it is, nevertheless, officially registered under the name of NK Maribor Branik to this day. New country and international debut (1991–1996) After Slovenia's independence in 1991, the best clubs in the country formed the Slovenian First League, or simply 1. SNL. Maribor were one of the founding members of the league and is one of only two clubs, the other being Celje, which has never dropped out from the Slovenian top division since then. The team played its first 1. SNL match against Gorica in Nova Gorica, which ended in a 1–1 draw. Later, the match was registered as a 3–0 win for Gorica because Maribor's goalscorer Ante Šimundža was not eligible to play for the team. Maribor had to wait until the second round when they won their first points after they defeated Koper with the score of 5–0. The club's first official scorer in the Slovenian League match was Igor Poznič. During the first couple of seasons, Maribor's rivals Olimpija from Ljubljana, which had a long tradition of playing in the Yugoslav first division and at the time still had their squad composed of players from that era, dominated the league. Despite, Maribor still managed to win the first edition of the Slovenian Football Cup. The final match was played in Ljubljana at the Bežigrad Stadium against Olimpija. The final ended in a goalless draw and was won by Maribor on penalties, with the decisive goal scored by Edim Hadžialagić. In 1992–93, Maribor debuted in international competitions as the team played in the 1992–93 European Cup Winners' Cup. It was on 19 August 1992, when the team hosted Ħamrun Spartans from Malta and won 4–0. The next season, Maribor again played in the European Cup Winners' Cup and achieved its biggest victory in European competitions to date, when they defeated Estonian side Norma Tallinn 10–0 at home. The match is also historic for being the first match at Ljudski vrt that was played at night under the floodlights. Maribor were Slovenian League runners-up in 1991–92, 1992–93 and 1994–95, and finished third in 1993–94. During this period the club managed to win another Slovenian Cup, in 1993–94, after defeating Mura in the final over two legs. Domination (1996–2003) The 1996–97 season was a turning point in the history of Maribor. They won the league and became Slovenian national champions for the first time. During this season, the average home