2008–09 Prva HNL

T-Com Prva HNL
Season 2008–09
Champions Dinamo Zagreb
11th Croatian title
15th domestic title
Relegated None
UEFA Champions League Dinamo Zagreb
UEFA Europa League Hajduk Split
Rijeka
Slaven Belupo
Goals scored 522
Average goals/game 2.64
Top goalscorer Mario Mandžukić (16)
Biggest home win Dinamo 6–0 Cibalia
(17 August 2008)[1]
Biggest away win Varteks 1–6 Dinamo
(26 April 2009)[2]
Highest scoring Rijeka 6–2 Slaven Belupo (8 goals)
(26 April 2009)[3]

The 2008–09 Prva HNL season was the 18th since its establishment. It started on 27 July 2008 and ended on 31 May 2009. Dinamo Zagreb were the defending champions, having won their 10th championship title the previous season.

Contents

Promotion and relegation

Međimurje were automatically relegated to Druga HNL as they finished last in the previous season, while Croatia Sesvete were automatically promoted from Druga HNL after winning the 2007–08 title. In a two-legged playoff between Inter Zaprešić and Hrvatski dragovoljac, the former kept their Prva HNL status by beating Hrvatski dragovoljac with 2–0 on aggregate (2–0, 0–0).

League expansion

In June 2007 Igor Štimac, president of Association of Prva HNL clubs, proposed a future expansion of Prva HNL from 12 to 16 clubs, starting from 2008–09 season.[4] However, although a majority of club representatives supported that proposal, no strict agreement or final decision was made. On HNS meeting in late August 2007 it was decided to postpone the decision for late 2007 or even 2008 and that the expansion would not be possible before the 2009–10 season.[5]

For more than a year nothing explicit was stated on that matter. Finally, on a regular HNS meeting in February 2009 HNS Secretary Zorislav Srebrić stated that club licensing would decide whether the 2009–10 season would feature 12 or 16 teams. Theoretically, if only 15 teams obtained Prva HNL license, league would have featured 12 teams. The deadline for submitting the license was 1 May 2009.[6] On 8 May 2009 HNS declared that all 19 clubs that applied for the license were awarded with it and would be in possibility to enter the league in 2009–10, now expanded to 16 clubs.[7] Also, on 26 May 2009 HNS received official confirmations from all 19 clubs in which they expressed their will to compete in next year's Prva HNL, what means that none of the clubs would withdraw from the league.[8] However, despite their guarantee to compete in Prva HNL, Slavonac eventually withdrew although they finished fourth and earned direct access to Prva HNL 2009–10. Their place was taken by Međimurje while sixth-placed Hrvatski dragovoljac competed in a relegation play-offs.[9]

Stadiums and locations

After the death of Hrvoje Ćustić during a game played at Zadar's Stanovi Stadium in March 2008, it was decided that the stadia for the 2008–09 season would have to pass a closer inspection to be deemed fit for first-league football. Since only 9 stadia managed to meet the requirements and obtain first-league license from the Croatian Football Federation, it was announced in May 2008 that some of the teams (Cibalia, Croatia Sesvete, Zadar and NK Zagreb) would have to share stadia and temporarily play their home games at other venues.[10] Just before Round 1 kicked off, Cibalia managed to bring their stadium to standard, and in August, just before round 5, Zadar secured the licence to play their games at Stanovi Stadium.[11]

Team City Stadium Capacity
Cibalia Vinkovci Stadion Cibalia 10,000
Croatia Sesvete Zagreb Kamen Ingrad Stadium 10,000
Dinamo Zagreb Maksimir Stadium 37,168
Hajduk Split Gradski stadion u Poljudu 35,000
Inter Zaprešić Stadion NK Inter Zaprešić 10,000
NK Osijek Osijek Gradski vrt 19,500
NK Rijeka Rijeka Kantrida Stadium 12,000
Slaven Belupo Koprivnica Gradski Stadion u Koprivnici 5,000
HNK Šibenik Šibenik Stadion Šubićevac 8,000
Varteks Varaždin Stadion Anđelko Herjavec 10,000
NK Zadar Zadar Stanovi Stadium 5,860
NK Zagreb Zagreb Stadion Kranjčevićeva 12,000

Managerial changes

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Replaced by Date of appointment Position in table
NK Zagreb Miroslav Blažević
Mutual consent
10 May 2008 [12]
Luka Pavlović
11 May 2008 [13]
Pre-season
Dinamo Zagreb Zvonimir Soldo
Resigned
14 May 2008 [14]
Branko Ivanković
20 May 2008 [15]
Pre-season
Slaven Belupo Krunoslav Jurčić
Resigned
14 May 2008 [16]
Mile Petković
26 May 2008 [17]
Pre-season
Hajduk Split Robert Jarni
Sacked
24 May 2008 [18]
Goran Vučević
25 May 2008 [19]
Pre-season
Croatia Sesvete Zlatko Kranjčar
Resigned
18 June 2008 [20]
Ljupko Petrović
2 July 2008 [21]
Pre-season
Rijeka Zlatko Dalić
Sacked
1 July 2008 [22]
Mladen Ivančić
7 July 2008 [23]
Pre-season
Osijek Ilija Lončarević
Sacked
26 September 2008 [24]
Tomislav Steinbrückner
26 September 2008 [24]
10th
Zadar Dalibor Zebić
Resigned
28 September 2008 [25]
Ivica Datković
9 October 2008 [26]
12th
Rijeka Mladen Ivančić
Resigned
8 October 2008 [27]
Robert Rubčić
13 October 2008 [28]
7th
Inter Zaprešić Milivoj Bračun
Resigned
20 October 2008 [29]
Borimir Perković
20 October 2008 [29]
11th
Hajduk Split Goran Vučević
Resigned
26 October 2008 [30]
Ante Miše
21 November 2008 [31]
3rd
Cibalia Srećko Lušić
Sacked
10 November 2008 [32]
Stanko Mršić
14 November 2008 [33]
11th
Dinamo Zagreb Branko Ivanković
Mutual consent
24 November 2008 [34]
Marijan Vlak
24 November 2008 [34]
1st
Croatia Sesvete Ljupko Petrović
Resigned
7 December 2008 [35]
Zlatko Kranjčar
30 December 2008 [36]
10th
Zadar Ivica Datković
Mutual consent
21 December 2008 [37]
Dalibor Zebić
30 December 2008 [38]
12th
Croatia Sesvete Zlatko Kranjčar
Resigned
21 February 2009 [39]
Milan Đuričić
3 May 2009 [40]
10th
Dinamo Zagreb Marijan Vlak
Sacked
5 March 2009 [41]
Krunoslav Jurčić
5 March 2009 [41]
2nd

League table

Pos
Team
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
Qualification or relegation
1 Dinamo Zagreb (C) 33 23 5 5 71 26 +45 74 2009–10 UEFA Champions League Second qualifying round
2 Hajduk Split 33 21 5 7 59 25 +34 68 2009–10 UEFA Europa League Third qualifying round
3 Rijeka 33 17 5 11 50 44 +6 56 2009–10 UEFA Europa League Second qualifying round
4 Slaven Belupo 33 16 7 10 46 39 +7 55 2009–10 UEFA Europa League First qualifying round 1
5 NK Zagreb 33 13 8 12 38 39 −1 47
6 Šibenik 33 13 7 13 44 35 +9 46
7 Osijek 33 10 11 12 40 41 −1 41
8 Cibalia 33 10 8 15 33 53 −20 38
9 Inter Zaprešić 33 9 9 15 41 50 −9 36
10 Varteks 33 10 5 18 41 55 −14 35
11 Zadar 33 7 8 18 28 49 −21 29
12 Croatia Sesvete (O) 33 6 8 19 31 66 −35 0252 Relegation play-offs

Source: prva-hnl.hr (Croatian)
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
1Because both cup finalists, Dinamo and Hajduk, qualified for Europe through their league positions, all three UEFA Europa League spots were given to teams according to their league positions, what means that fourth-placed Slaven Belupo also earned a spot in Europa League.
2Croatia Sesvete were deducted 1 point due to unpaid debts to Imotski over player Darko Vučić.[42]
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.

Relegation play-offs

Due to the expansion of Prva HNL to 16 clubs in the 2009–10 season, four clubs from Druga HNL 2008–09 were automatically promoted. Those should have been top four clubs, but since Slavonac withdrew[9] their direct access spot was taken by fifth-placed Međimurje. Therefore, the 12th placed Croatia Sesvete played a two-legged relegation play-off against the 6th placed team of Druga HNL, Hrvatski dragovoljac. Croatia Sesvete won 2–1 on aggregate and thereby earned a spot in the 2009–10 season.

11 June 2009
18:00 CEST
Hrvatski dragovoljac 0 – 0 Croatia Sesvete Maksimir, Zagreb
Attendance: 2,000
Referee: Domagoj Ljubičić
Ercegović  58', 84' Report
(Croatian)

14 June 2009
20:00 CEST
Croatia Sesvete 2 – 1 Hrvatski dragovoljac Kranjčevićeva, Zagreb
Attendance: 2,500
Referee: Ivan Bebek
Vojnović  10'  41', 62'
Čižmek  90'
Report
(Croatian)
Janjetović  67'

Results

The schedule consisted of three rounds. During the first two rounds, each team played each other once home and away for a total of 22 matches. The pairings of the third round were then set according to the standings after the first two rounds, giving every team a third game against each opponent for a total of 33 games per team.

First and second round

Home \ Away1 CIB CRS DIN HAJ INT OSI RIJ SLA ŠIB VAR ZAD ZAG
Cibalia 3–1 1–1 1–1 4–3 0–3 3–1 0–0 2–0 1–0 1–0 0–1
Croatia Sesvete 1–1 0–1 1–0 1–3 1–1 0–1 0–0 0–0 4–0 3–1 1–4
Dinamo Zagreb 6–0 6–1 0–2 3–1 1–0 2–0 1–0 3–0 2–1 2–0 3–1
Hajduk Split 2–0 1–0 2–0 3–3 3–1 2–0 3–1 1–0 1–1 1–0 4–0
Inter Zaprešić 1–2 3–2 1–3 0–4 0–1 2–2 0–0 2–3 2–3 3–1 1–1
Osijek 2–0 4–2 0–2 1–2 2–1 2–2 0–0 1–3 2–1 3–0 0–2
Rijeka 1–0 2–1 1–0 3–1 0–1 0–0 2–0 0–1 2–1 2–1 0–1
Slaven Belupo 1–0 4–0 2–0 1–2 1–0 4–2 2–1 3–1 2–3 2–1 2–0
Šibenik 4–0 0–1 2–2 1–2 1–1 1–1 3–0 3–0 2–0 1–0 1–1
Varteks 3–0 2–1 0–1 0–2 1–0 0–02 3–3 2–3 2–1 2–0 2–1
Zadar 2–1 1–2 2–3 1–0 1–1 2–2 0–3 1–1 1–0 1–0 2–1
NK Zagreb 0–0 1–1 2–2 3–0 0–1 2–1 1–1 2–0 0–4 0–3 0–0

Source: prva-hnl.hr (Croatian)
1The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
2The match was suspended after 82 minutes due to heavy fog. However, since more than 80% of the game was played it was officially registered with the score at the moment of suspension (0–0).[43]
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Third round

Home \ Away1 CIB CRS DIN HAJ INT OSI RIJ SLA ŠIB VAR ZAD ZAG
Cibalia 3–0 3–4 1–1 2–1 2–1
Croatia Sesvete 0–4 0–3 1–1 0–1 2–1
Dinamo Zagreb 1–0 0–0 4–0 2–0 2–0 0–1
Hajduk Split 2–0 5–0 2–2 2–0 0–1 2–0
Inter Zaprešić 0–0 0–2 3–0 1–0 2–2
Osijek 1–0 1–1 1–2 1–2 1–0
Rijeka 2–0 3–2 2–1 6–2 4–1 2–0
Slaven Belupo 1–1 5–1 1–1 1–0 2–1 2–1
Šibenik 0–2 4–0 2–1 0–1 0–0 2–1
Varteks 1–6 0–1 2–3 2–2 0–0 1–2
Zadar 3–1 1–1 0–3 3–1 0–1
NK Zagreb 4–0 0–0 1–0 1–0 3–1

Source: prva-hnl.hr (Croatian)
1The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Season statistics

Overall

Home

Away

Clean sheets

Top goalscorers

Source: prva-hnl.hr (Croatian)

16 goals
15 goals
14 goals
12 goals
11 goals

Hat-tricks

Player For Against Date Report
Mandžukić, MarioMario Mandžukić Dinamo Zagreb Cibalia 17 August 2008 Sportnet.hr (Croatian)
Kalinić, NikolaNikola Kalinić Hajduk Split Slaven Belupo 23 August 2008 Sportnet.hr (Croatian)
Sivonjić, IlijaIlija Sivonjić Inter Zaprešić Cibalia 24 August 2008 Sportnet.hr (Croatian)
Morales, PedroPedro Morales Dinamo Zagreb Croatia Sesvete 9 November 2008 Sportnet.hr (Croatian)
Zec, ErminErmin Zec Šibenik Inter Zaprešić 22 March 2009 Sportnet.hr (Croatian)
Slepička, MiroslavMiroslav Slepička Dinamo Zagreb Croatia Sesvete 19 April 2009 Sportnet.hr (Croatian)
Sharbini, AnasAnas Sharbini Rijeka Slaven Belupo 26 April 2009 Sportnet.hr (Croatian)
Slepička, MiroslavMiroslav Slepička Dinamo Zagreb Varteks 26 April 2009 Sportnet.hr (Croatian)
Dodo Inter Zaprešić Rijeka 31 May 2009 Sportnet.hr (Croatian)

Transfers

See also

References

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  2. ^ Dinamo trijumfalno kroz Varaždin! (Croatian)
  3. ^ Utakmica za Europu! (Croatian)
  4. ^ 'Liga 16' nogometu donosi 400 mil. kn (Croatian)
  5. ^ Liga 16 (zasad) stopirana (Croatian)
  6. ^ Licenciranje odlučuje o Ligi 16 (Croatian)
  7. ^ Njih 15, stadiona sedam (Croatian)
  8. ^ Svi žele u Prvu HNL (Croatian)
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External links