Croatian First Football League

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Prva HNL
HT Prva Liga.png
Founded1992
CountryCroatia
ConfederationUEFA
Number of teams10
Level on pyramid1
Relegation toDruga HNL
Domestic cup(s)Croatian Cup
Croatian Super Cup
International cup(s)UEFA Champions League
UEFA Europa Conference League
Current championsDinamo Zagreb (22nd title)
(2020–21)
Most championshipsDinamo Zagreb
(22 titles)
Most appearancesJakov Surać (453)
Top goalscorerDavor Vugrinec (146)
TV partnersT-Hrvatski Telekom
(Arenasport)
HNTV
Websiteprvahnl.hr
Current: 2021–22 season

The Croatian First Football League (Croatian: Prva hrvatska nogometna liga, pronounced [pr̩̂ːʋaː xř̩ʋaːtskaː nôɡomeːtnaː lǐːɡa]), also known as Prva HNL or 1. HNL or, for sponsorship reasons, the Hrvatski Telekom Prva liga, is the top Croatian professional football league competition, established in 1992.[1] The winner enters the qualifying stages of the UEFA Champions League while the 2nd, 3rd and the cup winner enter the UEFA Conference league qualifications. Dinamo Zagreb are the most successful club with 22 titles overall. They are followed by Hajduk Split with six titles. Rijeka and NK Zagreb each have won one title.

Since 2003, the league has been named after its main sponsor, giving it the following names (Logos see below):

  • 2003–2007 – Prva HNL Ožujsko (Sponsored by Zagrebačka pivovara and their Ožujsko beer brand.)[2]
  • 2007–2011 – T-Com Prva HNL (Sponsored by T-Hrvatski Telekom, a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom.)[3]
  • 2011–2017 – MAXtv Prva liga (Sponsored by T-Hrvatski Telekom, a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom.)[4]
  • 2017 – 2022 – Hrvatski Telekom Prva liga / HT Prva liga (Sponsored by T-Hrvatski Telekom, a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom.)
  • 2022 – Present – Hrvatska Premijer liga / Premijer liga (Sponsored by)

Overview[]

The league was formed in 1991, following the dissolution of the Yugoslav First League, and is operated by the Croatian Football Federation. Since its formation, the league went through many changes in its system and number of participating clubs. In the first three seasons two points were awarded for a win, from 1994–95 season this was changed to three points. Each season starts in late July or early August and ends in May, with a two-month hiatus between December and February. Currently, there are ten teams participating in the league.

The first season started in February 1992 and ended in June 1992. A total of twelve clubs contested the league and at the end of the season no teams were relegated as it was decided that the league would expand to 16 clubs for the following season. This was followed by another expansion to 18 teams in 1993–94 season, highest number of participating teams in Prva HNL history. The following season, number of teams was reduced again to 16. 1995–96 Prva HNL was the first season to feature separate A- and B- leagues, with a complicated two-stage format to the season. Twelve teams contested the A league, while the B league, formally the second level, consisted of ten teams. In March, the teams were split into three groups: Championship group (consisting of first five teams from A league and the first-placed team of the B league), A play-off group (remaining teams from A league and the second-placed team of the B league) and B play-off group (remaining teams from B league). The first two teams of the B play-off group were placed in the A league for the following season, which featured 16 teams in both A and B league. In the 1997–98 Prva HNL, the league consisted of 12 team and a new format was used. In March, teams were split into two groups of six, Championship and Relegation group, with 50% of their points taken to this phase of the competition. At the end of the season, the last team was directly relegated to the Druga HNL and the second-last team went in the relegation play-off, a two-legged tie against the second-placed team from the Druga HNL. This system was used for two seasons, followed by 1999–2000 Prva HNL where each club playing every other club three times for a total of 33 rounds. Next season featured a return of Championship and Relegation group system but without 50% points cutoff. This system was used until 2005–06 season, with a brief expansion to 16 teams in 2001–02 season. The 2006–07 season brought back a 33 rounds system previously used in 1999–2000 Prva HNL. In the 2009–10 season, the league was expanded to 16 teams. This lasted for three seasons, and in the 2012–13 Prva HNL season, the league was contested by 12 teams playing a total of 33 rounds. From the 2013–14 Prva HNL season, number of teams was reduced to ten.

The league's main sponsor is T-Hrvatski Telekom, owned by the German telecommunications firm Deutsche Telekom. At the end of the 2014–15 season, Croatian First Football League was ranked 17th in Europe. The champions of the 2015–16 Croatian First Football League will qualify for the second qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League, the runners-up will qualify for the second qualifying round of UEFA Europa League, while the third-placed team will qualify for the first qualifying round of UEFA Europa League. The winners of the 2015–16 Croatian Football Cup will qualify for the third qualifying round of UEFA Europa League.

Clubs[]

The following ten clubs compete in the 2021–22 Croatian First Football League season, the 31st season since the league's establishment.

Five of the ten clubs currently competing in the Croatian top level also had spells in the Yugoslav First League played from 1945 to 1991 before Croatian clubs abandoned the competition (Dinamo Zagreb, Hajduk Split, Lokomotiva, Osijek, Rijeka). Four other Croatian clubs which had appeared in the top Yugoslav league (Cibalia, RNK Split, NK Zagreb and Trešnjevka) are currently playing in Croatian lower levels.

As of 2021, only four of the 12 founding members of the Croatian league have never been relegated: Dinamo Zagreb, Hajduk Split, Osijek and Rijeka.

Club
 Position
in 2020–21 		First season in
top division 		Number of seasons
in top division 		Number of seasons
in 1. HNL 		First season of
current spell in
top division 		Best top level
result 		Titles total
(most recent)
Dinamo Zagreb ‡ 0011st 1946–47 76 31 1946–47 1st 26 (2020–21)nb1
Gorica 0055th 2018–19 4 4 2018–19 5th N/A
Hajduk Split ‡ 0044th 1923 93 31 1923 1st 15 (2004–05)nb2
Hrvatski Dragovoljac ZZZ1st in 2. HNL 1995–96 9 9 2021–22 3rd N/A
Istra 1961 0099th 2004–05 16 16 2009–10 6th N/A
Lokomotiva 0088th 1946–47 22 13 2009–10 2nd N/A
Osijek ‡ 0022nd 1953–54 47 31 1981–82 2nd N/A
Rijeka ‡ 0033rd 1946–47 60 31 1974–75 1st 1 (2016–17)
Slaven Belupo 0077th 1997–98 25 25 1997–98 2nd N/A
Šibenik † 0066th 1992 20 20 2020–21 4th N/A

† – One of the 12 founding members of the league in the inaugural 1992 season.
‡ – Appeared in all 31 seasons up to and including the current 2021–22 season.
nb1 – Dinamo Zagreb tally includes four Yugoslav and 22 Croatian league titles.
nb2 – Hajduk Split tally includes nine Yugoslav and six Croatian league titles.

Prva HNL teams in European competitions[]

Further information: Croatian football clubs in European competitions

The breakup of Yugoslavia saw top flight league split into several smaller ones. This meant separation of Croatian football association from the Football Association of Yugoslavia and launch of their own football league. Prva HNL saw its first edition in 1992. Hajduk Split and HAŠK Građanski took part in European competitions on account of qualification secured at the end of the 1990–91 Yugoslav football season: HAŠK Građanski were runners-up in the 1990–91 Yugoslav First League and qualified for 1991–92 UEFA Cup while Hajduk Split won the 1990–91 Yugoslav Cup and entered 1991–92 European Cup Winners' Cup. Due to war both clubs had to host their European matches abroad, in Austria.

Affected by the ongoing war in Croatia, the first Prva HNL season was held over the course of a single calendar year, from February to June 1992. Neither Hajduk Split (1992 Croatian champions) nor Inker Zaprešić (1992 Croatian Cup winners) could enter European competitions the following 1992–93 season as the Croatian Football Federation, the league's governing body, wasn't yet recognized by UEFA and officially became its affiliate as late as June 1993.

Eight times in history have HNL teams entered the group stages of UEFA Champions League. In the 1994–95 season, Hajduk Split eliminated Legia Warsaw in the qualifying round and entered the group stage. They advanced to quarterfinals as group runners-up behind Benfica but were eliminated by eventual winners Ajax. In the 1998–99 season, Croatia Zagreb qualified over Celtic and finished in second place behind Olympiacos, but failed to advance as only first place teams and two best runners-up went through. The following season, Croatia also entered the group stage after eliminating MTK Budapest in the third qualifying round. Drawn in the group with Manchester United, Olympique Marseille and Sturm Graz, they finished last, winning only against Sturm and drawing away at Manchester and Marseille. In the 2011–12 season, Dinamo Zagreb advanced through three qualifying rounds and were drawn in the group with Real Madrid, Lyon and Ajax. The following season, Dinamo Zagreb also advanced to the group stages and was drawn in the group with Dynamo Kyiv, Paris Saint-Germain and Porto. They lost five group matches, drawing with Dynamo Kyiv in the last round. In the 2015-16 season, Dinamo Zagreb entered the group stage and recorded notable win 2-1 over Arsenal. Next season, 2016-17, another qualification followed. Latest entry to the group stage was in 2019-20 where Dinamo Zagreb finished 4th behind Manchester City, Atalanta and Shakhtar with 2 draws vs Shakhtar and a 4-0 win over Atlanta, with controversial refereeing decisions in both draws — a win in either would have sent them through to the Round of 16 as runners-up.

UEFA rankings[]

Europe's top football body, the UEFA, ranks national leagues every year according to coefficients calculated based on each nation's clubs results in international competitions. The ranking takes into account results over the previous five seasons to determine the nation's European quota for the following season, i.e. how many berths in European competitions is assigned to clubs from each of UEFA's 55 member associations.

As of 2020, Croatia's First Football League is ranked 20th in Europe with a coefficient score of 24.875, meaning four Croatian clubs could qualify for European competitions in the 2020–21 season.

UEFA also maintains a separate club ranking, based on each club's international results, used to determine seeds in draws for the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. This is calculated through a combination of each club's results as well as the ranking of its national league. As of 2020 Dinamo Zagreb is the top rated Croatian club, ranked 48th in Europe.

Source: Bert Kassies' website (country rankings; team rankings); last updated 17 January 2021

Media coverage[]

In past, only one match in each round (derby match) was broadcast on television. In the 2008–09 season there were some changes. Croatian national TV Network (HRT) started the new TV show Volim Nogomet (I Love Football), made in association with league's main sponsor T-Com. In the show, five matches were broadcast combined on Sunday afternoons, while the derby match was on program at 20.15 CET, so viewers could watch all the matches. There were also experts in the studio, commenting on matches and other things non-related to football. Main initiator of the project was famous Croatian football player and then president of T-Com 1. HNL organisation Igor Štimac.[5] Most of the clubs weren't satisfied with the scheduling of fixtures and demanded a move from Sunday afternoon to Saturday evening. This was done at the start of the following season and the only match played on Sunday was the derby match.[6][7] However, during the mid-season project was cancelled and the old system with one broadcast per round was returned.[8]

In November 2010, broadcasting rights were sold to marketing agency Digitel Komunikacije for a period of five years, beginning with 2011–12 season. After the negotiations fell through with public broadcasting television HRT, which covered Prva HNL for the past twenty seasons, Digitel signed a deal with T-Hrvatski Telekom. The matches are currently broadcast on Arenasport, a cable television network with five channels, available to subscribers of MAXtv, IPTV solution from T-HT subsidiary T-Com. All matches are broadcast live every week on Arenasport. All highlights are displayed on Sunday evening on RTL 2 and HRT 2.[9][10]

Attendance[]

Season
 Total attendance
 Number of
matches 		Average attendance
per match 		Ref
1992 376,435 132 2,896 [11]
1992–93 1,006,350 240 4,264 [11]
1993–94 851,600 306 2,820 [11]
1994–95 879,400 240 3,664 [11]
1995–96 940,270 364 2,612 [11]
1996–97 687,950 240 2,903 [11]
1997–98 684,400 192 3,602 [11]
1998–99 745,728 192 3,884 [12]
1999–00 515,790 198 2,605 [12]
2000–01 546,624 192 2,847 [12]
2001–02 573,840 240 2,391 [12]
2002–03 635,520 192 3,310 [12]
2003–04 570,816 192 2,973 [12]
2004–05 541,440 192 2,820 [12]
2005–06 633,792 192 3,301 [12]
2006–07 622,908 198 3,146 [12]
2007–08 616,572 198 3,114 [12]
2008–09 617,050 198 3,116 [13]
2009–10 500,002 240 2,083 [13]
2010–11 458,746 240 1,911 [14]
2011–12 482,002 240 2,087 [11]
2012–13 497,188 198 2,511 [11]
2013–14 573,070 180 3,202 [11]
2014–15 489,159 180 2,733 [11]
2015–16 442,952 180 2,461 [11]
2016–17 492,041 180 2,734 [11]
2017–18 530,638 180 2,948 [11]
2018–19 478,760 180 2,660 [11]
2019–20 510,674 180 2,837 [11]
2020–21 26,509 180 147 [11]

Champions[]

Key
0†0 League champions also won the Croatian Football Cup, i.e. they completed the domestic Double.
a Player received award for top league scorer
Season Champions (titles) Runners-up Third place Top league scorer
Player (Club) Nat. Goals
1992 Hajduk Split (1) NK Zagreb Osijek Ardian Kozniku (Hajduk Split)  CRO 12
1992–93 Croatia Zagreb (1) Hajduk Split NK Zagreb Goran Vlaović (Croatia Zagreb)  CRO 23
1993–94 Hajduk Split (2) NK Zagreb Croatia Zagreb Goran Vlaović (Croatia Zagreb)  CRO 29
1994–95 Hajduk Split (3) † Croatia Zagreb Osijek Robert Špehar (Osijek)  CRO 23
1995–96 Croatia Zagreb (2) † Hajduk Split Varteks Igor Cvitanović (Croatia Zagreb)  CRO 19
1996–97 Croatia Zagreb (3) † Hajduk Split Hrvatski Dragovoljac Igor Cvitanović (Croatia Zagreb)  CRO 20
1997–98 Croatia Zagreb (4) † Hajduk Split Osijek Mate Baturina (NK Zagreb)  CRO 18
1998–99 Croatia Zagreb (5) Rijeka Hajduk Split Joško Popović (Šibenik)  CRO 21
1999–2000 Dinamo Zagreb (6) Hajduk Split Osijek Tomo Šokota (Dinamo Zagreb)  CRO 21
2000–01 Hajduk Split (4) Dinamo Zagreb Osijek Tomo Šokota (Dinamo Zagreb)  CRO 20
2001–02 NK Zagreb (1) Hajduk Split Dinamo Zagreb Ivica Olić (NK Zagreb)  CRO 21
2002–03 Dinamo Zagreb (7) Hajduk Split Varteks Ivica Olić (Dinamo Zagreb)  CRO 16
2003–04 Hajduk Split (5) Dinamo Zagreb Rijeka Robert Špehar (Osijek)  CRO 18
2004–05 Hajduk Split (6) Inter Zaprešić NK Zagreb Tomislav Erceg (Rijeka)  CRO 17
2005–06 Dinamo Zagreb (8) Rijeka Varteks Ivan Bošnjak (Dinamo Zagreb)  CRO 22
2006–07 Dinamo Zagreb (9) † Hajduk Split NK Zagreb Eduardo (Dinamo Zagreb)  CRO 34
2007–08 Dinamo Zagreb (10) † Slaven Belupo Osijek Želimir Terkeš (Zadar)  BIH 21
2008–09 Dinamo Zagreb (11) † Hajduk Split Rijeka Mario Mandžukić (Dinamo Zagreb)  CRO 16
2009–10 Dinamo Zagreb (12) Hajduk Split Cibalia Davor Vugrinec (NK Zagreb)  CRO 18
2010–11 Dinamo Zagreb (13) † Hajduk Split RNK Split Ivan Krstanović (NK Zagreb)  BIH 19
2011–12 Dinamo Zagreb (14) † Hajduk Split Slaven Belupo Fatos Bećiraj (Dinamo Zagreb)  MNE 15
2012–13 Dinamo Zagreb (15) Lokomotiva Rijeka Leon Benko (Rijeka)  CRO 19
2013–14 Dinamo Zagreb (16) Rijeka Hajduk Split Duje Čop (Dinamo Zagreb)  CRO 22
2014–15 Dinamo Zagreb (17) † Rijeka Hajduk Split Andrej Kramarić (Rijeka)  CRO 21
2015–16 Dinamo Zagreb (18) † Rijeka Hajduk Split Ilija Nestorovski (Inter Zaprešić)  MKD 25
2016–17 Rijeka (1) † Dinamo Zagreb Hajduk Split Márkó Futács (Hajduk Split)  HUN 18
2017–18 Dinamo Zagreb (19) † Rijeka Hajduk Split El Arabi Hillel Soudani (Dinamo Zagreb)  ALG 17
2018–19 Dinamo Zagreb (20) Rijeka Osijek Mijo Caktaš (Hajduk Split)  CRO 19
2019–20 Dinamo Zagreb (21) Lokomotiva Rijeka Mijo Caktaš (Hajduk Split)  CRO 20
Antonio Čolak a (Rijeka)  CRO
Mirko Marić (Osijek)  CRO
2020–21 Dinamo Zagreb (22) † Osijek Rijeka Ramón Miérez (Osijek)  ARG 22

Notes on name changes:

  • Dinamo Zagreb changed their name to "HAŠK Građanski" in June 1991 and then again in February 1993 to "Croatia Zagreb". They won five league titles and participated in the 1998–99 and 1999–2000 UEFA Champions League group stages carrying that name before reverting to "Dinamo Zagreb" mid-season in February 2000.
  • Koprivnica-based Slaven Belupo were formerly known as "Slaven" until 1992. They were then known as "Slaven Bilokalnik" from 1992 to 1994 before adopting their current name in 1994 for sponsorship reasons, after a pharmaceutical company based in Koprivnica. Since UEFA does not recognize sponsored club names, the club is listed as "Slaven Koprivnica" in European competitions and on UEFA's official website.

Performance by club[]

Club Champions Runners-up Third place
Dinamo Zagreb 22 4 2
Hajduk Split 6 12 6
Rijeka 1 7 5
NK Zagreb 1 2 3
Lokomotiva — 2 —
Osijek — 1 7
Slaven Belupo — 1 1
Inter Zaprešić — 1 —
Varteks — — 3
Cibalia — — 1
Hrvatski Dragovoljac — — 1
RNK Split — — 1

Titles won by club (%)

  Dinamo Zagreb – 22 (73.3%)
  Hajduk Split – 6 (20%)
  Zagreb – 1 (3.3%)
  Rijeka – 1 (3.3%)

All-time HNL table[]

All-time HNL table (end of 2020–21 season)[15][16]
Pos
(by Pts) 		Team S Pts GP W D L GF GA 1st 2nd 3rd T Debut Since/
Last App 		Best Win%
1 GNK Dinamo Zagreb 30 2215 975 679 178 118 2401 840 22 4 2 28 1992 1992 1 69,64%
2 HNK Hajduk Split 30 1825 975 535 223 217 1924 1024 6 12 6 24 1992 1992 1 54,87%
3 HNK Rijeka 30 1586 979 442 260 277 1608 1233 1 7 5 13 1992 1992 1 45,14%
4 NK Osijek 30 1416 975 389 249 337 1507 1412 0 1 7 8 1992 1992 2 39,89%
5 NK Zagreb 24 1043 759 286 185 288 1163 1160 1 2 3 6 1992 2015–16 1 37,68%
6 NK Slaven Belupo 24 1021 797 262 231 304 1058 1170 0 1 1 2 1997–98 1997–98 2 32,87%
7 NK Varaždin (Varteks) 21 870 654 243 142 269 1047 1076 0 0 3 3 1992 2011–12 3 37,15%
8 HNK Cibalia 22 818 699 210 188 301 848 1101 0 0 1 1 1992 2017–18 3 30,04%
9 NK Inter Zaprešić 20 739 647 193 160 294 783 1045 0 1 0 1 1992 2019–20 2 29,82%
10 HNK Šibenik 19 707 598 185 152 261 726 895 0 0 0 0 1992 2020–21 4 30,93%
11 NK Zadar 20 649 597 169 142 286 741 1159 0 0 0 0 1992 2014–15 6 28,30%
12 NK Lokomotiva 12 565 411 157 94 160 543 553 0 2 0 2 2009–10 2009–10 2 38,19%
13 NK Istra 1961 15 509 508 123 149 245 525 770 0 0 0 0 2004–05 2009–10 6 24,21%
14 NK Hrvatski Dragovoljac 9 341 283 86 73 124 324 419 0 0 1 1 1995–96 2021–22 3 30,38%
15 RNK Split 7 312 237 81 69 87 253 262 0 0 1 1 2010–11 2016–17 3 34,17%
16 NK Istra 7 243 215 65 48 102 215 312 0 0 0 0 1992 1999–2000 6 30,02%
17 NK Kamen Ingrad 6 217 191 59 40 92 314 386 0 0 0 0 2001–02 2006–07 4 30,89%
18 HNK Segesta 5 207 160 55 42 63 197 206 0 0 0 0 1992–93 1996–97 8 34,37%
19 NK Marsonia 6 202 190 53 43 94 269 416 0 0 0 0 1994–95 2003–04 5 27,89%
20 HNK Gorica 3 167 108 46 29 33 161 141 0 0 0 0 2018–19 2018–19 5 42,59%
21 NK Međimurje 5 150 160 40 30 90 227 390 0 0 0 0 2004–05 2009–10 9 25,00%
22 HNK Suhopolje 4 128 108 34 26 48 119 149 0 0 0 0 1995–96 1998–99 9 31,48%
23 NK Karlovac 3 112 90 29 26 35 82 103 0 0 0 0 2009–10 2011–12 6 32,22%
24 NK Belišće 3 93 94 24 21 49 115 170 0 0 0 0 1992–93 1994–95 12 25,53%
25 HNK Dubrovnik 1919 3 77 86 18 23 45 54 133 0 0 0 0 1992 1993–94 11 20,93%
26 NK Pomorac Kostrena 2 72 62 19 15 28 78 93 0 0 0 0 2001–02 2002–03 7 30,64%
27 NK Čakovec 2 71 62 19 14 29 78 109 0 0 0 0 2000–01 2001–02 7 30,64%
28 NK Pazinka 2 65 64 15 20 29 71 95 0 0 0 0 1992–93 1993–94 11 23,43%
29 NK Varaždin (2012) 2 64 72 15 19 38 59 80 0 0 0 0 2019–20 2020–21 8 20,87%
30 NK Primorac 1929 2 60 64 18 17 29 69 103 0 0 0 0 1993–94 1994–95 14 28,12%
31 NK Rudeš 2 54 72 13 15 44 67 142 0 0 0 0 2017–18 2018–19 8 18,00%
32 NK Croatia Sesvete 2 39 63 9 13 41 61 147 0 0 0 0 2008–09 2009–10 12 14,28%
33 NK Radnik Velika Gorica 2 33 64 12 9 43 47 161 0 0 0 0 1992–93 1993–94 13 18,75%
34 NK Samobor 1 32 32 9 5 18 34 55 0 0 0 0 1997–98 1997–98 12 28,12%
35 NK Lučko 1 31 30 6 13 11 29 36 0 0 0 0 2011–12 2011–12 13 20,00%
36 HNK Vukovar '91 1 30 33 7 9 17 32 56 0 0 0 0 1999–2000 1999–2000 12 21,21%
37 NK Dubrava 1 30 34 7 9 18 28 63 0 0 0 0 1993–94 1993–94 17 20,58%
38 HNK Orijent 1919 1 26 30 5 11 14 28 53 0 0 0 0 1996–97 1996–97 14 16,67%
39 NK Neretva 1 23 30 4 11 15 20 44 0 0 0 0 1996–97 1994–95 15 13,33%
40 NK TŠK Topolovac 1 14 30 4 2 24 31 95 0 0 0 0 2001–02 2001–02 16 13,33%
League or status for 2021–22 season
2021–22 Prva HNL
2021–22 Druga HNL
2021–22 Treća HNL
Lower leagues
No longer exists

Top scorers[]

All-time top scorers in the Prva HNL
Rank Player Goals
1 Croatia Davor Vugrinec 146
2 Croatia Igor Cvitanović 126
3 Bosnia and Herzegovina Ivan Krstanović 112
4 Croatia Joško Popović 111
5 Croatia Miljenko Mumlek 106
6 Croatia Tomislav Erceg 98
7 Croatia Nino Bule 89
8 Croatia Robert Špehar 88
9 Croatia Renato Jurčec 85
10 Bosnia and Herzegovina Marijo Dodik 83
Updated 23 June 2021
(Bold denotes players still playing in the Prva HNL,
italics denotes players still playing professional football).[17]

Players in the Prva HNL compete for the Prva HNL Top scorer trophy, awarded to the top scorer at the end of each season. Former Dinamo Zagreb striker Igor Cvitanović held the record for most Prva HNL goals with 126 until April 2012. Cvitanović finished among the top ten goal scorers in 7 out of his 11 seasons in the Prva HNL and won the top scorer title two times. During the 1997–98 season, he became the first player to score 100 Prva HNL goals. On 14 April 2012, Davor Vugrinec scored his 127th goal and surpassed Cvitanović's record.[18] Vugrinec retired in May 2015 with 146 goals on his tally. Only two other players have reached the 100-goal mark, Joško Popović and Miljenko Mumlek.

Since the first Prva HNL season in 1992, 19 different players have won the top scorers title. Goran Vlaović, Robert Špehar, Igor Cvitanović, Tomislav Šokota and Ivica Olić have won two titles each. Dinamo Zagreb provided most top scorers in Prva HNL with 12. Eduardo holds the record for most goals in a season with 34, done with Dinamo Zagreb in the 2006–07 season.[19] Six goals is the record individual scoring total for a player in a single Prva HNL match, held by Marijo Dodik.[20]

Dinamo Zagreb became the first team to have scored 1,000 goals in the league after Etto scored in a 4–0 victory over NK Zagreb in the 2005–06 season.[21] The highest-scoring match to date in the Prva HNL occurred on 12 December 1993 when Dinamo Zagreb defeated minnows NK Pazinka 10–1.[22]

Most appearances in Prva HNL[]

Most appearances in the Prva HNL
Rank Player Appearances
1 Croatia Jakov Surać 478
2 Croatia Miljenko Mumlek 399
3 Croatia Damir Vuica 372
4 Croatia Krunoslav Rendulić 368
5 Croatia Davor Vugrinec 340
6 Bosnia and Herzegovina Mladen Bartolović 338
7 Croatia Josip Bulat 318
8 Croatia Damir Krznar 315
9 Croatia Nino Bule 310
10 Croatia Hrvoje Štrok 305
Updated 23 June 2021
(Bold denotes players still playing in the Prva HNL,
italics denotes players still playing professional football).[23]

Awards[]

There are three awards for best players in the Croatian First League:

References[]

  1. ^ "Croatia - List of Champions". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 1992. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  2. ^ "Prva HNL Ožujsko" (in Croatian). Vjesnik. 19 September 2003. Retrieved 3 December 2009.[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ "Prva HNL promijenila ime u T-Com Prva hrvatska nogometna liga" (in Croatian). T-Hrvatski Telekom. 24 May 2007. Retrieved 3 December 2009.
  4. ^ "MAXtv PRVA LIGA službeni naziv lige" (in Croatian). Prva-HNL.hr. 9 September 2011. Archived from the original on 25 September 2011. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
  5. ^ "HTV i HNL spremni za nogometnu nedjelju". Sportnet.hr (in Croatian). 16 September 2008. Retrieved 21 May 2011.
  6. ^ "Klubovi ne dobivaju dovoljno za Volim nogomet". Sportnet.hr (in Croatian). 17 June 2009. Retrieved 21 May 2011.
  7. ^ Vuković, Marin (3 July 2009). "HNL opet u subotnjem terminu". Sportnet.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 21 May 2011.
  8. ^ Strahija, Ivana (22 January 2010). "Jukić: Gotovo je s Volim nogomet". Sportnet.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 21 May 2011.
  9. ^ "HRT ove sezone bez HNL-a". Sportnet.hr (in Croatian). 6 July 2011. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  10. ^ Štrbinić, Lovro (19 July 2011). "Laljak: Klubovi su zadovoljni". Sportnet.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "Statistika prvenstava" (in Croatian). HRnogomet.com. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Jutarnji list (in Croatian). 6 April 2010. p. 97. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  13. ^ a b Redžić, Dea (14 May 2010). "2.092 gledatelja po utakmici: Nas je sramota, srami li se i HNS?" (in Croatian). Index.hr. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
  14. ^ "Prva HNL 10/11: Broj gledatelja po klubovima - Domaći" (PDF) (in Croatian). Prva-HNL.hr. 23 May 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 August 2011. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
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