NK Čakovec
Full name | Nogometni Klub Čakovec | ||
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Nickname(s) | "Crveni" (The Reds) | ||
Founded | 1920 | ||
Dissolved | 2011 | ||
Ground | Stadion SRC Mladost, Čakovec, Croatia | ||
Capacity | 8,000 | ||
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Nogometni Klub Čakovec (English: Čakovec Football Club), commonly referred to as NK Čakovec or simply Čakovec, was a Croatian football club based in Čakovec, in the northern part of the country. The club folded in 2011.
The club's arguably biggest success came when they won promotion to the
The club was played their home matches at the Stadion SRC Mladost, Čakovec, which has been their home ground since 1987 and can hold approximately 8,000 people. The stadium has also been used by NK Međimurje following their formation in 2003. The team's supporters group was called the Demons (Croatian: Demoni).
History
Early history
The club was founded in 1920 as Čakovečki športski klub (ČŠK; English: Čakovec Sports Club) and competed in regional championships in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Their first and so far only title came in 1938, when they won the Drava Banovina Championship.
During World War II, Čakovec was occupied by Hungary so the club played in Hungarian competitions until the city was liberated in 1945. After the war, the name of the club was changed to NK Jedinstvo Čakovec (English: Unity Čakovec Football Club) and this name was used over the following two decades. In the mid-1960s, the club was bought by MTČ, a local clothing company, and renamed MTČ Čakovec. In 1983, the club merged with NK Sloga Čakovec (English: Concord Čakovec Football Club), at the time the only other football club within the city, and was renamed MTČ-Sloga Čakovec. The cooperation between the two clubs ended in 1987, with the club being renamed NK Čakovec. NK Sloga Čakovec also continued to exist as a separate club.
During the Yugoslav era, the club's greatest success came when they reached the Round of 16 in the Yugoslav Cup in 1949 and 1952. In 1949, they were knocked out by Budućnost Titograd, suffering a 2–1 home defeat, and three years later they were crushed 7–0 by FK Sarajevo.
History after Croatian independence
NK Čakovec were first promoted to the
Between 1994 and 1996, the club was known as NK Čakovec Union, with "Union" being the name of a local catering company serving as their main sponsor at the time. They also spent one season playing in the short-lived Croatian First B-League, continuing to play in the Second League after the First B-League folded in 1997. The club was again renamed NK Čakovec in December 1996, when it was bought by a group of local businessmen in order to save it from folding due to financial difficulties.
In 1998, the club finished top of the Northern Division of the Croatian Second League, securing a place in the promotion play-offs for the
The 1998–99 season saw the club missing promotion to the top flight after finishing fourth in the unified Croatian Second League. However, they finally clinched promotion to the Croatian First League the following season after finishing runners-up of the Second League. After the promotion, the club signed former
Their first game in the Croatian First League ended in a 2–0 defeat away at
The team went on to start the
NK Čakovec experienced mixed fortunes in the Croatian Second League in the years following their relegation from the top flight, managing two 3rd-place finishes in the Northern Division of the league in 2003 and 2005. Following an 8th-place finish in the Northern Division of the Second League in 2006, they went on to play in the unified Second League in the 2006–07 season. However, they finished bottom of the 16-team league and were relegated to the Croatian Third League. Playing in the Eastern Division of the Third League, they ended up being relegated to the fourth tier of Croatian football in 2008.