 Matic Verdinek ;Line players • 20 Jernej Drobež • 35 Branko Predović ;Left backs • 23 Malik Tatar • 27 Peter Šiško • 34 Tarik Mlivić ;Central backs • 33 Enej Slatinek Jovičić • 58 Nejc Hriberšek ;Right backs • 13 Tarik Velić ==Club supporters==

Gorenje Velenje supporters are called Šaleški graščaki, formed in 1994. Their biggest rivals are Florijani, supporters of RK Celje. Sponsorship The main sponsor of the club is the manufacturer of household appliances Gorenje, which is also based in Velenje. ==Arena==

RK Gorenje's home matches are played at the Red Hall, which has a capacity for 2,500 spectators. Built in 1974, the venue was refurbished in 1989, 1994, and again in 2004 for the 2004 European Men's Handball Championship. ==Rivalry==

Gorenje's biggest rivals are RK Celje. The matches between the two sides are known as the "Savinja and Šalek Valley derby" (''''). ==Media==

As the first and only handball club in Slovenia, RK Gorenje produced a television show RKG Pressing and a magazine called 9ka. ==Honours==

• Slovenian Championship ::Winners (5): 2008–09, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2020–21, 2023–24 ::Runners-up (14): 1993–94, 1995–96, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2006–07, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2018–19, 2022–23, 2024–25 • Slovenian Cup ::Winners (3): 2002–03, 2018–19, 2021–22 ::Runners-up (8): 1994–95, 1996–97, 1997–98, 2000–01, 2006–07, 2010–11, 2012–13, 2014–15 • Slovenian Supercup ::Winners (4): 2009, 2011, 2012, 2022 ::Runners-up (3): 2007, 2015, 2019 Yugoslavia Under the Yugoslav Handball Federation there were many levels of competition in handball, including the First and Second Yugoslav Leagues, the Interrepublic and Republic Leagues, and regional competitions. Regional, republic and interrepublic league • 1964–65: Regional league – Celje, 1st place • 1968–69: II. Republic League (Styria division), 1st place • 1972–73: I. Republic League, 1st place • 1980–81: I. Republic League, 1st place • 1983–84: Interrepublic league, 3rd place • 1984–85: I. Republic League, 1st place • 1988–89: I. Republic League, 1st place II. Yugoslav handball league • 1990–91, 3rd place ==References==