| Season | 2002–03 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Dinamo Zagreb 7th Croatian title 11th domestic title |
| Runner up | Hajduk Split |
| Relegated | Šibenik Pomorac |
| Champions League | Dinamo Zagreb |
| UEFA Cup | Hajduk Split Varteks Kamen Ingrad |
| Intertoto Cup | Cibalia NK Zagreb |
| Matches | 192 |
| Goals | 521 (2.71 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Ivica Olić (16) |
| Biggest home win | Rijeka 7–0Zadar |
| Biggest away win | Osijek 1–5Dinamo Z. Zadar 1–5Varteks |
| Highest scoring | Šibenik 6–3Zadar |
| Average attendance | 3,326 |
2003–04 → | |
The2002–03 Croatian First Football League was the twelfth season of theCroatian First Football League, the national championship for men'sassociation football teams inCroatia, since its establishment in 1992. The season started on 24 July 2002 and ended on 31 May 2003.NK Zagreb were the defending champions, having won their first championship title the previous season.Dinamo Zagreb won the title, after a win againstVarteks on 17 May 2003.
The league format was changed from the previous2001–02 season and the number of teams were reduced from sixteen to twelve for the 2002–03 Prva HNL. Because of this, the four bottom-placed teams were automatically relegated toCroatian Second Football League at the end of the season, while the 11th placedŠibenik and 12th placedKamen Ingrad qualified for theRelegation play-offs. Both clubs then went on to win the two-legged play-off ties against second level sidesVukovar '91 andIstra Pula. Therefore, no team was promoted from the2001–02 Croatian Second Football League and all twelve teams which contested the 2002–03 Prva HNL were also top flight members in the previous season.
Teams relegated to the2002–03 Croatian Second Football League
The following is an overview of teams which competed in the 2002–03 Prva HNL. Manager list is correct as of 24 July 2002, first day of the season.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dinamo Zagreb | 22 | 18 | 3 | 1 | 51 | 17 | +34 | 57 | Qualification tochampionship group |
| 2 | Hajduk Split | 22 | 16 | 2 | 4 | 42 | 14 | +28 | 50 | |
| 3 | Varteks | 22 | 15 | 0 | 7 | 40 | 21 | +19 | 45 | |
| 4 | Cibalia | 22 | 9 | 5 | 8 | 28 | 28 | 0 | 32 | |
| 5 | Kamen Ingrad | 22 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 23 | 22 | +1 | 30 | |
| 6 | NK Zagreb | 22 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 28 | 30 | −2 | 30 | |
| 7 | Slaven Belupo | 22 | 9 | 2 | 11 | 24 | 26 | −2 | 29 | Qualification torelegation group |
| 8 | Osijek | 22 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 21 | 39 | −18 | 23 | |
| 9 | Zadar | 22 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 21 | 40 | −19 | 21 | |
| 10 | Rijeka | 22 | 5 | 3 | 14 | 23 | 33 | −10 | 18 | |
| 11 | Pomorac | 22 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 26 | 41 | −15 | 17 | |
| 12 | Šibenik | 22 | 4 | 5 | 13 | 23 | 39 | −16 | 17 |
| Home \ Away | CIB | DIN | HAJ | KAM | OSI | POM | RIJ | SLA | ŠIB | VAR | ZAD | ZAG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cibalia | 1–1 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | |
| Dinamo Zagreb | 4–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 6–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | |
| Hajduk Split | 4–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 5–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 3–0 | |
| Kamen Ingrad | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | |
| Osijek | 1–0 | 1–5 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 2–2 | |
| Pomorac | 0–0 | 2–3 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | |
| Rijeka | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 5–1 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 3–2 | |
| Slaven Belupo | 2–3 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | |
| Šibenik | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 3–3 | 3–0 | |
| Varteks | 3–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 4–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | |
| Zadar | 0–2 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–5 | 2–1 | |
| NK Zagreb | 0–1 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dinamo Zagreb(C) | 32 | 25 | 3 | 4 | 76 | 27 | +49 | 78 | Qualification toChampions League second qualifying round |
| 2 | Hajduk Split | 32 | 22 | 4 | 6 | 56 | 22 | +34 | 70 | Qualification toUEFA Cup qualifying round |
| 3 | Varteks | 32 | 18 | 3 | 11 | 52 | 38 | +14 | 57 | |
| 4 | Kamen Ingrad | 32 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 34 | 34 | 0 | 44 | |
| 5 | Cibalia | 32 | 12 | 7 | 13 | 39 | 44 | −5 | 43 | Qualification toIntertoto Cup second round |
| 6 | NK Zagreb | 32 | 9 | 9 | 14 | 40 | 52 | −12 | 36 | Qualification toIntertoto Cup first round |
| Home \ Away | CIB | DIN | HAJ | KAM | VAR | ZAG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cibalia | 3–2 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | |
| Dinamo Zagreb | 3–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 5–1 | 5–0 | |
| Hajduk Split | 1–0 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | |
| Kamen Ingrad | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | |
| Varteks | 1–0 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | |
| NK Zagreb | 1–1 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 3–3 | 2–2 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Slaven Belupo | 32 | 12 | 4 | 16 | 37 | 36 | +1 | 40 | |
| 8 | Osijek | 32 | 10 | 9 | 13 | 32 | 51 | −19 | 39 | |
| 9 | Rijeka | 32 | 9 | 6 | 17 | 40 | 41 | −1 | 33 | |
| 10 | Zadar | 32 | 9 | 6 | 17 | 36 | 71 | −35 | 33 | |
| 11 | Pomorac(R) | 32 | 7 | 11 | 14 | 42 | 52 | −10 | 32 | Qualification torelegation play-off |
| 12 | Šibenik(R) | 32 | 8 | 7 | 17 | 37 | 53 | −16 | 31 | Relegation toCroatian Second Football League |
| Pomorac | 0–0 | Inker Zaprešić |
|---|---|---|
| Report (in Croatian) |
| Inker Zaprešić | 3–1 | Pomorac |
|---|---|---|
| Lalić Eduardo | Report (in Croatian) | Karabogdan |
Source:1.hnl.net(in Croatian)