The 2021–22 Croatian First Football League (also known as 1. HNL; officially Hrvatski Telekom Prva liga for sponsorship reasons) was the 31st season of the Croatian First Football League, the national championship for men's association football teams in Croatia, since its establishment in 1992. Contested by 10 teams, the season started on 16 July 2021 and ended on 21 May 2022. Dinamo Zagreb, the defending champions, successfully defended their title.
Teams On 23 April 2021, Croatian Football Federation announced that the first stage of licensing procedure for 2020–21 season was complete. For the 2021–22 Prva HNL, eleven clubs were issued a top level license: Cibalia, Dinamo Zagreb, Gorica, Hajduk Split, Hrvatski Dragovoljac, Istra 1961, Lokomotiva, Osijek, Rijeka, Slaven Belupo and Varaždin. All of these clubs except Cibalia and Hrvatski Dragovoljac were also issued a license for participating in UEFA competitions.
Changes Hrvatski Dragovoljac (promoted after a seven-year absence) was promoted from the 2020–21 Druga HNL. Varaždin (relegated after two years in the top flight) was relegated to 2021–22 Druga HNL.
Stadia and locations Dinamo Zagreb Gorica Hajduk Split Hrvatski Dragovoljac Stadion Maksimir Gradski stadion Velika Gorica Stadion Poljud Stadion Kranjčevićeva Capacity: 35,123 Capacity: 5,000 Capacity: 34,198 Capacity: 5,350 Istra 1961 Lokomotiva Stadion Aldo Drosina Stadion Kranjčevićeva Capacity: 10,000 Capacity: 5,350 Osijek Rijeka Slaven Belupo Šibenik Stadion Gradski vrt Stadion Rujevica Stadion Ivan Kušek-Apaš Stadion Šubićevac Capacity: 17,061 Capacity: 8,279 Capacity: 3,205 Capacity: 3,412 TeamCityStadiumCapacityRef. Dinamo Zagreb Zagreb Maksimir 35,123 Gorica Velika Gorica ŠRC Velika Gorica 5,000 Hajduk Split Split Poljud 34,198 Hrvatski Dragovoljac Zagreb Kranjčevićeva1 5,350 Istra 1961 Pula Stadion Aldo Drosina 10,000 Lokomotiva Zagreb Kranjčevićeva2 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 1 Hrvatski Dragovoljac host their home matches at Stadion Kranjčevićeva. The stadium is originally the home ground of third-level side NK Zagreb. 2 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 Zagreb3Dinamo Zagreb, Hrvatski Dragovoljac, Lokomotiva2 Koprivnica-Križevci1Slaven Belupo Osijek-BaranjaOsijek Primorje-Gorski KotarRijeka Split-DalmatiaHajduk Split Šibenik-KninŠibenik Zagreb CountyGorica
Personnel and kits Club Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Sponsors Dinamo Zagreb Adidas PSK Gorica Alpas Admiral Bet Hajduk Split Macron Tommy Hrvatski Dragovoljac Macron — Istra 1961 Gonzalo García Kelme Croatia Osiguranje Lokomotiva Silvijo Čabraja Adidas — Osijek 2Rule Mészáros és Mészáros Kft. Rijeka Joma Sava Osiguranje Slaven Belupo Adidas Belupo Šibenik Dean Računica Mario Ćurić Macron —
Managerial changes Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Replaced by Date of appointment Position in table Šibenik Signed by Castellón Pre-seasonGorica Sacked Pre-seasonHajduk Split Mutual consent Pre-seasonLokomotiva Contract expired Pre-seasonSlaven Belupo Sacked Pre-seasonIstra 1961 Contract expired Pre-seasonHrvatski Dragovoljac Sacked 10thSlaven Belupo Sacked 8thHajduk Split Sacked 4thDinamo Zagreb Resigned 3rdŠibenik Sacked 7thHrvatski Dragovoljac Sacked 10thŠibenik Sacked (caretaker) 7thGorica Sacked 7thŠibenik (caretaker) Removed from position (caretaker) 8thŠibenik (caretaker) Signing of Računica 8thDinamo Zagreb Sacked 1st
League table
Results Each team plays home-and-away against every other team in the league twice, for a total of 36 matches each played.
Statistics
Top goalscorers PrvaHNL.hr RankPlayerClubGoals1 Marko LivajaHajduk Split282 Josip DrmićRijeka213 Dion Drena BeljoIstra 1961154 Mislav Oršić Dinamo Zagreb145 Marko DabroLokomotiva136 Robert MurićRijeka117 Marin Jakoliš Šibenik10 Ivan Krstanović Slaven Belupo Sandro Kulenović Lokomotiva Haris VučkićRijeka Ivan DelićŠibenik
Awards Annual awards AwardWinnerClubPlayer of the Season Marko LivajaHajduk SplitManager of the Season Goran TomićRijekaYoung Player of the Season Lukas KačavendaLokomotiva Team of the YearGoalkeeper Dominik Livaković (Dinamo Zagreb)Defence Stefan Ristovski (Dinamo Zagreb) Josip Elez (Hajduk Split) Josip Šutalo (Dinamo Zagreb)Midfield Petar Bočkaj (Dinamo Zagreb) Filip Krovinović (Hajduk Split) Domagoj Pavičić (Rijeka) Arijan Ademi (Dinamo Zagreb) Mislav Oršić (Dinamo Zagreb)Attack Josip Drmić (Rijeka) Marko Livaja (Hajduk Split)
References
External links Official website Prva HNL at UEFA.com