The 2002–03 Croatian First Football League was the twelfth season of the
Croatian First Football League, the national championship for men's
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
teams in
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
, since its establishment in 1992. The season started on 24 July 2002 and ended on 31 May 2003.
NK Zagreb were the defending champions, having won their first championship title the previous season.
Dinamo Zagreb
Građanski nogometni klub Dinamo Zagreb ( en, Dinamo Zagreb Citizens' Football Club, link=yes, italics=yes), commonly referred to as GNK Dinamo Zagreb or simply Dinamo Zagreb (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. Dinamo ...
won the title, after a win against
Varteks on 17 May 2003.
Teams
The league format was changed from the previous
2001–02 season and the number of teams were reduced from sixteen to twelve for the 2002–03 Prva HNL. Because of this, the four bottom-placed teams were automatically relegated to
Croatian Second Football League
The Druga nogometna liga ( eng, Second football league), commonly Druga NL or 2. NL) is the third tier of the football league system. The league was established in 1991 following the dissolution of the Yugoslav League. It is operated by the Cro ...
at the end of the season, while the 11th placed
Šibenik
Šibenik () is a historic city in Croatia, located in central Dalmatia, where the river Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea. Šibenik is a political, educational, transport, industrial and tourist center of Šibenik-Knin County, and is also the ...
and 12th placed
Kamen Ingrad qualified for the
Relegation play-offs
In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...
. Both clubs then went on to win the two-legged play-off ties against second level sides
Vukovar '91 and
Istra Pula. Therefore, no team was promoted from the
2001–02 Croatian Second Football League
The 2001–02 Druga HNL was the 11th season of Druga HNL, the second level league in Croatian football. The format of the league changed from the previous three seasons and was contested in two regional groups (North Division and South Division), ...
and all twelve teams which contested the 2002–03 Prva HNL were also top flight members in the previous season.
Changes from last season
Teams relegated to the
2002–03 Croatian Second Football League
* 13th placed:
Hrvatski Dragovoljac
* 14th placed:
Čakovec
Čakovec (; hu, Csáktornya; la, Aquama; german: Tschakathurn) is a city in northern Croatia, located around north of Zagreb, the Croatian capital. Čakovec is both the county seat and the largest city of Međimurje County, the northernmost, s ...
* 15th placed:
Marsonia
* 16th placed:
TŠK Topolovac
Summaries
The following is an overview of teams which competed in the 2002–03 Prva HNL. Manager list is correct as of 24 July 2002, first day of the season.
First stage
Rounds 1–22 results
Championship group
Rounds 23–32 results
Relegation group
Rounds 23–32 results
Relegation play-off
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Top goalscorers
Source
1.hnl.net
See also
*
2002–03 Croatian Second Football League
*
2002–03 Croatian Football Cup
External links
Season statistics at HRNogomet
at Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:2002-03 Prva HNL
Croatian Football League seasons
Cro
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