in the Slovenian First League matches. Rivalries Maribor's biggest rivalry is with Olimpija from the capital Ljubljana, against whom they contest the Eternal derby (). The rivalry dates back to the early 1960s, when both clubs used to play in the Yugoslav Second League. The first official match between the two clubs was played on 2 September 1962 at the Bežigrad Stadium in Ljubljana, and was watched by around 10,000 spectators. In 2005, the old Olimpija was dissolved due to financial difficulties. In the same year, a phoenix club was established under the name NK Bežigrad, and was later renamed as NK Olimpija Ljubljana. The first derby between Maribor and the newly formed club was played on 24 October 2007 in the quarter-finals of the Slovenian Cup. When Olimpija was promoted to the Slovenian First League in 2009, the rivalry came back to life. Maribor also developed a rivalry with another Styrian club, Celje, dubbed the Styrian derby (). Maribor and Celje contested in three Slovenian Cup finals, all of which were won by Maribor, and also competed for the national title in the 2002–03 season, when Maribor defeated Celje 2–1 in the decisive match with two late-game goals, clinching their seventh consecutive title. Another rival of Maribor is Mura from Prekmurje, with whom they contest the Prekmurje–Styria derby (). In the 2020–21 season, Maribor and Mura contested the title-deciding match on the final day of the season. A draw was enough for Maribor, but Mura won 3–1 and clinched their first ever title. Players Current squad Out on loan Retired numbers Since 2005, Maribor have not issued the squad number 19. It was retired in honour of Stipe Balajić, who played for the club for eight seasons between 1997–98 and 2004–05. He played his last game for the club on 7 July 2005, a friendly match against his former club Hajduk Split, where he was substituted after 19 minutes of play in a symbolic gesture. In May 2021, the club retired another squad number, 33, in honour of goalkeeper Jasmin Handanović, who made over 350 appearances for Maribor between 2011 and 2021. In May 2022, the number 9 was retired in honour of Marcos Tavares, a longtime captain and the club's all-time most capped player and top goalscorer. Maribor have also temporarily retired two squad numbers: 26, in honour of Aleksander Rajčević, and 28, in honour of Mitja Viler.