Slovenia in the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League, and for the third time in the club's history reached the group stage. Maribor competed in Group E, along with Spartak Moscow, Sevilla, and Liverpool. The club again obtained three points in six matches, the same as in 2014, after drawing with Sevilla at home and twice against Spartak. Their 7–0 defeat to Liverpool was the club's heaviest home defeat in European competitions, and their second highest European defeat overall. In the same season, Maribor failed to win a trophy for the first time since 2007–08, losing the league title to Olimpija on head-to-head record after finishing with the same number of points. Olimpija also eliminated Maribor in the quarter-finals of the national cup, and therefore Maribor failed to reach the semi-finals of the competition for the first time since 2002–03. In 2018–19, Maribor won its 15th national title under the guidance of Milanič, who won his sixth league title with the club and became the most successful manager in the Slovenian top division. However, Milanič and Zahovič left the club in March 2020 after a series of poor results. During Zahovič's era, Maribor won eight league titles and reached the UEFA Champions League group stages twice. Club identity Colours, kits and nicknames Throughout the entire history of NK Maribor, the main colour of the club has been purple. For this reason, the team is nicknamed "The Purples" () and "The Violets" (). The club is also referred to as the "Viole", predominantly in the region of the former Yugoslavia. When NK Maribor was established, some of the club officials were in favour of red and white colours, inspired by the coat of arms of the city of Maribor. However, because many football teams in Yugoslavia already wore red and white jerseys, Maribor officials decided for a new and fresh combination. They decided to follow the example of Fiorentina and their purple and white combination. Oto Blaznik, the first captain of the club, was the one who suggested the combination after seeing the Italian team in La Gazzetta dello Sport. Since it was almost impossible to get purple kits in Yugoslavia in 1961, the players painted them themselves. The club's secondary colours are yellow and white. In March 1973, the name of the sponsor first appeared on Maribor kits. Since Slovenia's independence in 1991, the main kit sponsors have been Pivovarna Laško, Nova