2007–08 Croatian First Football League

The 2007–08 Croatian First Football League (officially known as the T-Com Prva HNL for sponsorship reasons) was the seventeenth 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 20 July 2007 and ended on 10 May 2008. Dinamo Zagreb were the defending champions, having won their eleventh championship title the previous season, and they defended the title again, after a win against Međimurje on 12 April 2008.

T-Com Prva HNL
Season2007–08
Dates20 July 2007 –
10 May 2008
ChampionsDinamo Zagreb
10th Croatian title
14th domestic title
RelegatedMeđimurje
Champions LeagueDinamo Zagreb
UEFA CupSlaven Belupo
Hajduk Split (via Cup)
Intertoto CupRijeka
Matches played198
Goals scored573 (2.89 per match)
Top goalscorerŽelimir Terkeš (21)
Biggest home winHajduk 7–1 Inter
Biggest away winInter 0–4 Dinamo
Highest scoringHajduk 7–2 Inter
Zagreb 7–2 Zadar
Average attendance2,759

Promotion and relegation

Kamen Ingrad were automatically relegated to Druga HNL as they finished last in the previous season, while Inter Zaprešić were automatically promoted from Druga HNL after winning the 2006–07 title. In a two-legged playoff between Zadar and Pula, Zadar were promoted to Prva HNL by beating Pula with 6–2 on aggregate (3–0, 3–2).

Teams
Locations of teams in 2007–08 Prva HNL

Stadia and personnel
Team Manager1 Location Stadium Capacity
Cibalia Croatia Srećko Lušić Vinkovci Stadion HNK Cibalia 10,000
Dinamo Zagreb Croatia Zvonimir Soldo Zagreb Stadion Maksimir 37,168
Hajduk Split Croatia Robert Jarni Split Stadion Poljud 35,000
Inter Zaprešić Croatia Milivoj Bračun Zagreb Stadion ŠRC Zaprešić 5,000
Međimurje Croatia Miljenko Dovečer Čakovec Stadion SRC Mladost 8,000
Osijek Croatia Ilija Lončarević Osijek Stadion Gradski vrt 19,500
Rijeka Croatia Zlatko Dalić Rijeka Stadion Kantrida 10,275
Slaven Belupo Croatia Krunoslav Jurčić Koprivnica Gradski stadion u Koprivnici 4,000
Šibenik Croatia Ivica Kalinić Šibenik Stadion Šubićevac 8,000
Varteks Croatia Dražen Besek Varaždin Stadion Varteks 10,800
Zadar Croatia Dalibor Zebić Zadar Stadion Stanovi 5,860
NK Zagreb Croatia Miroslav Blažević Zagreb Stadion Kranjčevićeva 8,850
  • 1 On final match day of the season, played on 10 May 2008.

League table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Dinamo Zagreb (C) 33 26 4 3 91 34 +57 82 Qualification to Champions League first qualifying round
2 Slaven Belupo 33 16 6 11 45 29 +16 54 Qualification to UEFA Cup first qualifying round[lower-alpha 1]
3 Osijek 33 16 6 11 43 34 +9 54
4 Rijeka 33 14 11 8 53 41 +12 53 Qualification to Intertoto Cup first round
5 Hajduk Split 33 14 10 9 57 41 +16 52 Qualification to UEFA Cup first qualifying round[lower-alpha 1]
6 NK Zagreb 33 11 11 11 51 40 +11 44
7 Varteks 33 11 7 15 46 53 −7 40
8 Cibalia 33 11 7 15 40 48 −8 40
9 Zadar 33 11 7 15 49 61 −12 40
10 Šibenik 33 9 12 12 34 52 −18 39
11 Inter Zaprešić (O) 33 8 9 16 27 59 −32 33 Qualification to relegation play-off
12 Međimurje (R) 33 3 6 24 37 81 −44 15 Relegation to Croatian Second Football League
Source: Sportnet.hr
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd goal difference; 3rd goals scored
For deciding champions, qualification for the UEFA Cup and relegation: 1st points; 2nd head-to-head points; 3rd head-to-head goal difference; 4th head-to-head away goals scored
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. Hajduk Split qualified for the UEFA Cup as a runner-up of the 2007–08 Croatian Football Cup.

Results

Matchdays 1–22

In the first part of the season, matchdays 1–22 were played, with each team playing against every other team twice (home and away). This part of the season started on 20 July 2007, and finished with the last round matches on 8 March 2008.

Home \ Away CIB DIN HAJ INT MEĐ OSI RIJ SLA ŠIB VAR ZAD ZAG
Cibalia 1–2 0–0 2–0 2–0 2–0 2–0 3–0 3–3 1–0 0–2 3–1
Dinamo Zagreb 2–1 1–0 5–0 3–1 1–0 1–0 4–0 5–0 1–2 5–1 6–3
Hajduk Split 2–2 1–2 7–1 3–3 1–0 1–1 1–0 2–0 3–1 4–1 2–1
Inter Zaprešić 1–0 0–4 0–1 3–0 1–1 0–1 1–0 2–2 0–0 2–1 1–1
Međimurje 0–1 1–1 1–1 2–3 0–1 0–1 2–0 2–2 4–1 2–4 0–3
Osijek 5–1 1–3 0–1 1–0 4–0 2–2 1–0 1–1 0–1 1–0 1–1
Rijeka 3–0 2–4 4–0 2–1 3–1 1–1 1–0 2–0 1–1 2–0 2–1
Slaven Belupo 2–2 5–2 2–2 2–0 2–0 2–0 1–0 1–0 6–0 4–2 1–0
Šibenik 2–0 0–2 1–0 1–1 4–2 1–0 3–2 0–2 4–3 0–0 0–0
Varteks 2–1 4–3 1–3 1–2 2–0 1–2 1–2 1–1 3–0 2–0 0–1
Zadar 1–1 1–2 0–0 3–0 4–0 5–1 0–0 1–0 2–2 2–0 1–0
NK Zagreb 4–1 1–3 1–0 3–0 1–1 0–2 2–2 0–2 3–1 0–0 7–2
Source: Sportnet.hr
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Matches 23–33

In the second part of the season, matchdays 23–33 were played, with each team playing every other team one additional time (either at home or away). This part of the season started with matchday 23 on 15 March 2008, and finished with the last round on 10 May 2008.

Home \ Away CIB DIN HAJ INT MEĐ OSI RIJ SLA ŠIB VAR ZAD ZAG
Cibalia 1–1 3–0 2–0 0–1 2–2
Dinamo Zagreb 4–0 1–0 3–2 6–1 1–0 5–1
Hajduk Split 1–2 1–1 7–2 0–2 2–0 4–1
Inter Zaprešić 1–2 2–1 0–0 1–0 0–0
Međimurje 1–2 2–2 4–0 0–1 2–3
Osijek 2–1 3–1 1–0 1–0 2–0 2–1
Rijeka 2–0 1–1 5–2 2–2 5–3 1–1
Slaven Belupo 2–0 4–0 1–1 2–1 2–0 1–0
Šibenik 0–0 1–0 0–0 0–0 0–2
Varteks 1–1 4–0 3–2 1–1 5–2
Zadar 1–0 2–5 1–3 3–1 1–1 0–2
NK Zagreb 0–0 2–1 6–1 3–1 0–0
Source: Sportnet.hr
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Relegation play-off

Following the end of season, a home-and-away relegation/promotion play-off was contested between Inter Zaprešić (11th placed team in the First League) and Hrvatski Dragovoljac (2nd placed team in the 2007–08 Second Football League). Matches were played on 17 and 21 May 2008, with Inter Zaprešić retaining their top level status by beating Hrvatski Dragovoljac 2–0 on aggregate.

First leg
Inter Zaprešić2–0Hrvatski Dragovoljac
Gulić 50'
Sivonjić 59'		 Report
(in Croatian)
Attendance: 2,000
Referee: Vlado Svilokos (Sisak)
Second leg
Hrvatski Dragovoljac0–0Inter Zaprešić
Report
(in Croatian)		 Krznar Red card 33'
Attendance: 1,500
Referee: Draženko Kovačić (Križevci)

Top goalscorers
Rank Player Club Goals
1 Bosnia and Herzegovina Želimir Terkeš Zadar 21
2 Montenegro Radomir Đalović Rijeka 18
3 Croatia Nikola Kalinić Hajduk Split 17
4 Croatia Krunoslav Lovrek NK Zagreb 14
5 Croatia Luka Modrić Dinamo Zagreb 13
6 Bosnia and Herzegovina Senijad Ibričić NK Zagreb 12
Croatia Željko Malčić Cibalia
Croatia Mario Mandžukić Dinamo Zagreb
9 Croatia Boško Balaban Dinamo Zagreb 11
Croatia Anas Sharbini Rijeka
Croatia Josip Tadić Dinamo Zagreb
Croatia Ognjen Vukojević Dinamo Zagreb

See also

References
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