Wikipedia

2017–18 Croatian First Football League

The 2017–18 Croatian First Football League (officially Hrvatski Telekom Prva liga for sponsorship reasons) was the 27th season of the Croatian First Football League, the national championship for men's association football teams in Croatia, since its establishment in 1992. The season started on 14 July 2017 and ended on 19 May 2018. Rijeka were the defending champions, who have won their first Croatian league title and ended Dinamo Zagreb's consecutive 11-season reign the previous season. Dinamo Zagreb ultimately reclaimed the title by May 2018, their 19th since the league's inception, with Rijeka ending close second.

Hrvatski Telekom Prva liga
Season2017–18
Dates14 July 2017 – 19 May 2018
ChampionsDinamo Zagreb
RelegatedCibalia
Champions LeagueDinamo Zagreb
Europa LeagueRijeka
Hajduk Split
Osijek
Matches played180
Goals scored496 (2.76 per match)
Top goalscorerEl Arabi Hillel Soudani (17)
Biggest home winRijeka 7–0 Cibalia
Biggest away winCibalia 0–5 Hajduk Split
Highest scoringRijeka 7–0 Cibalia
Cibalia 2–5 Dinamo Zagreb
Lokomotiva 5–2 Slaven Belupo
Longest winning runDinamo Zagreb (6)
Longest unbeaten runDinamo Zagreb (21)
Longest winless runSlaven Belupo (11)
Longest losing runCibalia, Istra 1961 (5)
Highest attendance31,751
Hajduk Split 1–2 Dinamo Zagreb
Lowest attendance80
Lokomotiva 2–3 Inter Zaprešić
Total attendance530,638[1][2]
Average attendance2,948[1][2]

The league was contested by 10 teams.

Teams edit

On 21 April 2017, Croatian Football Federation announced that the first stage of licensing procedure for 2017–18 season was complete. For the 2017–18 Prva HNL, only seven clubs were issued a top level license: Dinamo Zagreb, Hajduk Split, Inter Zaprešić, Lokomotiva, Osijek, Rijeka and Slaven Belupo. All of these clubs except Inter Zaprešić were also issued a license for participating in UEFA competitions.[3] In the second stage of licensing, clubs that were not licensed in the first stage can appeal on the decision. On 23 May 2017, it was announced that all remaining Prva HNL clubs except RNK Split were granted top level license. Four teams from Druga HNL acquired the top level license: Gorica, Rudeš, Solin and NK Zagreb.[4]

Stadia and locations edit

Team City Stadium Capacity Ref.
Cibalia Vinkovci Stadion HNK Cibalia 9,958 [5]
Dinamo Zagreb Zagreb Maksimir 35,123 [6]
Hajduk Split Split Poljud 35,000 [7]
Inter Zaprešić Zaprešić ŠRC Zaprešić 5,228 [8]
Istra 1961 Pula Aldo Drosina 10,000 [9]
Lokomotiva Zagreb Kranjčevićeva1 8,850 [10]
Osijek Osijek Gradski vrt 22,050 [11]
Rijeka Rijeka Rujevica 8,191 [12]
Rudeš Zagreb Kranjčevićeva1 8,850 [10]
Slaven Belupo Koprivnica Gradski stadion 3,205 [13]
  • 1 Lokomotiva and Rudeš host their home matches at Stadion Kranjčevićeva as their own grounds failed to get license for top level football. The stadium was originally the home ground of third-level side NK Zagreb.

Teams by county edit

class=notpageimage|
Locations of teams in 2017–18 Prva HNL
Rank Counties of Croatia Number of teams Club(s)
1   City of Zagreb 3 Dinamo Zagreb, Lokomotiva, and Rudeš
2   Istria 1 Istra 1961
  Koprivnica-Križevci Slaven
  Osijek-Baranja Osijek
  Primorje-Gorski Kotar Rijeka
  Split-Dalmatia Hajduk Split
  Vukovar-Srijem Cibalia
  Zagreb County Inter Zaprešić

Personnel and kits edit

Club Chairman Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Sponsors
Cibalia Josip Kuterovac   Davor Rupnik   Frane Vitaić Jako DOBRO
Dinamo Zagreb Mirko Barišić   Nenad Bjelica   Arijan Ademi adidas
Hajduk Split Ivan Kos   Željko Kopić   Zoran Nižić Macron Tommy
Inter Zaprešić Branko Laljak   Samir Toplak   Tomislav Šarić Joma Veleučilište Baltazar Zaprešić
Istra 1961 Vacant   Darko Raić-Sudar   Aljoša Vojnović Nike Croatia Osiguranje
Lokomotiva Tin Dolički   Goran Tomić   Ivan Šunjić Nike Crodux
Osijek Ivan Meštrović   Zoran Zekić   Borna Barišić Nike DOBRO
Rijeka Damir Mišković   Matjaž Kek   Filip Bradarić Jako Sava Osiguranje
Rudeš Ivan Knežević   José Manuel Aira   Leonard Mesarić Kelme
Slaven Belupo Hrvoje Kolarić   Tomislav Ivković   Vedran Purić adidas Belupo

Managerial changes edit

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Replaced by Date of appointment Position in table
Istra 1961   Marijo Tot Sacked 2 June 2017   Darko Raić-Sudar 2 June 2017 Pre-season
Rudeš   Igor Bišćan Signed by Olimpija 2 June 2017   Iñaki Alonso 10 June 2017 Pre-season
Dinamo Zagreb   Ivaylo Petev Sacked 13 July 2017   Mario Cvitanović 13 July 2017 Pre-season
Slaven Belupo   Željko Kopić Resigned 24 October 2017   Tomislav Ivković 26 October 2017 7th
Hajduk Split   Joan Carrillo Sacked 6 November 2017   Vik Lalić (caretaker) 6 November 2017 4th
Hajduk Split   Vik Lalić (caretaker) Signing of Kopić -   Željko Kopić 13 November 2017 4th
Lokomotiva   Mario Tokić Removed from position 5 December 2017   Draženko Prskalo (caretaker) 5 December 2017 6th
Rudeš   Iñaki Alonso Removed from position 26 December 2017   Dinko Jeličić 27 December 2017 10th
Lokomotiva   Draženko Prskalo (caretaker) Signing of Tomić 27 December 2017   Goran Tomić 27 December 2017 6th
Dinamo Zagreb   Mario Cvitanović Resigned 10 March 2018

  Nikola Jurčević

12 March 2018 1st
Rudeš   Dinko Jeličić Sacked 10 March 2018   José Manuel Aira 12 March 2018 10th
Cibalia   Mladen Bartolović Sacked 19 March 2018   Davor Rupnik 19 March 2018 9th
Dinamo Zagreb   Nikola Jurčević Sacked 15 May 2018

  Nenad Bjelica

15 May 2018 1st
Rudeš   José Manuel Aira Signed by Sochaux 22 May 2018 8th

League table edit

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Dinamo Zagreb (C) 36 22 7 7 68 34 +34 73 Qualification for the Champions League second qualifying round
2 Rijeka 36 22 4 10 75 32 +43 70 Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round[a]
3 Hajduk Split 36 19 9 8 70 38 +32 66 Qualification for the Europa League second qualifying round[a]
4 Osijek 36 14 14 8 53 38 +15 56 Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round[a]
5 Lokomotiva 36 14 9 13 47 48 −1 51
6 Slaven Belupo 36 11 10 15 35 45 −10 43
7 Inter Zaprešić 36 11 10 15 43 64 −21 43
8 Rudeš 36 10 10 16 41 62 −21 40
9 Istra 1961 (O) 36 6 9 21 28 60 −32 27 Qualification for the Relegation play-offs
10 Cibalia (R) 36 6 8 22 36 75 −39 26 Relegation to Croatian Second Football League
Source: PrvaHNL.hr
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Head-to-head goals scored (at home if two teams tied); 5) Goal difference; 6) Goals scored; 7) Play-off
(Note: Criteria 2–4 and 7 is only used if deciding champion, teams to international competition or teams for relegation and in that case criteria 6 will not be used).[14]
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ a b c Since the winners of the 2017–18 Croatian Football Cup, Dinamo Zagreb, qualified for European competition based on league position, the spot awarded to the cup winners (Europa League third qualifying round) was passed to the runners-up, the spot awarded to the runners-up was passed to the third-placed team, and the spot awarded to the third-placed team was passed to the fourth-placed team.

Results edit

Each team plays home-and-away against every other team in the league twice, for a total of 36 matches each played.

Home \ Away DIN RIJ HAJ OSI LOK INT SLA RUD IST CIB DIN RIJ HAJ OSI LOK INT SLA RUD IST CIB
Dinamo Zagreb — 3–1 3–1 1–1 2–0 1–0 2–0 3–2 2–0 4–0 — 0–1 0–1 0–1 1–4 3–1 1–0 2–0 5–1 1–0
Rijeka 0–2 — 1–2 1–2 2–1 0–0 2–0 4–1 2–0 7–0 4–1 — 3–1 1–0 3–1 5–1 2–0 3–0 4–0 5–1
Hajduk Split 2–2 0–2 — 1–1 2–2 2–0 1–0 2–3 2–0 2–1 1–2 1–1 — 1–1 1–0 5–0 0–1 1–0 3–2 4–0
Osijek 1–1 1–0 2–1 — 3–0 3–0 2–0 1–1 2–1 1–1 2–4 2–1 3–3 — 0–1 1–1 3–0 3–0 2–0 3–1
Lokomotiva 0–3 1–0 1–3 2–3 — 3–0 0–0 1–1 1–0 1–3 3–1 1–0 0–2 1–1 — 2–3 5–2 2–2 0–0 2–1
Inter Zaprešić 1–3 1–3 2–2 3–1 1–1 — 0–1 3–1 2–2 3–1 0–0 0–3 0–3 1–0 1–2 — 0–0 1–1 1–0 3–2
Slaven Belupo 0–1 1–1 0–0 1–1 1–0 1–2 — 2–2 2–0 2–1 2–2 1–3 0–0 2–1 2–2 3–3 — 2–0 1–0 2–0
Rudeš 1–1 1–5 0–4 1–1 0–1 0–2 1–2 — 1–0 1–1 1–0 4–2 2–1 1–0 1–2 2–0 2–0 — 2–1 3–2
Istra 1961 0–0 1–0 1–3 1–1 1–2 1–1 1–0 2–1 — 0–1 0–4 0–1 1–5 1–1 1–0 2–4 2–1 1–1 — 0–0
Cibalia 2–5 1–2 1–2 2–1 0–1 1–2 1–0 3–0 1–4 — 0–2 0–0 0–5 1–1 1–1 3–0 1–3 1–1 1–1 —
Source: Sportnet.hr
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.

Positions by round edit

Team ╲ Round123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536
Cibalia71010108766788988988889999999991010101010101010
Dinamo Zagreb412111111111111111111111111111111111
Hajduk Split133522233333344232322222222222233333
Inter Zaprešić245466778776665555555555655555555666
Istra 19619799991091010108998999988888888899999999
Lokomotiva898778886665556666666777777766666555
Osijek566644444444422343234344444444444444
Rijeka321233322222233424443433333333322222
Rudeš68781010910999101010101010101010101010101010101088888888
Slaven Belupo1054355555557777777777666566677777777
Leader / Qualification to UEFA Champions League
Qualification to UEFA Europa League
Relegation play-off
Relegation to Druga HNL
Source: [1]

Relegation play-offs edit

At the end of the season, ninth placed team Istra 1961 will contest a two-legged relegation play-off tie against Varaždin, runners-up of the 2017–18 Croatian Second Football League.

First leg edit

Istra 19613–1Varaždin
Golubar   55' (o.g.)
Vojnović   64'
Roce   88'		 Drožđek   10'
Attendance: 4,107
Referee: Fran Jović (Zagreb)

Second leg edit

Varaždin1–0Istra 1961
Drožđek   55'
Attendance: 8,153
Referee: Duje Strukan (Split)

Istra 1961 won 3–2 on aggregate.

Statistics edit

Top scorers edit

As of 19 May 2018[15][16]
Rank Player Club Goals
1   El Arabi Hillel Soudani Dinamo Zagreb 17
2   Héber Rijeka 16
3   Mario Gavranović Rijeka (7), Dinamo Zagreb (8) 15
  Mirko Ivanovski Slaven Belupo
5   Mario Budimir Rudeš (13), Dinamo Zagreb (1) 14
6   Jakov Puljić Inter Zaprešić (4), Rijeka (8) 12
7   Lovro Majer Lokomotiva 11
  Said Ahmed Said Hajduk Split
9   Ante Erceg Hajduk Split 9
  Haris Hajradinović Osijek
  Franck Ohandza Hajduk Split

Awards edit

Annual awards edit

Award[17] Winner Club
Player of the Season   Hillal Soudani Dinamo Zagreb
Manager of the Season   Matjaž Kek Rijeka
Young Player of the Season   Lovro Majer Lokomotiva
Team of the Year[18]
Goalkeeper   Dominik Livaković (Dinamo Zagreb)
Defence   Josip Juranović (Hajduk Split)   Zoran Nižić (Hajduk Split)   Filip Benković (Dinamo Zagreb)
Midfield

  Hillal Soudani (Dinamo Zagreb)

  Arijan Ademi (Dinamo Zagreb)   Filip Bradarić (Rijeka)   Borna Sosa (Dinamo Zagreb)
 Lovro Majer (Lokomotiva)
Attack

  Mario Gavranović (Dinamo Zagreb)

  Héber (Rijeka)

References edit

  1. ^ a b prvahnl.hr
  2. ^ a b hrnogomet.hr
  3. ^ "Središnji postupak licenciranja za natjecateljsku 2017/18. godinu za UEFA klupska natjecanja, Prvu HNL i u Drugu HNL završen u prvom stupnju" (PDF). hns-cff.hr (in Croatian). 21 April 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
  4. ^ "Središnji postupak licenciranja za natjecateljsku 2017/18. godinu za UEFA klupska natjecanja, Prvu HNL i u Drugu HNL Konačne odluke" (PDF). hns-cff.hr (in Croatian). 21 April 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  5. ^ "Stadion Cibalia". soccerway.com. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
  6. ^ "Stadion Maksimir". prvahnl.hr. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  7. ^ "Stadion Poljud". prvahnl.hr. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  8. ^ "Stadion ŠRC Zaprešić". prvahnl.hr. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  9. ^ "Stadion Aldo Drosina". prvahnl.hr. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  10. ^ a b "Stadion Kranjčevićeva". prvahnl.hr. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  11. ^ "Stadion Gradski vrt". prvahnl.hr. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  12. ^ "Stadion HNK Rijeka". prvahnl.hr. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  13. ^ "Gradski Stadion". prvahnl.hr. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  14. ^ "Propozicije natjecanja za prvenstvo Hrvatski Telekom Prve lige za natjecateljsku godinu 2017/2018" (PDF). hns-cff.hr (in Croatian). 5 July 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 May 2018. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  15. ^ PrvaHNL.hr
  16. ^ SofaScore
  17. ^ HUNS.hr. "Održana šesta dodjela nagrada Trofej Nogometaš". Hrvatska udruga „Nogometni sindikat“ (in Croatian). Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  18. ^ HUNS.hr. "Održana šesta dodjela nagrada Trofej Nogometaš". Hrvatska udruga „Nogometni sindikat“ (in Croatian). Retrieved 1 December 2022.

External links edit

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