Krim Mercator handball club was founded in 1984, and in its history, the relatively young association has achieved exceptional success. With two European titles and more than 50 domestic trophies, Krim Mercator today is one of the most successful Slovenian sports teams.
1984-1991: The period of the club’s birth
In 1984, at the initiative of Cveta Benet, who was called the “mother” of the club, it became clear that the boys’ team of the Association of Sports Associations of Krim would also get a girls’ company. The beginnings were most enthusiastic and the team from Ljubljana slowly grew with a great deal of ingenuity and love for the club and sports. Handball was then played on outdoor courts in Rakovnik and later in the cult hall Krim in Galjevica.
In the 1985/86 season, Krim played in the youth competition, and a year later they qualified for the 2nd Member Federal League, which was a great success for the club from the outskirts of Ljubljana, which operated at a purely amateur level.
1992-2000: A period of great ambition
In 1992, Zoran Janković took over the presidency and brought the mentality and ambitions to the club which soon outgrew the framework of the young state of Slovenia. He also provided the club with the main sponsor and has since performed under the name Krim Electa. The team at that time was led by Marta Bon, who in the first period of Krim played a dual role – as a coach and player. The team gradually strengthened, with the experienced Tanja Polajnar, who returned to Slovenia from the Serbian RadniÄŤki, played for the first time a young, barely 14-year-old Deja Doler, and with them some legendary names of the club – Branka Mijatović, Tanja Oder, Mara Ĺ olaja. In 1993, the inexperienced team lost to Olimpija, but their first jump among European teams was successful through their first cup trophy.
The trophies in the national championship and thus in the elite Champions League then called the National Champions Cup, had to wait until the fateful year of 1995. Only President Janković and the legendary coach Vinko Kandija believed that they would face the first European final just before the turn of the millennium.
2001-2013: The period of Europe’s greatest successes
With the arrival of Tone Tiselj, the new millennium brought even more planned work. The big goal was a big European trophy, which knocked on the door of the club from Ljubljana in 1999. In the second final attempt, there was simply no chance that the Krim would miss the opportunity again. Viborg still won a draw in Denmark, but Ljubljana was on fire and on the 12th of May 2001, overcrowded stands of Kodeljevo fell into delirium. Krim became one of the biggest and repeated the achievement just two years and five days later.
On the home floor, Krim has already achieved the status of invincibility, diligently collected trophies and becoming the biggest fixture of the European Champions League. However, the dream period was slowly beginning to see financial difficulties, which deepened with the deteriorating economic results of the great recession.
2014-present: A period of rehabilitation and new growth
Changing the leadership and rejuvenating the team were the most difficult but necessary steps at the beginning of the rehabilitation of the club. Formerly a desire for trophies, it has now become a desire to survive and prepare for new growth. The people in charge succeeded in the most important thing, they went through the red times and laid important foundations for the future. In 2020, the club received an important boost and became part of a major revolution that will make the European Champions League even more attractive. Together we became the #KrimovaDruzina and became even more connected during the time of complete isolation.
