In 1988 Maribor joined MŠD Branik organization, to form Maribor Branik. Although the club uses only the name Maribor in domestic and international competitions it is still officially registered as "NK Maribor Branik" to this day. The club always had close ties to MŠD Branik as NK Branik Maribor, an association football club which was part of MŠD Branik, had been dissolved only a couple of months before Maribor was established and, many fans who had supported Branik simply switched to supporting Maribor as they viewed the club as the successor of Branik. In October that year Mladen Kranjc was involved in a tragic motorcycle accident in Dolnja Počehova. Considered to be one of the best goalscorers in the history of the club, he died at the age of 43.