# 2022–23 Croatian Football League

The 2022–23 Croatian Football League (officially SuperSport Hrvatska nogometna liga for sponsorship reasons) was the 32nd season of the Croatian top division football, the national championship for men's association football teams in Croatia, since its establishment in 1992. The season began on 15 July 2022. Due to the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the last round before the winter break was held on 12–13 November. The league resumed on 21 January and concluded on 28 May 2023.

## Teams

The following teams competed in the 2022–23 HNL.

### Changes

Varaždin (promoted after a one-year absence) was promoted from the 2021–22 Druga HNL. Hrvatski Dragovoljac (relegated after single season in the top flight) was relegated to 2022–23 Prva NL.

### Stadia and locations

| Dinamo Zagreb | Gorica | Hajduk Split | Istra 1961 |
| Stadion Maksimir | Gradski stadion Velika Gorica | Stadion Poljud | Stadion Aldo Drosina |
| Capacity: 24,851 | Capacity: 4,536 | Capacity: 33,987 | Capacity: 9,921 |
| Lokomotiva | Dinamo LokomotivaGoricaHajduk SplitIstra 1961OsijekRijekaSlavenŠibenikVaraždinclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2022–23 HNL | Dinamo LokomotivaGoricaHajduk SplitIstra 1961OsijekRijekaSlavenŠibenikVaraždinclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2022–23 HNL | Osijek |
| Stadion Kranjčevićeva | Dinamo LokomotivaGoricaHajduk SplitIstra 1961OsijekRijekaSlavenŠibenikVaraždinclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2022–23 HNL | Dinamo LokomotivaGoricaHajduk SplitIstra 1961OsijekRijekaSlavenŠibenikVaraždinclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2022–23 HNL | Stadion Gradski vrt |
| Capacity: 3,690 | Dinamo LokomotivaGoricaHajduk SplitIstra 1961OsijekRijekaSlavenŠibenikVaraždinclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2022–23 HNL | Dinamo LokomotivaGoricaHajduk SplitIstra 1961OsijekRijekaSlavenŠibenikVaraždinclass=notpageimage| Locations of teams in 2022–23 HNL | Capacity: 18,856 |
| Rijeka | Slaven Belupo | Šibenik | Varaždin |
| Stadion Rujevica | Stadion Ivan Kušek-Apaš | Stadion Šubićevac | Stadion Varteks |
| Capacity: 8,191 | Capacity: 3,054 | Capacity: 3,701 | Capacity: 8,818 |
| Team | City | Stadium | Capacity |
| Dinamo Zagreb | Zagreb | Maksimir | 24,851 |
| Gorica | Velika Gorica | ŠRC Velika Gorica | 4,536 |
| Hajduk Split | Split | Poljud | 33,987 |
| Istra 1961 | Pula | Stadion Aldo Drosina | 9,921 |
| Lokomotiva | Zagreb | Kranjčevićeva$^1$ | 3,690 |
| Osijek | Osijek | Gradski vrt | 18,856 |
| Rijeka | Rijeka | Rujevica | 8,191 |
| Slaven Belupo | Koprivnica | Stadion Ivan Kušek-Apaš | 3,054 |
| Šibenik | Šibenik | Šubićevac | 3,701 |
| Varaždin | Varaždin | Stadion Varteks | 8,818 |
* $^1$ Lokomotiva host their home matches at Stadion Kranjčevićeva. The stadium is originally the home ground of fifth-level side NK Zagreb.
| Rank | Counties of Croatia | Number of teams | Club(s) |
| 1 | City of Zagreb | 2 | Dinamo Zagreb, Lokomotiva |
| 2 | Istria | 1 | Istra 1961 |
| 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 County | 1 | Gorica |

### Personnel and kits

| Club | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Sponsors |
| Dinamo Zagreb | Igor Bišćan | Dominik Livaković | Adidas | PSK |
| Gorica | Željko Sopić | Aleksandar Jovičić | Alpas | Admiral Bet |
| Hajduk Split | Ivan Leko | Lovre Kalinić | Macron | Tommy |
| Istra 1961 | Gonzalo García | Slavko Blagojević | Kelme | Germania |
| Lokomotiva | Silvijo Čabraja | Josip Pivarić | Macron | — |
| Osijek | Stjepan Tomas | Mihael Žaper | 2Rule | Mészáros és Mészáros Kft. |
| Rijeka | Sergej Jakirović | Nediljko Labrović | Joma | Sava Osiguranje |
| Slaven Belupo | Zoran Zekić | Tomislav Božić | Jako | Belupo |
| Šibenik | Damir Canadi | Mario Ćurić | Macron | Favbet |
| Varaždin | Mario Kovačević | Igor Postonjski | Legea | BURA VENTURES |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Replaced by | Date of appointment | Position in table |
| Šibenik | Dean Računica | Resigned | 21 May 2022 | Damir Canadi | 7 June 2022 | Pre-season |
| Rijeka | Goran Tomić | Mutual consent | 28 May 2022 | Dragan Tadić | 20 June 2022 | Pre-season |
| Rijeka | Dragan Tadić | Mutual consent | 16 August 2022 | Fausto Budicin (caretaker) | 16 August 2022 | 9th |
| Gorica | Samir Toplak | Sacked | 26 August 2022 | Igor Angelovski | 27 August 2022 | 9th |
| Osijek | Nenad Bjelica | Sacked | 29 August 2022 | Rene Poms | 1 September 2022 | 5th |
| Rijeka | Fausto Budicin (caretaker) | End of Caretaker spell | 5 September 2022 | Serse Cosmi | 5 September 2022 | 10th |
| Hajduk Split | Valdas Dambrauskas | Mutual consent | 12 September 2022 | Mislav Karoglan | 12 September 2022 | 4th |
| Šibenik | Damir Canadi | Mutual consent | 24 September 2022 | Mario Cvitanović | 25 September 2022 | 7th |
| Rijeka | Serse Cosmi | Mutual consent | 13 November 2022 | Sergej Jakirović | 25 November 2022 | 8th |
| Gorica | Igor Angelovski | Mutual consent | 13 November 2022 | Željko Sopić | 28 November 2022 | 10th |
| Hajduk Split | Mislav Karoglan | Removed from position | 31 December 2022 | Ivan Leko | 31 December 2022 | 2nd |
| Šibenik | Mario Cvitanović | Sacked | 31 January 2023 | Damir Canadi | 31 January 2023 | 9th |
| Osijek | Rene Poms | Sacked | 2 March 2023 | Borimir Perković | 2 March 2023 | 3rd |
| Dinamo Zagreb | Ante Čačić | Sacked | 6 April 2023 | Igor Bišćan | 6 April 2023 | 1st |
| Osijek | Borimir Perković | Mutual consent | 22 April 2023 | Stjepan Tomas | 24 April 2023 | 4th |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Dinamo Zagreb (C) | 36 | 24 | 9 | 3 | 81 | 28 | +53 | 81 | Qualification for the Champions League second qualifying round |
| 2 | Hajduk Split | 36 | 21 | 8 | 7 | 65 | 41 | +24 | 71 | Qualification to Europa Conference League third qualifying round |
| 3 | Osijek | 36 | 13 | 11 | 12 | 46 | 41 | +5 | 50 | Qualification to Europa Conference League second qualifying round |
| 4 | Rijeka | 36 | 14 | 7 | 15 | 44 | 44 | 0 | 49 | Qualification to Europa Conference League second qualifying round |
| 5 | Istra 1961 | 36 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 36 | 38 | −2 | 46 | |
| 6 | Varaždin | 36 | 12 | 10 | 14 | 41 | 51 | −10 | 46 | |
| 7 | Lokomotiva | 36 | 11 | 10 | 15 | 45 | 50 | −5 | 43 | |
| 8 | Slaven Belupo | 36 | 10 | 13 | 13 | 27 | 46 | −19 | 43 | |
| 9 | Gorica | 36 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 36 | 50 | −14 | 32 | |
| 10 | Šibenik (R) | 36 | 5 | 12 | 19 | 24 | 56 | −32 | 27 | Relegation to First Football League |
* ↑ Hajduk qualified for the Europa Conference League third qualifying round by winning the 2022–23 Croatian Football Cup.

## 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 | — | 0–0 | 4–1 | 4–1 | 3–2 | 5–2 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 3–1 | — | 4–1 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 4–0 | 2–0 |
| Gorica | 0–1 | — | 0–1 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | — | 0–0 | 5–4 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 5–2 |
| Hajduk Split | 1–1 | 3–1 | — | 2–2 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 5–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | — | 2–2 | 3–4 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 |
| Istra 1961 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | — | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | — | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 |
| Lokomotiva | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | — | 2–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 3–1 | — | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 |
| Osijek | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 4–1 | — | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–2 | — | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 |
| Rijeka | 2–7 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 0–3 | — | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | — | 0–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 |
| Slaven Belupo | 1–5 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 0–4 | 2–1 | — | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–3 | — | 0–1 | 1–1 |
| Šibenik | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | — | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–4 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 0–4 | 1–4 | 1–2 | 3–1 | — | 0–2 |
| Varaždin | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 2–2 | — | 1–3 | 2–1 | 1–4 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | — |

## Statistics
### Top scorers

    As of 28 May 2023
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Marko Livaja | Hajduk Split | 19 |
| 2 | Matija Frigan | Rijeka | 14 |
| 3 | Fran Brodić | Varaždin | 12 |
| 3 | Luka Ivanušec | Dinamo Zagreb | 12 |
| 3 | Ramón Miérez | Osijek | 12 |
| 6 | Ante Erceg | Istra 1961 | 11 |
| 7 | Jan Mlakar | Hajduk Split | 10 |
| 7 | Bruno Petković | Dinamo Zagreb | 10 |
| 9 | Sandro Kulenović | Lokomotiva | 9 |
| 10 | Monsef Bakrar | Istra 1961 | 8 |
| 10 | Dion Drena Beljo | Osijek | 8 |
| 10 | Mijo Caktaš | Osijek | 8 |
| 10 | Mislav Oršić | Dinamo Zagreb | 8 |

## Awards
### Annual awards

| Award | Winner | Club |
| Player of the Season | Marko Livaja | Hajduk Split |
| Manager of the Season | Zoran Zekić | Slaven Belupo |
| Young Player of the Season | Martin Baturina | Dinamo Zagreb |
Team of the Year :
| Goalkeeper | Dominik Livaković (Dinamo Zagreb) | Dominik Livaković (Dinamo Zagreb) | Dominik Livaković (Dinamo Zagreb) | Dominik Livaković (Dinamo Zagreb) |
| Defence | Stefan Ristovski (Dinamo Zagreb) | Dino Perić (Dinamo Zagreb) | Josip Šutalo (Dinamo Zagreb) | Dario Melnjak (Hajduk Split) |
| Midfield | Tonio Teklić (Varaždin) | Martin Baturina (Dinamo Zagreb) | Martin Baturina (Dinamo Zagreb) | Josip Mišić (Dinamo Zagreb) |
| Attack | Matija Frigan (Rijeka) | Marko Livaja (Hajduk Split) | Marko Livaja (Hajduk Split) | Luka Ivanušec (Dinamo Zagreb) |