Honvéd Cup: Introducing – NK Maribor

The IX Honvéd Motherson & Vulcan Shield Cup gets under way on Thursday. Alongside our team, the youth sides of clubs with outstanding histories and strong present-day reputations such as Paris Saint-Germain, Atalanta, Spartak Moscow, Elche and NK Maribor will compete for the trophy at the international tournament. After introducing the Italian and Russian top clubs, we continue our team profiles with Slovenia's NK Maribor.

 Maribor are regarded as one of Slovenia's best-known and most successful clubs, having celebrated 16 league titles and nine cup wins since their foundation in 1960. The club are regular participants in European competitions and reached the Champions League group stage in 2017. Although they have also competed in the Europa League and Conference League in recent years, they were unable to reach the group stage. This summer, Paks eliminated them in the second qualifying round of the Conference League.

Matevž Potočnik, head coach:

“We are delighted and grateful to be able to take part in such a prestigious tournament, where we can test ourselves against top international teams. It reinforces our belief that we are on the right path. The tournament offers us excellent opportunities for further development and for building relationships.”

Maribor squad:

Goalkeepers: Ismar Klopić, Rok Čelofiga

Defenders: Nino Perkovič, Tim Breznik, Filip Širec, Gal Hribar, Maj Kirsanov, Mai Rezar, Maj Lampret

Midfielders: Liam Kristan, Ante Mačukat, Husko Nuhanović, Žiga Kocbek, Jakob Grimm

Forwards: Patrick Skok, Nik Završnik Kores, Aleks Lazić, Lukas Lavrič, Nik Bartolj, Markus Sever

Head coach: Matevž Potočnik

Full schedule of the IX Honvéd Motherson & Vulcan Shield Cup:

Thursday, 12 March 2026, venue: Budapest Honvéd Academy

12.00 Atalanta BC–NK Maribor

14.00 Budapest Honvéd FC–Paris Saint-Germain

Friday, 13 March 2026, venue: Budapest Honvéd Academy

12.00 Atalanta BC–FK Spartak Moscow

14.00 Paris Saint-Germain FC–Elche CF

Saturday, 14 March 2026, 12.00, venue: Budapest Honvéd Academy

12.00 NK Maribor–FK Spartak Moscow

14.00 Budapest Honvéd FC–Elche CF

Sunday, 15 March 2026, venue: Bozsik Arena

9.30 Match for 5th place

12.00 Third-place match

14.30 Final

PRESS ACCREDITATION:

We would like to draw the attention of members of the press to the fact that press accreditation for the IX Honvéd Motherson & Vulcan Shield Cup is available at the following link:  https://honvedfc.hu/media/sajto-regisztracio