| Season | 1997–98 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 3 August 1997 – 10 May 1998 |
| Champions | Croatia Zagreb 4th Croatian title 8th domestic title |
| Relegated | Samobor |
| Champions League | Croatia Zagreb |
| UEFA Cup | Hajduk Split Osijek |
| Cup Winners' Cup | Varteks |
| Intertoto Cup | Hrvatski Dragovoljac |
| Matches | 192 |
| Goals | 494 (2.57 per match) |
| Best Player | Mario Bazina |
| Top goalscorer | Mate Baturina (19) |
| Biggest home win | Zadarkomerc 6–0Slaven Belupo |
| Biggest away win | Samobor 0–6NK Zagreb |
| Highest scoring | Hrvatski Dragovoljac 6–2Slaven Belupo Varteks 2–6Croatia Zagreb |
| Average attendance | 3,602 |
1998–99 → | |
The1997–98Croatian First Football League was the seventh season of the Croatian top-level football league since its establishment.
| Team | Manager1 | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Croatia Zagreb | Zagreb | Stadion Maksimir | 37,168 | |
| Hajduk Split | Split | Stadion Poljud | 35,000 | |
| Hrvatski Dragovoljac | Velika Gorica | Stadion Radnik | 8,000 | |
| Mladost 127 | Suhopolje | Stadion Park | 5,000 | |
| Osijek | Osijek | Stadion Gradski vrt | 19,500 | |
| Rijeka | Rijeka | Stadion Kantrida | 10,275 | |
| Samobor | Samobor | Gradski stadion u Samoboru | 5,000 | |
| Slaven Belupo | Koprivnica | Gradski stadion u Koprivnici | 4,000 | |
| Šibenik | Šibenik | Stadion Šubićevac | 8,000 | |
| Varteks | Varaždin | Stadion Varteks | 10,800 | |
| Zadarkomerc | Zadar | Stadion Stanovi | 5,860 | |
| NK Zagreb | Zagreb | Stadion Kranjčevićeva | 8,850 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Croatia Zagreb | 22 | 15 | 4 | 3 | 46 | 18 | +28 | 49 | Qualification tochampionship group |
| 2 | Hajduk Split | 22 | 13 | 4 | 5 | 36 | 20 | +16 | 43 | |
| 3 | NK Zagreb | 22 | 12 | 5 | 5 | 35 | 23 | +12 | 41 | |
| 4 | Hrvatski Dragovoljac | 22 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 31 | 18 | +13 | 36 | |
| 5 | Osijek | 22 | 9 | 5 | 8 | 29 | 26 | +3 | 32 | |
| 6 | Zadarkomerc | 22 | 8 | 4 | 10 | 25 | 24 | +1 | 28 | |
| 7 | Rijeka | 22 | 5 | 11 | 6 | 20 | 24 | −4 | 26 | Qualification torelegation group |
| 8 | Varteks | 22 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 24 | 32 | −8 | 24 | |
| 9 | Slaven Belupo | 22 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 20 | 43 | −23 | 23[a] | |
| 10 | Mladost 127 | 22 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 17 | 24 | −7 | 23[a] | |
| 11 | Samobor | 22 | 6 | 4 | 12 | 23 | 35 | −12 | 22 | |
| 12 | Šibenik | 22 | 4 | 5 | 13 | 19 | 38 | −19 | 17 |
| Home \ Away | CZG | HAJ | HRD | MLA | OSI | RIJ | SAM | SLA | ŠIB | VAR | ZAD | ZAG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Croatia Zagreb | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 3–0 | |
| Hajduk Split | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | |
| Hrvatski Dragovoljac | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 6–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | |
| Mladost 127 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | |
| Osijek | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–3 | |
| Rijeka | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | |
| Samobor | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 5–1 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 0–6 | |
| Slaven Belupo | 1–1 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–2 | |
| Šibenik | 1–3 | 1–4 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 4–3 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | |
| Varteks | 2–6 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | |
| Zadarkomerc | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 6–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | |
| NK Zagreb | 0–4 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Croatia Zagreb(C) | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 28 | 10 | +18 | 49 | Qualification toChampions League second qualifying round |
| 2 | Hajduk Split | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 17 | 16 | +1 | 36 | Qualification toUEFA Cup second qualifying round |
| 3 | Osijek | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 12 | +1 | 32 | |
| 4 | Hrvatski Dragovoljac | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 12 | −5 | 32 | Qualification toIntertoto Cup first round |
| 5 | NK Zagreb | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 30 | |
| 6 | Zadarkomerc | 10 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 11 | 26 | −15 | 21 |
| Home \ Away | CZG | HAJ | HRD | OSI | ZAD | ZAG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Croatia Zagreb | 2–1 | 4–0 | 4–2 | 6–1 | 2–2 | |
| Hajduk Split | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 5–2 | 2–1 | |
| Hrvatski Dragovoljac | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | |
| Osijek | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | |
| Zadarkomerc | 0–3 | 4–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | |
| NK Zagreb | 2–3 | 3–3 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 4–0 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Rijeka | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 16 | 13 | +3 | 28 | |
| 8 | Šibenik | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 16 | 8 | +8 | 27 | |
| 9 | Slaven Belupo | 10 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 11 | 13 | −2 | 27 | |
| 10 | Varteks | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 12 | −2 | 26 | Qualification toCup Winners' Cup first round |
| 11 | Mladost 127(O) | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 13 | 11 | +2 | 25 | Qualification torelegation play-off |
| 12 | Samobor(R) | 10 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 11 | 20 | −9 | 21 | Relegation toCroatian Second Football League |
| Mladost 127 | 2–0 | Segesta |
|---|---|---|
| Report (p. 11) |