| Season | 2017–18 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 14 July 2017 – 19 May 2018 |
| Champions | Dinamo Zagreb |
| Relegated | Cibalia |
| Champions League | Dinamo Zagreb |
| Europa League | Rijeka Hajduk Split Osijek |
| Matches | 180 |
| Goals | 496 (2.76 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | El Arabi Hillel Soudani (17) |
| Biggest home win | Rijeka 7–0Cibalia |
| Biggest away win | Cibalia 0–5Hajduk Split |
| Highest scoring | Rijeka 7–0Cibalia Cibalia 2–5Dinamo Zagreb Lokomotiva 5–2Slaven Belupo |
| Longest winning run | Dinamo Zagreb (6) |
| Longest unbeaten run | Dinamo Zagreb (21) |
| Longest winless run | Slaven Belupo (11) |
| Longest losing run | Cibalia,Istra 1961 (5) |
| Highest attendance | 31,751 Hajduk Split 1–2Dinamo Zagreb |
| Lowest attendance | 80 Lokomotiva 2–3Inter Zaprešić |
| Total attendance | 530,638[1][2] |
| Average attendance | 2,948[1][2] |
2018–19 → | |
The2017–18 Croatian First Football League (officiallyHrvatski Telekom Prva liga for sponsorship reasons) was the 27th season of the Croatian First Football League, the national championship for men'sassociation football teams inCroatia, 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.
The league was contested by 10 teams.
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 andSlaven Belupo. All of these clubs except Inter Zaprešić were also issued a license for participating inUEFA 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 exceptRNK Split were granted top level license. Four teams from Druga HNL acquired the top level license:Gorica,Rudeš,Solin andNK Zagreb.[4]
| 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] |
| Club | Chairman | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Sponsors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cibalia | Josip Kuterovac | Jako | DOBRO | ||
| Dinamo Zagreb | Mirko Barišić | adidas | |||
| Hajduk Split | Ivan Kos | Macron | Tommy | ||
| Inter Zaprešić | Branko Laljak | Joma | Veleučilište Baltazar Zaprešić | ||
| Istra 1961 | Vacant | Nike | Croatia Osiguranje | ||
| Lokomotiva | Tin Dolički | Nike | Crodux | ||
| Osijek | Ivan Meštrović | Nike | DOBRO | ||
| Rijeka | Damir Mišković | Jako | Sava Osiguranje | ||
| Rudeš | Ivan Knežević | Kelme | |||
| Slaven Belupo | Hrvoje Kolarić | adidas | Belupo |
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Replaced by | Date of appointment | Position in table |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Istra 1961 | Sacked | 2 June 2017 | 2 June 2017 | Pre-season | ||
| Rudeš | Signed byOlimpija | 2 June 2017 | 10 June 2017 | Pre-season | ||
| Dinamo Zagreb | Sacked | 13 July 2017 | 13 July 2017 | Pre-season | ||
| Slaven Belupo | Resigned | 24 October 2017 | 26 October 2017 | 7th | ||
| Hajduk Split | Sacked | 6 November 2017 | 6 November 2017 | 4th | ||
| Hajduk Split | Signing of Kopić | - | 13 November 2017 | 4th | ||
| Lokomotiva | Removed from position | 5 December 2017 | 5 December 2017 | 6th | ||
| Rudeš | Removed from position | 26 December 2017 | 27 December 2017 | 10th | ||
| Lokomotiva | Signing of Tomić | 27 December 2017 | 27 December 2017 | 6th | ||
| Dinamo Zagreb | Resigned | 10 March 2018 | 12 March 2018 | 1st | ||
| Rudeš | Sacked | 10 March 2018 | 12 March 2018 | 10th | ||
| Cibalia | Sacked | 19 March 2018 | 19 March 2018 | 9th | ||
| Dinamo Zagreb | Sacked | 15 May 2018 | 15 May 2018 | 1st | ||
| Rudeš | Signed bySochaux | 22 May 2018 | 8th |
| 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 theChampions League second qualifying round |
| 2 | Rijeka | 36 | 22 | 4 | 10 | 75 | 32 | +43 | 70 | Qualification for theEuropa League third qualifying round[a] |
| 3 | Hajduk Split | 36 | 19 | 9 | 8 | 70 | 38 | +32 | 66 | Qualification for theEuropa League second qualifying round[a] |
| 4 | Osijek | 36 | 14 | 14 | 8 | 53 | 38 | +15 | 56 | Qualification for theEuropa 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 theRelegation play-offs |
| 10 | Cibalia(R) | 36 | 6 | 8 | 22 | 36 | 75 | −39 | 26 | Relegation toCroatian Second Football League |
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 | — |
| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cibalia | 7 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Dinamo Zagreb | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Hajduk Split | 1 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Inter Zaprešić | 2 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Istra 1961 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| Lokomotiva | 8 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Osijek | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Rijeka | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Rudeš | 6 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Slaven Belupo | 10 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Leader / Qualification toUEFA Champions League | |
| Qualification toUEFA Europa League | |
| Relegation play-off | |
| Relegation toDruga HNL |
At the end of the season, ninth placed teamIstra 1961 will contest a two-legged relegation play-off tie againstVaraždin, runners-up of the2017–18 Croatian Second Football League.
| Istra 1961 | 3–1 | Varaždin |
|---|---|---|
| Golubar Vojnović Roce | Drožđek |
| Varaždin | 1–0 | Istra 1961 |
|---|---|---|
| Drožđek |
Istra 1961 won 3–2 on aggregate.
| Award[17] | Winner | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Player of the Season | Dinamo Zagreb | |
| Manager of the Season | Rijeka | |
| Young Player of the Season | Lokomotiva |
| Team of the Year[17] | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeeper | |||||||||||
| Defence | |||||||||||
| Midfield |
| ||||||||||
| Attack |
|
| |||||||||
| # | Club | Average | Change | Highest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hajduk Split | 11,999 | 43.9% | 31,751 |
| 2 | Rijeka | 4,836 | 1.7% | 7,134 |
| 3 | Dinamo Zagreb | 4,108 | -8.3% | 13,500 |
| 4 | Osijek | 3,214 | 3.1% | 8,054 |
| 5 | Cibalia | 1,331 | -23.4% | 3,196 |
| 6 | Istra | 1,286 | -25.0% | 3,119 |
| 7 | Slaven Belupo | 971 | -11.4% | 2,403 |
| 8 | Lokomotiva | 701 | 8.9% | 2,293 |
| 9 | Inter Zaprešić | 572 | -32.8% | 2,169 |
| 10 | Rudeš | 461 | 22.5% | 2,102 |