1973–74 Yugoslav First League (Prva savezna liga Jugoslavije, Prvenstvo 1973/74) competition was the 46th top league season since 1923 in various incarnations of Yugoslavia. It was won by
Hajduk Split
Hrvatski Nogometni klub Hajduk Split, commonly referred to as Hajduk Split (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Split, that competes in the Croatian First League, the top tier in Croatian football. Since 1979, the club's home ...
by the tightest of margins over second placed
Velež. The two teams were tied on points at the end of the season, so the goal difference decided the title.
Had the current three-points-for-a-win system been in use instead of the standard two-points-for-a-win that was used at the time, Velež Mostar would have been champions with 64 points, while Hajduk would have been be second with 63.
This was Hajduk's 7th league title overall (their 5th after the
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
).
Teams
A total of eighteen teams contested the league, including sixteen sides from the
1972–73 season and two sides promoted from the 1972–73
Yugoslav Second League
Yugoslav Second League ( Bosnian: ''Druga savezna liga,'' Croatian: ''Druga savezna liga'', Serbian: ''Друга савезна лига'', Slovenian: ''Druga zvezna liga'', Macedonian: ''Втора сојузна лига'', ''Vtora sojuzna l ...
(YSL) as winners of the two second level divisions East and West. The league was contested in a
double round robin
A round-robin tournament or all-play-all tournament is a competition format in which each contestant meets every other participant, usually in turn.''Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged'' (1971, G. & ...
format, with each club playing every other club twice, for a total of 34 rounds. Two points were awarded for wins and one point for draws.
Spartak Subotica and
Sutjeska Nikšić were relegated from the
1972–73 Yugoslav First League after finishing the season in bottom two places of the league table. The two clubs promoted to top level were
Proleter Zrenjanin and
NK Zagreb
Nogometni klub Zagreb (''Zagreb Football Club''), commonly known as NK Zagreb or simply Zagreb (), is a Croatian football club based in the capital city of Zagreb. It currently competes in the fifth tier league competition of Croatian footbal ...
.
League table
Results
Top scorers
Match-fixing allegations
FK Velež player
Vahid Halilhodžić
Vahid Halilhodžić (; born 15 May 1952) is a Bosnian professional football manager and former player. He is regarded as one of the most controversially successful Bosnian football managers, due to his successful tenure in coaching various nation ...
, whose team spent the spring of 1974 in a tight league title race with
Hajduk Split
Hrvatski Nogometni klub Hajduk Split, commonly referred to as Hajduk Split (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Split, that competes in the Croatian First League, the top tier in Croatian football. Since 1979, the club's home ...
, alleged in a 2023 interview that Hajduk fixed its last 1973-74 league match away at
OFK Beograd
OFK Beograd ( sr-Cyrl, ОФК Београд – Омладински фудбалски клуб Београд, English language, English: ''Belgrade Youth Football Club''), also known in English as OFK Belgrade and currently referred to as OFK ...
(Hajduk won 0-2) while further insinuating that the approach took place through OFK goalkeeper
Petar Borota.
See also
*
1973–74 Yugoslav Second League
*
1973 Yugoslav Cup
References
External links
Yugoslavia Domestic Football Full Tables*
{{DEFAULTSORT:1973-74 Yugoslav First League
Yugoslav First League seasons
Yugo
1973–74 in Yugoslav football