2018–19 Croatian First Football League

Hrvatski Telekom Prva liga
Season	2018–19
Dates	27 July 2018 – 26 May 2019
Champions	Dinamo Zagreb
Relegated	Rudeš
Champions League	Dinamo Zagreb
Europa League	Rijeka; Osijek; Hajduk Split
Matches played	180
Goals scored	510 (2.83 per match)
Top goalscorer	Mijo Caktaš (19)
Biggest home win	Rijeka 7–0 Inter Zaprešić
Biggest away win	Istra 1961 0–7 Rijeka
Highest scoring	Dinamo Zagreb 7–2 Rudeš
Longest winning run	Dinamo Zagreb (7)
Longest unbeaten run	Dinamo Zagreb (15)
Longest winless run	Rudeš (23)
Longest losing run	Rudeš (8)
Highest attendance	26,664; Hajduk Split 0–1 Dinamo Zagreb
Lowest attendance	0; Hajduk Split 1–1 Rijeka
Total attendance	478,760
Average attendance	2,660
	← 2017–18 2019–20 →

The 2018–19 Croatian First Football League (officially Hrvatski Telekom Prva liga for sponsorship reasons) was the 28th 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 27 July 2018 and finished on 26 May 2019.

The league was contested by ten teams.

Teams

On 23 April 2018, Croatian Football Federation announced that the first stage of licensing procedure for 2018–19 season was complete. For the 2018–19 Prva HNL, only eight clubs were issued a top level license: Dinamo Zagreb, Gorica, Hajduk Split, Inter Zaprešić, Lokomotiva, Osijek, Rijeka and Slaven Belupo. All of these clubs except Gorica were also issued a license for participating in UEFA competitions. In the second stage of licensing, clubs that were not licensed in the first stage could appeal on the decision.

Stadia and locations

Dinamo Zagreb	Gorica	Hajduk Split	Inter Zaprešić
Stadion Maksimir	Gradski stadion Velika Gorica	Stadion Poljud	Stadion ŠRC Zaprešić
Capacity: 35,123	Capacity: 5,000	Capacity: 34,198	Capacity: 5,228

Istra 1961			Lokomotiva
Stadion Aldo Drosina			Stadion Kranjčevićeva
Capacity: 9,800			Capacity: 8,850

Osijek	Rijeka	Rudeš	Slaven Belupo
Stadion Gradski vrt	Stadion Rujevica	Stadion Kranjčevićeva	Stadion Ivan Kušek-Apaš
Capacity: 18,856	Capacity: 8,279	Capacity: 8,850	Capacity: 3,205

Team	City	Stadium	Capacity
Dinamo Zagreb	Zagreb	Stadion Maksimir	35,123
Gorica	Velika Gorica	Gradski stadion Velika Gorica	5,000
Hajduk Split	Split	Stadion Poljud	34,198
Inter Zaprešić	Zaprešić	Stadion ŠRC Zaprešić	5,228
Istra 1961	Pula	Stadion Aldo Drosina	9,800
Lokomotiva	Zagreb	Stadion Kranjčevićeva¹	8,850
Osijek	Osijek	Stadion Gradski vrt	18,856
Rijeka	Rijeka	Stadion Rujevica	8,279
Rudeš	Zagreb	Stadion Kranjčevićeva¹	8,850
Slaven Belupo	Koprivnica	Stadion Ivan Kušek-Apaš	3,205

¹ Lokomotiva and Rudeš host their home matches at Stadion Kranjčevićeva as their own ground failed to get license for top level football. The stadium is originally the home ground of third-level side NK Zagreb.

Rank	Counties of Croatia	Number of teams	Club(s)
1	City of Zagreb	3	Dinamo Zagreb, Lokomotiva, and Rudeš
2	Zagreb County	2	Gorica, Inter Zaprešić
3	Istria	1	Istra 1961
	Koprivnica-Križevci		Slaven Belupo
	Osijek-Baranja		Osijek
	Primorje-Gorski Kotar		Rijeka
	Split-Dalmatia		Hajduk Split

Personnel and kits

Club	Manager	Captain	Kit manufacturer	Sponsors
Dinamo Zagreb	Nenad Bjelica	Arijan Ademi	Adidas	Lana grupa
Gorica	Sergej Jakirović	Igor Čagalj	Alpas	JAF J.u.A. Frischeis
Hajduk Split	Siniša Oreščanin	Mijo Caktaš	Macron	Tommy
Inter Zaprešić	Samir Toplak	Karlo Muhar	Joma	B2 Assets
Istra 1961	Igor Cvitanović	Marin Grujević	Kelme	Croatia Osiguranje
Lokomotiva	Goran Tomić	Fran Karačić	Nike	Crodux
Osijek	Dino Skender	Mile Škorić	Nike	DOBRO
Rijeka	Igor Bišćan	Alexander Gorgon	Joma	Sava Osiguranje
Rudeš	Tomislav Ivković	Tomislav Mrkonjić	Kelme
Slaven Belupo	Ivica Sertić	Mateas Delić	Adidas	Belupo

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Replaced by	Date of appointment	Position in table
Rudeš	Jose Manuel Aira	Signed by Sochaux	22 May 2018	Ivan Matić	17 June 2018	Pre-season
Gorica	Ivan Prelec	Signed by Legia Warsaw (assistant)	4 June 2018	Sergej Jakirović	18 June 2018	Pre-season
Istra 1961	Darko Raić-Sudar	Sacked	10 July 2018	Manolo Márquez	10 July 2018	Pre-season
Hajduk Split	Željko Kopić	Sacked	5 September 2018	Zoran Vulić	9 September 2018	8th
Istra 1961	Manolo Márquez	Removed from position	18 September 2018	Curro Torres	20 September 2018	9th
Rudeš	Ivan Matić	Removed from position	3 October 2018	Marko Lozo	3 October 2018	10th
Rijeka	Matjaž Kek	Resigned	6 October 2018	Igor Bišćan	9 October 2018	5th
Istra 1961	Curro Torres	Removed from position	27 October 2018	Krunoslav Rendulić	28 October 2018	9th
Slaven Belupo	Tomislav Ivković	Removed from position	10 November 2018	Ivica Sertić	21 December 2018	7th
Hajduk Split	Zoran Vulić	Sacked	27 November 2018	Siniša Oreščanin	27 November 2018	6th
Rudeš	Marko Lozo	Removed from position	4 December 2018	Darko Jozinović	5 December 2018	10th
Rudeš	Darko Jozinović	Removed from position	24 December 2018	Tomislav Ivković	24 December 2018	10th
Istra 1961	Krunoslav Rendulić	Sacked	4 March 2019	Igor Cvitanović	4 March 2019	9th
Osijek	Zoran Zekić	Resigned	29 March 2019	Dino Skender	29 March 2019	3rd

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Dinamo Zagreb (C)	36	29	5	2	74	20	+54	92	Qualification to Champions League second qualifying round
2	Rijeka	36	19	10	7	70	36	+34	67	Qualification to Europa League third qualifying round
3	Osijek	36	18	8	10	61	36	+25	62	Qualification to Europa League second qualifying round
4	Hajduk Split	36	17	11	8	59	39	+20	62	Qualification to Europa League first qualifying round
5	Gorica	36	17	8	11	57	46	+11	59
6	Lokomotiva	36	13	10	13	51	43	+8	49
7	Slaven Belupo	36	7	16	13	41	53	−12	37
8	Inter Zaprešić	36	9	4	23	40	84	−44	31
9	Istra 1961 (O)	36	6	7	23	31	73	−42	25	Qualification to Relegation play-offs
10	Rudeš (R)	36	3	5	28	26	80	−54	14	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).
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (R) Relegated
Notes:

Rijeka qualified for the Europa League third qualifying round by winning the 2018–19 Croatian Football Cup. As a result, the spot awarded to the runners-up (Europa League second qualifying round) was passed to the third-placed team, and the spot awarded to the third-placed team (Europa League first qualifying round) was passed to the fourth-placed team.
Head-to-head points: Osijek 7 pts, Hajduk Split 4 pts.

Results

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

Home \ Away	DIN	RIJ	OSI	HAJ	GOR	LOK	SLA	INT	IST	RUD	DIN	RIJ	OSI	HAJ	GOR	LOK	SLA	INT	IST	RUD
Dinamo Zagreb	—	1–1	2–1	1–0	1–0	1–0	2–1	5–3	3–0	1–1	—	3–1	3–0	3–1	3–1	3–0	3–0	1–0	1–0	7–2
Rijeka	1–0	—	1–1	1–1	2–0	3–0	0–0	4–0	3–3	5–1	0–0	—	3–1	0–0	1–3	1–0	2–0	7–0	2–0	3–1
Osijek	0–2	1–2	—	4–1	0–1	2–1	1–1	6–0	3–0	3–2	2–1	2–1	—	0–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	3–1	1–0	2–0
Hajduk Split	0–0	1–1	0–2	—	0–2	1–1	2–2	3–0	3–1	3–1	0–1	4–0	0–0	—	0–0	2–1	2–0	3–2	4–1	3–0
Gorica	0–1	2–1	1–2	1–1	—	0–3	3–3	2–3	0–2	2–0	1–2	1–0	1–0	3–0	—	0–2	4–3	2–2	4–1	3–1
Lokomotiva	0–1	2–0	2–2	2–0	2–2	—	1–1	4–0	1–0	1–0	1–1	1–2	0–4	0–1	2–3	—	3–1	2–0	1–1	0–0
Slaven Belupo	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–1	2–5	—	2–1	3–1	1–1	0–1	1–1	1–0	1–2	2–0	1–1	—	0–1	3–3	2–1
Inter Zaprešić	0–2	1–2	0–3	2–2	1–3	2–1	0–0	—	1–2	3–0	2–3	0–3	1–3	1–3	2–2	3–2	1–3	—	3–1	0–3
Istra 1961	1–4	1–2	1–1	2–4	0–2	1–2	1–1	0–2	—	1–0	0–4	0–7	1–0	0–2	0–3	0–0	1–1	0–1	—	2–0
Rudeš	0–3	1–2	1–4	1–4	0–1	0–4	1–1	0–1	0–3	—	0–2	2–4	0–1	1–4	1–1	1–2	0–1	2–0	1–0	—

Source: Prva HNL (in Croatian)
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.

Relegation play-offs

At the end of the season, ninth-placed team Istra 1961 contested a two-legged relegation play-off tie against Šibenik, runners-up of the 2018–19 Croatian Second Football League.

First leg

31 May 2019

19:00 CEST

Šibenik	1–1	Istra 1961
Kukec 14'	Report	Fuentes 16'

Stadion Šubićevac, Šibenik

Attendance: 3,200

Referee: Ivan Bebek (Rijeka)

Second leg

3 June 2019

19:00 CEST

Istra 1961	2–0	Šibenik
Fuentes 22' Ivančić 71'	Report

Stadion Aldo Drosina, Pula

Attendance: 3,209

Referee: Mario Zebec (Cestica)

Istra 1961 won 3–1 on aggregate.

Statistics

Top scorers

Rank	Player	Club(s)	Goals
1	Mijo Caktaš	Hajduk Split	19
2	Mirko Marić	Osijek	18
3	Jakov Puljić	Rijeka	16
4	Komnen Andrić	Inter Zaprešić (10) Dinamo Zagreb (4)	14
4	Łukasz Zwoliński	Gorica	14
6	Jairo	Hajduk Split	13
6	Ivan Krstanović	Lokomotiva (6) Slaven Belupo (7)	13
8	Antonio Čolak	Rijeka	12
9	Kristijan Lovrić	Gorica	10
10	Mario Gavranović	Dinamo Zagreb	9
	Héber	Rijeka
	Ramón Mierez	Istra 1961
	Bruno Petković	Dinamo Zagreb

Awards

Annual awards

Award	Winner	Club
Player of the Season	Dani Olmo	Dinamo Zagreb
Manager of the Season	Nenad Bjelica	Dinamo Zagreb
Young Player of the Season	Dani Olmo	Dinamo Zagreb

Team of the Year
Goalkeeper	Dominik Livaković (Dinamo Zagreb)
Defence	Zoran Kvržić (Rijeka)	Kévin Théophile-Catherine (Dinamo Zagreb)	Emir Dilaver (Dinamo Zagreb)	Domagoj Bradarić (Hajduk Split)
Midfield	Jairo (Hajduk Split)	Luka Ivanušec (Lokomotiva)	Dani Olmo (Dinamo Zagreb)	Domagoj Pavičić (Rijeka)	Jakov Puljić (Rijeka)
Attack	Bruno Petković (Dinamo Zagreb)

[table_note_res_EL3Q0.75140254886421-12] Rijeka qualified for the Europa League third qualifying round by winning the 2018–19 Croatian Football Cup. As a result, the spot awarded to the runners-up (Europa League second qualifying round) was passed to the third-placed team, and the spot awarded to the third-placed team (Europa League first qualifying round) was passed to the fourth-placed team.

[table_hth_OSI0.75140254886421-13] Head-to-head points: Osijek 7 pts, Hajduk Split 4 pts.