“The Violets” from Maribor are three points behind Olimpija after the first part of the season. The big derby between the two sides is scheduled for the 5th of March at 8:15 pm at the Ljudski Vrt Stadium in Maribor.
36-year-old Novaković played for Olimpija’s youths and then moved abroad. In the 2005/06 season he proved himself in Bulgaria’s Litex. He then made a great career in Germany’s Köln. Between the years 2006 and 2012 he scored 74 goals for the billy goats in 166 matches. For the last three and half years Milivoje Novaković was also successful in Japan.
Novaković has also proven his qualities while playing for the Slovenian national team. He has scored 31 goals in 72 matches. NK Maribor’s sports director, Zlatko Zahovič, scored four goals more for the national team. Zahović has pulled off a great achievement with the signing, which should help the team continue its fight for the championship title.
“I would like to thank sports director Zlatko Zahovič for the trust. We all know the tasks that await us and what Maribor’s goals are – two win the championship and the national cup. I would like to contribute my share in fulfilling these goals. Of course I will need some time to reach an adequate level of preparedness. I’ve achieved a lot in my career so far, but I think I’ve had enough of playing abroad and so I decided it was time to come home. I will do my best to try help the team. I always play at the Ljudski Vrt with the greatest of pleasures. I feel great in this stadium. I’m really looking forward to the new challenges ahead," stressed Novaković, who scored 13 of his 31 goals playing for the Slovenian national team at the Ljudski Vrt Stadium. Zahovič cheerfully added: "And his wife is Styrian."