Best Top 5 Croatian Football Clubs
The Croatian Football League was formed after the dissolution of the Yugoslav First League. It was established in 1991 and is fairly new compared to other international leagues. This domestic league has produced incredible talents for the national team Ivan Perisic, Luka Modric, and many more. They were runner-ups in the 2018 World, making them one of the best underdog teams.
1. GNK Dinamo Zagreb
Dinamo Zagreb is a Croatian football club based in Zagreb. It was founded on 9th 1945. by former players and administration members of Građanski (Yogaslav era), Ico Hitrec was elected the first chairman. It is home to the Stadion Maksimir which has a seating capacity of 24,851( subsequently reduced due to an earthquake). Márton Bukovi was the first manager of the team, they won their first league title on it has won a total of forty-eight trophies, including twenty-four league titles(highest in the country), twenty-two league cups, and two international cups.
Drazen Ladi has the most appearances playing 468 matches and Igor Cvitanovi is the all-time highest top scorer of the club with 165 goals. Miroslav Blažević managed the team for nine years and won six trophies making him the longest-serving and the most successful manager. Sergej Jakirović is the current manager with Mirko Barišić as the president. The club stands at third position in the league table of the top division.
2. HNK Hajduk Split
Hajduk Split is a Croatian football club based in Split, it was founded on 13 February 1911 by a group of Split students who were studying in Prague. Kruno Kolombatovi was elected the first president. It is home to the Stadion Poljud which has a seating capacity of 34,000. Oldřich Just was the first manager of the team, they won their first league title in 1992, and it has won a total of nineteen trophies, including six league titles, and thirteen league cups.
Vedran Rožić has the most appearances playing for 390 matches Frane Matošić, is the all-time highest top scorer of the club with 211 goals Tomislav Ivić is the longest-serving manager of the team, Mislav Karoglan is the current manager with Lukša Jakobušić as the president. The club stands in second position in the table of the first division.
3. Hrvatski nogometni klub Rijeka
Hrvatski nogometni klub Rijeka is based in the city of Rijeka. It was founded in 1946 by Antonio Marchich, Aristodemo Susmel, Agesilao Satti, Carlo Colussi, Romeo and Alessandro Mitrovich. Antonio Carlo de Schlemmer was elected the first president. It is home to the Stadion Rujevica stadium which has a seating capacity of 8,279. Karoly Bela was the first manager of the team, they won their first and only league title in 2017. The club has won ten trophies, including one league title, seven league cups, and two international cups.
Srećko Juričić has the most appearances playing 684 matches and Boško Bursać is the all-time top scorer of the club with 84 goals. Matjaž Kek managed the team from 2014-2018 led them to their first league title success and three more domestic cups making him the most successful manager of the team,
Željko Sopić is the current manager with Damir Mišković as the president, also owns seventy percent of the team. The club stands at the first position in the league table of the first division.
4. NK Zagreb
NK Zagreb is a Croatian football club based in the capital city of Zagreb. It was founded in 1908 by Dragutin Baki. Vilhelm Witte was elected the first president. It is home to the Nogometni centar ZAGREBello stadium which has a seating capacity of 8,850, Czech Jan Todl was the first manager of the team, and they won their first league title in 2002. It has won three trophies, including one league title, and two league cups.
Dražan Jerković is the longest-serving manager of the team. Ivica Olić led the club to its first championship of the Prva HNL with 21 goals scored in 29 appearances. The club Ultras group is called “White Angels”. Dražen Madunović is the current manager with Tomislav Čilić the president. The club stands in 9th position in the league table of the fourth division.
5. Nogometni Klub Osijek
Nogometni Klub Osijek was founded on 27 February 1947 by merging NK Slavonija and Nk Bratstvo. It is home to the Opus Arena stadium which has a seating capacity of 13,005, Milan Antolkovic was the first official manager of the team, they were runners-up in 2021, the club has never won a league title and has won only one league cup post the Yugoslav era.
Mile Skoric has the most appearances playing for 334 matches Mirko Mariis the all-time highest top scorer of the club with 53 goals is the longest-serving and the most successful manager of the team, Zoran Zekic is the current and the longest-serving manager (6 years)with Ferenc Sakalj as the president. The club stands in fifth position in the league table of the first division.
