# 2003–04 Croatian First League

2003–04 Croatian First League was the 13th season of the Croatian handball league since its independence and the third season of the First League format.

## League table
### First phase

In the first part of the season, 16 teams played single-circuit league (15 matches). After 15 rounds the first six teams qualified for the Championship play-offs - playing for the Championship title and the remaining 10 in the Relegation play-offs - playing to stay in the league.
| | Club | P | W | D | L | G+ | G− | Dif | Pts | Qualification |
| 1. | Zagreb | 15 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 489 | 373 | 116 | 30 | Championship play-offs |
| 2. | Metković | 15 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 460 | 384 | 76 | 25 | Championship play-offs |
| 3. | Zamet Crotek Rijeka | 15 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 421 | 361 | 60 | 21 | Championship play-offs |
| 4. | Medveščak Infosistem Zagreb | 15 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 434 | 383 | 51 | 21 | Championship play-offs |
| 5. | Osijek Elektromodul | 15 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 409 | 390 | 29 | 20 | Championship play-offs |
| 6. | Perutnina PIPO IPC Čakovec | 15 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 422 | 405 | 19 | 19 | Championship play-offs |
| 7. | Crikvenica | 15 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 417 | 381 | 36 | 19 | Relegation play-offs |
| 8. | Dubrava Zagreb | 15 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 452 | 476 | -24 | 12 | Relegation play-offs |
| 9. | Split | 15 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 367 | 412 | -45 | 10 | Relegation play-offs |
| 10. | Đakovo | 15 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 375 | 411 | -36 | 10 | Relegation play-offs |
| 11. | Bjelovar | 15 | 5 | 0 | 10 | 418 | 423 | -5 | 10 | Relegation play-offs |
| 12. | Varteks di Caprio Varaždin | 15 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 363 | 402 | -39 | 10 | Relegation play-offs |
| 13. | Ekol Ivančica Ivanec | 15 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 384 | 433 | -49 | 10 | Relegation play-offs |
| 14. | Moslavina Kutina | 15 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 388 | 449 | -61 | 9 | Relegation play-offs |
| 15. | Umag | 15 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 366 | 437 | -71 | 7 | Relegation play-offs |
| 16. | Karlovac | 15 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 393 | 438 | -45 | 7 | Relegation play-offs |

### Championship play-offs

Intermediate matches from the first part of the championship were transferred, and the clubs played three more times (15 matches).
| | Club | P | W | D | L | G+ | G− | Dif | Pts |
| 1. | Zagreb | 20 | 18 | 0 | 2 | 618 | 515 | 103 | 36 |
| 2. | Metković | 20 | 11 | 3 | 6 | 588 | 510 | 78 | 25 |
| 3. | Perutnina PIP IPC Čakovec | 20 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 562 | 592 | -30 | 22 |
| 4. | Zamet Crotek Rijeka | 20 | 8 | 1 | 11 | 540 | 537 | 3 | 17 |
| 5. | Medveščak Infosistem Zagreb | 20 | 6 | 0 | 14 | 526 | 537 | -9 | 12 |
| 6. | Osijek Elektromodul | 20 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 519 | 610 | -109 | 8 |

### Relegation play-offs

Relegation play-offs determined the placement of clubs that were between 7th and 16th place in the first phase of the championship. 18 matches were played (double league system).
| | Club | P | W | D | L | G+ | G− | Dif | Pts |
| 1. | Đakovo | 18 | 10 | 0 | 8 | 512 | 483 | 29 | 23 |
| 2. | Split | 18 | 10 | 0 | 8 | 534 | 531 | 3 | 23 |
| 3. | Ekol Ivančica Ivanec | 18 | 11 | 0 | 7 | 529 | 532 | 7 | 23 |
| 4. | Varteks di Caprio Varaždin | 18 | 10 | 0 | 8 | 518 | 514 | 4 | 22 |
| 5. | Crikvenica | 18 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 516 | 524 | -8 | 22 |
| 6. | Moslavina Kutina | 18 | 10 | 0 | 8 | 585 | 560 | 25 | 21 |
| 7. | Dubrava Zagreb | 18 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 562 | 573 | -11 | 19 |
| 8. | Umag | 18 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 554 | 532 | 22 | 18 |
| 9. | Bjelovar | 18 | 7 | 0 | 11 | 504 | 529 | -25 | 16 |
| 10. | Karlovac | 18 | 6 | 1 | 11 | 522 | 554 | -32 | 13 |
* 2003-04 Croatian First League winners
* Zagreb Thirteenth title

## Final standings

| | Zagreb |
| | Metković |
| | Perutnina PIPO IPC |
| 4 | Zamet Crotek Rijeka |
| 5 | Medveščak Infosistem Zagreb |
| 6 | Osijek Elektromodul |
| 7 | Đakovo |
| 8 | Split |
| 9 | Ekol Ivančica Ivanec |
| 10 | Varteks di Caprio Varaždin |
| 11 | Crikvenica |
| 12 | Moslavina Kutina |
| 13 | Dubrava Zagreb |
| 14 | Umag |
| 15 | Bjelovar |
| 16 | Karlovac |
| Qualified for the 2004-05 EHF Champions League | Qualified for the 2004-05 EHF Cup Winners' Cup | Qualified for the 2004-05 EHF Cup |

## Sources

* Fredi Kramer, Dražen Pinević: Hrvatski rukomet = Croatian handball, Zagreb, 2009.; str. 180
* hrt.hr, ljestvica i rezultati 1. dijela
* hrt.hr, rezultati i ljestvice drugog dijela prvenstva