# 2020–21 Croatian First Football League

The 2020–21 Croatian First Football League (officially Hrvatski Telekom Prva liga for sponsorship reasons) was the 30th season of the Croatian First Football League, the top national championship for men's association football teams in Croatia, since its establishment in 1992. The season started on 14 August 2020 and finished on 22 May 2021.
The season began with games being played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Teams

On 20 May 2020, Croatian Football Federation announced that the first stage of licensing procedure for 2020–21 season was complete. For the 2020–21 Prva HNL, ten clubs were issued a top level license: Dinamo Zagreb, Gorica, Hajduk Split, Istra 1961, Lokomotiva, Osijek, Rijeka, Slaven Belupo, Šibenik and Varaždin. All of these clubs except Šibenik and Varaždin were also issued a license for participating in UEFA competitions. In the second stage of licensing, clubs that were not licensed in the first stage could appeal on the decision. On 17 June 2020, Croatian Football Federation announced that the licensing procedure for 2020–21 season was complete. Inter Zaprešić and Orijent 1919 were also issued a top level license after appeal process.

### Stadia and locations

| Dinamo Zagreb | Gorica | Hajduk Split | Istra 1961 |
| Stadion Maksimir | Gradski stadion Velika Gorica | Stadion Poljud | Stadion Aldo Drosina |
| Capacity: 35,123 | Capacity: 5,000 | Capacity: 34,198 | Capacity: 9,800 |
| Lokomotiva | Dinamo LokomotivaGoricaHajduk SplitIstra 1961OsijekRijekaSlavenŠibenikVaraždinclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2020–21 Prva HNL | Dinamo LokomotivaGoricaHajduk SplitIstra 1961OsijekRijekaSlavenŠibenikVaraždinclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2020–21 Prva HNL | Osijek |
| Stadion Kranjčevićeva | Dinamo LokomotivaGoricaHajduk SplitIstra 1961OsijekRijekaSlavenŠibenikVaraždinclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2020–21 Prva HNL | Dinamo LokomotivaGoricaHajduk SplitIstra 1961OsijekRijekaSlavenŠibenikVaraždinclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2020–21 Prva HNL | Stadion Gradski vrt |
| Capacity: 5,350 | Dinamo LokomotivaGoricaHajduk SplitIstra 1961OsijekRijekaSlavenŠibenikVaraždinclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2020–21 Prva HNL | Dinamo LokomotivaGoricaHajduk SplitIstra 1961OsijekRijekaSlavenŠibenikVaraždinclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2020–21 Prva HNL | Capacity: 17,061 |
| Rijeka | Slaven Belupo | Šibenik | Varaždin |
| Stadion Rujevica | Stadion Ivan Kušek-Apaš | Stadion Šubićevac | Stadion Varteks |
| Capacity: 8,279 | Capacity: 3,205 | Capacity: 3,412 | Capacity: 8,850 |
| Team | City | Stadium | Capacity |
| Dinamo Zagreb | Zagreb | Maksimir | 35,123 |
| Gorica | Velika Gorica | ŠRC Velika Gorica | 8,000 |
| Hajduk Split | Split | Poljud | 34,198 |
| Istra 1961 | Pula | Stadion Aldo Drosina | 9,800 |
| Lokomotiva | Zagreb | Kranjčevićeva$^1$ | 5,350 |
| Osijek | Osijek | Gradski vrt | 17,061 |
| Rijeka | Rijeka | Rujevica | 8,279 |
| Slaven Belupo | Koprivnica | Stadion Ivan Kušek-Apaš | 3,205 |
| Šibenik | Šibenik | Šubićevac | 3,412 |
| Varaždin | Varaždin | Stadion Varteks | 8,850 |
* $^1$ Lokomotiva host their home matches at Stadion Kranjčevićeva. The stadium is originally the home ground of third-level side NK Zagreb.
| Rank | Counties of Croatia | Number of teams | Club(s) |
| 1 | City of Zagreb | 2 | Dinamo Zagreb, Lokomotiva |
| 2 | Koprivnica-Križevci | 1 | Slaven Belupo |
| 2 | Osijek-Baranja | 1 | Osijek |
| 2 | Primorje-Gorski Kotar | 1 | Rijeka |
| 2 | Split-Dalmatia | 1 | Hajduk Split |
| 2 | Šibenik-Knin | 1 | Šibenik |
| 2 | Varaždin | 1 | Varaždin |
| 2 | Zagreb | 1 | Gorica |
| 2 | Istria | 1 | Istra 1961 |

### Personnel and kits

| Club | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Sponsors |
| Dinamo Zagreb | Damir Krznar | Arijan Ademi | Adidas | Lana grupa |
| Gorica | Siniša Oreščanin | Aleksandar Jovičić | FCG | — |
| Hajduk Split | Paolo Tramezzani | Lovre Kalinić | Macron | Tommy |
| Istra 1961 | Danijel Jumić | Slavko Blagojević | Kelme | Croatia Osiguranje |
| Lokomotiva | Samir Toplak | Josip Pivarić | Adidas | — |
| Osijek | Nenad Bjelica | Mile Škorić | 2Rule | DOBRO, Stadler |
| Rijeka | Goran Tomić | Franko Andrijašević | Joma | Sava Osiguranje |
| Slaven Belupo | Tomislav Stipić | Goran Paracki | Adidas | Belupo |
| Šibenik | Sergi Escobar | Marko Bulat | Jako | Krka National Park |
| Varaždin | Zoran Kastel | Marko Stolnik | Legea | Radnik, Derma |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Replaced by | Date of appointment | Position in table |
| Istra 1961 | Ivan Prelec | Contract expired | 14 July 2020 | Danijel Jumić (caretaker) | 16 July 2020 | Pre-season |
| Hajduk Split | Igor Tudor | Signed by Juventus | 21 August 2020 | Hari Vukas | 8 September 2020 | 3rd |
| Istra 1961 | Danijel Jumić (caretaker) | Signing of Budicin | 26 August 2020 | Fausto Budicin | 26 August 2020 | 10th |
| Osijek | Ivica Kulešević | Sacked | 4 September 2020 | Nenad Bjelica | 5 September 2020 | 8th |
| Hajduk Split | Hari Vukas | Sacked | 4 November 2020 | Boro Primorac | 4 November 2020 | 6th |
| Varaždin | Samir Toplak | Sacked | 7 December 2020 | Zoran Kastel | 7 December 2020 | 9th |
| Gorica | Valdas Dambrauskas | Signed by Ludogorets | 3 January 2021 | Siniša Oreščanin | 3 January 2021 | 3rd |
| Lokomotiva | Goran Tomić | Resigned | 9 January 2021 | Jerko Leko | 9 January 2021 | 8th |
| Hajduk Split | Boro Primorac | Removed from position | 18 January 2021 | Paolo Tramezzani | 18 January 2021 | 5th |
| Istra 1961 | Fausto Budicin | Sacked | 11 February 2021 | Danijel Jumić | 11 February 2021 | 10th |
| Rijeka | Simon Rožman | Resigned | 27 February 2021 | Goran Tomić | 1 March 2021 | 4th |
| Lokomotiva | Jerko Leko | Removed from position | 13 March 2021 | Samir Toplak | 14 March 2021 | 10th |
| Dinamo Zagreb | Zoran Mamić | Resigned | 15 March 2021 | Damir Krznar | 15 March 2021 | 1st |
| Šibenik | Krunoslav Rendulić | Sacked | 23 March 2021 | Sergi Escobar | 30 March 2021 | 6th |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Dinamo Zagreb (C) | 36 | 26 | 7 | 3 | 84 | 28 | +56 | 85 | Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | Osijek | 36 | 23 | 8 | 5 | 59 | 25 | +34 | 77 | Qualification for the Europa Conference League second qualifying round |
| 3 | Rijeka | 36 | 18 | 7 | 11 | 51 | 46 | +5 | 61 | Qualification for the Europa Conference League second qualifying round |
| 4 | Hajduk Split | 36 | 18 | 6 | 12 | 48 | 37 | +11 | 60 | Qualification for the Europa Conference League second qualifying round |
| 5 | Gorica | 36 | 17 | 8 | 11 | 60 | 47 | +13 | 59 | |
| 6 | Šibenik | 36 | 9 | 8 | 19 | 32 | 47 | −15 | 35 | |
| 7 | Slaven Belupo | 36 | 7 | 13 | 16 | 36 | 53 | −17 | 34 | |
| 8 | Lokomotiva | 36 | 7 | 9 | 20 | 29 | 60 | −31 | 30 | |
| 9 | Istra 1961 | 36 | 7 | 8 | 21 | 27 | 52 | −25 | 29 | |
| 10 | Varaždin (R) | 36 | 6 | 10 | 20 | 30 | 61 | −31 | 28 | Relegation for the Croatian Second Football League |

## Results

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 | GOR | HAJ | IST | LOK | OSI | RIJ | SLA | ŠIB | VAR | DIN | GOR | HAJ | IST | LOK | OSI | RIJ | SLA | ŠIB | VAR |
| Dinamo Zagreb | — | 3–2 | 3–1 | 5–0 | 6–0 | 4–1 | 0–2 | 3–3 | 1–2 | 4–0 | — | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 |
| Gorica | 3–4 | — | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 0–3 | — | 1–1 | 2–1 | 4–2 | 1–0 | 3–4 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 |
| Hajduk Split | 1–2 | 2–4 | — | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 4–0 | — | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 |
| Istra 1961 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | — | 3–1 | 1–4 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | — | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 0–1 |
| Lokomotiva | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | — | 0–3 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 0–1 | — | 0–2 | 2–3 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 4–0 |
| Osijek | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | — | 3–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | — | 2–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 |
| Rijeka | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | — | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–5 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | — | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 |
| Slaven Belupo | 1–5 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 5–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–3 | — | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–2 | — | 2–2 | 1–0 |
| Šibenik | 0–2 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–3 | — | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–4 | 0–1 | 2–0 | — | 0–0 |
| Varaždin | 1–2 | 1–5 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–3 | — | 0–5 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | — |

## Statistics
### Top goalscorers

    As of 22 May 2021
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Ramón Miérez | Osijek | 22 |
| 2 | Mario Gavranović | Dinamo Zagreb | 17 |
| 3 | Mislav Oršić | Dinamo Zagreb | 16 |
| 4 | Kristijan Lovrić | Gorica | 15 |
| 5 | Franko Andrijašević | Rijeka | 13 |
| 6 | Deni Jurić | Šibenik | 11 |
| 7 | Mijo Caktaš | Hajduk Split | 9 |
| 7 | Ognjen Mudrinski | Gorica | 9 |
| 7 | Bruno Petković | Dinamo Zagreb | 9 |
| 10 | Ivan Krstanović | Slaven Belupo | 8 |
| 10 | Robert Murić | Rijeka | 8 |

## Awards
### Annual awards

| Award | Club | Winner |
| Player of the Season | Bruno Petković | Dinamo Zagreb |
| Manager of the Season | Nenad Bjelica | Dinamo Zagreb |
| Young Player of the Season | Joško Gvardiol | Dinamo Zagreb |
Team of the Year :
| Goalkeeper | Dominik Livaković (Dinamo Zagreb) | Dominik Livaković (Dinamo Zagreb) | Dominik Livaković (Dinamo Zagreb) | Dominik Livaković (Dinamo Zagreb) |
| Defence | Igor Silva (Osijek) | Mile Škorić (Osijek) | Joško Gvardiol (Dinamo Zagreb) | Rasmus Lauritsen (Dinamo Zagreb) |
| Midfield | Lovro Majer (Dinamo Zagreb) | Arijan Ademi (Dinamo Zagreb) | Luka Ivanušec (Dinamo Zagreb) | Mislav Oršić (Dinamo Zagreb) |
| Attack | Bruno Petković (Dinamo Zagreb) | Bruno Petković (Dinamo Zagreb) | Ramón Miérez (Osijek) | Ramón Miérez (Osijek) |