The Prva HNL Player of the Year award ( hr, Najbolji nogometaš HNL) was an annual

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 ...

award given by the

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 ...

n newspaper ''

Slobodna Dalmacija ''Slobodna Dalmacija'' () is a Croatian daily newspaper published in Split. The first issue of ''Slobodna Dalmacija'' was published on 17 June 1943 by Tito's Partisans in an abandoned stone barn on Mosor, a mountain near Split, while the cit ...

''. It was awarded to the best football player who plied his trade in the Prva HNL (or "1. HNL"), Croatian top flight and winners were chosen by the newspaper's sports editors. Winners for the preceding year were usually announced around 1 January and all players who had spent the entire calendar year playing in the league were eligible for the award, regardless of their nationality. The award was established in 1992 and lasted until 2010 when it was awarded for the last time. Igor Cvitanović holds the record for most wins with three awards won between 1992 and 1997, followed by Stipe Pletikosa and Niko Kranjčar with two wins each. The current award holder is

Sammir Jorge Sammir Cruz Campos (born 23 April 1987), commonly known as Sammir, is a Brazilian-Croatian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Born in Brazil, Sammir became a naturalized Croatian citizen and has been ca ...

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 ...

. Another similar award is the Yellow Shirt Award which is based on aggregate player ratings in matches throughout the season as judged by the country's only sports daily ''

Sportske novosti ''Sportske novosti'' () is a Croatian daily sports newspaper based in Zagreb. It was established on 9 August 1945 as ''Ilustrirane fiskulturne novine'' weekly newspaper. Several months later, on 10 December 1945, its name got changed to ''Narodn ...

''.

Winners

† denotes shared wins Notes on club name changes: *Dinamo Zagreb changed their name to "HAŠK Građanski" in June 1991 and then again in February 1993 to "Croatia Zagreb". They reverted to "Dinamo Zagreb" in February 2000. *The NK Varteks changed their 52-year-old name to "NK Varaždin" in June 2010, then folded in 2015. Two newer clubs, both unassociated with the defunct team, use the defunct club's names: NK Varteks (founded 2011) and NK Varaždin (founded 2012 as "Varaždin ŠN", picked up the "NK Varaždin" name when the older club folded).

References

External links

Complete list of winners 1992–2009
{{Prva HNL Croatian football trophies and awards Awards established in 1992 1992 establishments in Croatia Annual events in Croatia Awards disestablished in 2010 2010 disestablishments in Croatia Association football player non-biographical articles

Winners

See also

References

External links