With Domžale fighting relegation, the Slovenian goalkeeper has stepped up in a big way.
NK Domžale — who currently sit last in the Slovenian Prva Liga — have four games left to salvage their top flight status. Finishing last would mean relegation to the Slovenian Second Football League. For a club that hasn’t been in the second tier in over two decades, relegation is now a distinct possibility — and a big concern.
Relegation wouldn’t just be a loss for Domžale, but for Slovenian soccer. The club are some of the best talent developers in Europe, most recently and notably with RB Leipzig star Benjamin Šeško. Recent prospects have also moved on to the likes of Internazionale, RB Salzburg, and Empoli.
There is good news for Domžale, though. They sit just one point behind Nafta, and the two clubs are set to face off in May with a ninth-place finish — enough to reach the relegation playoff spot, rather than outright relegation — on the line.
With their solid recent form, Domžale will be confident of avoiding the drop, especially thanks to their homegrown star in goal: 20-year-old Lovro Štubljar.
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Although he is an academy product, Štubljar didn’t start the season with Domžale. The Slovenian goalkeeper is under contract with Serie A side Empoli, who have loaned Štubljar back to his former club.
After debuting for the Domžale first team at the age of 17, Štubljar joined Empoli in July 2022. For the next season and a half, the Slovenian goalkeeper would alternate between starting for Empoli Primavera, the club’s youth team, and sitting on the bench for the first team in Italy’s top flight.
Štubljar isn’t the first Slovenian goalkeeper to head to Italy: many have before him, most notably Samir Handanović. The legendary Inter goalkeeper, who Štubljar names as an idol for him as a young goalkeeper, took a similar path twenty years ago. Handanović, too, got his start with Domžale before heading to Italy with Udinese before moving on to Internazionale, where he would stay for eleven seasons.
“I always wanted to play in Italy,” said Štubljar. “Italy is the factory of goalkeepers. Many great goalkeepers developed there.”
Being on the bench for Serie A games gave Štubljar exposure to some of the best players and managers in the world. While at Empoli, he would also learn from another goalkeeper who would enjoy a rapid rise in Guglielmo Vicario — then a starter for the Tuscan club, Vicario now stars for Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.
“My former teammate, Guglielmo Vicario, has been absolutely amazing this season for Tottenham,” said Štubljar. “I speak with him sometimes. It’s nice to hear from him, take some advice.”
After learning while on the bench and reserves, Štubljar would eventually leave in search of regular minutes. In January 2024, he returned to his former club Domžale, this time on loan. Thanks to him, the club would pick up some crucial wins and finish well clear of relegation. His performances in Slovenia did not go unnoticed, and that summer, he joined the defending Prva Liga champions NK Celje on loan with an option to buy.
His time with Celje didn’t go quite to plan. Celje were eliminated from Champions League and Europa League qualifiers in quick succession. Domestically, the club’s form was unimpressive as they won just three of their opening seven games. Štubljar was far from being the lone problem, but the young goalkeeper was heavily criticized by Celje fans.
His performances would improve, but ultimately, he failed to lock down the starting spot. He was benched in the Prva Liga in October, although he would make two further league appearances and two more in Europe — most notably an impressive game against Real Betis in the Conference League. In December, Celje terminated his loan, ending his stay with the club prematurely. Despite everything, Štubljar still takes it as a good experience.
“I’m still young, and maybe I stepped into the shoes that didn’t fit me yet.” said Štubljar.
For the second consecutive season, Štubljar returned to Domžale in January. This time, though, the club’s top flight status was in real danger. Domžale were sitting second to last and had won just two games all season. Their defensive record was the worst in the league, with 40 goals conceded from just 18 games.
A lot has changed since Štubljar’s return. While Domžale now sit last in the league, their form has picked up significantly, as they have recorded twice as many wins since the restart than in the first half of the season. The only reason they aren’t clear of the drop is relegation rival Nafta’s improved form of their own.
Unsurprisingly, Štubljar’s return has also seen the defense improve immensely. Since the restart, Domžale have conceded just 18 goals — nearly a goal per game fewer than in the first half of the season. And, after keeping just two clean sheets in the first half of the season with Celje, Štubljar has already kept three with Domžale.
“The environment is familiar to me, and all the coaches, all the people who work in the club, and I’m really close with the goalkeeper coach,” said Štubljar. “That helped me get back in the good form I was in last year.”
Despite his struggles in the first half of the season with Celje, Štubljar has been one of the best goalkeepers in the Prva Liga. His three clean sheets have all resulted in Domžale wins, and he’s put in some massive performances to earn points for the club. Notably, he made several crucial saves to shut out Josip Iličić and second-placed Maribor.
With wins like those over Maribor and against first-placed Olimpija, there is confidence that the club will escape the bottom of the league. However, there’s still work to be done and games to be won if Domžale wants to stay in the top flight.
“We need the points badly. We lost a few important games during this half of the season, which we should have won, but now we have to make up for it,” said Štubljar. “Every game is like a final.”
There’s still the question of what happens after that. Štubljar is still under contract at Empoli and has reportedly been attracting the interest of some strong clubs. Of course, his parent club, Empoli, is also tracking his progress.
“The team manager calls me every now,” said Štubljar. “We speak like every three months. Also, the director watches the games, so I hope they will see something positive about me, and I’m hoping for the best.”
It’s not just at club level where Štubljar has a promising future. The Domžale goalkeeper has represented Slovenia at various youth levels, starting at the u17 level. He’s currently a part of Slovenia’s u21s, who will play at the u21 European Championship this summer in Slovakia. After that, Štubljar dreams of someday representing his country at senior level — no easy task.
“We all know who is there. Jan Oblak, the greatest goalkeeper in the world at the moment, in my opinion, but he’s not going to be there forever, so we’ll see,” said Štubljar. “I’ll have to fight my way up, hope for the best, and maybe one day get a chance to play for the senior team.”
For the time being, though, the focus is on Domžale. With four games left, every point matters. For Štubljar and the club, relegation is not an option.
“Domžale is not a club that fits in the second division,” said Štubljar. “Absolutely not.”
