Quick round up of the Croatian league which concluded today...
- Dinamo Zagreb win their 12th title in 13 seasons though it was less than vintage. After an unbeaten first half of the season they managed to lose 6 of their final 8 matches in the league but luckily for them both Rijeka and Hajduk shot themselves in the foot many times. Dinamo also went through 4 different managers this season and remember didn't make the group stage of a UEFA competition for the first time in over a decade. However despite all this they can still win the double
- Rijeka, Hajduk and Osijek round out the top 4 which are EL qualifying spots. Rijeka couldn't replicate last season's magic (lost too many key players + their signings were mostly busts) plus they had the added games of Europe to contend with. Hajduk saw slight points improvement in their 3rd place finish plus can still win the cup but the concern is their awful record against the 'top 4' especially at home. Osijek is the opposite, their record against the top 4 is incredible even away from home but they dropped way too many points amongst the bottom half teams, though that is maybe expected with their style of play
- Rudes is probably the story of the season, the team competing in the top flight for the first time ever survived rather easily, despite going through 3 different managers. Rudes won only 3 games in the first half of the season, however they were one of the inform teams in the league, winning 7 of their last 10 matches, including wins over Dinamo, Rijeka, Hajduk and Osijek
- Cibalia relegated after 2 seasons, was only a question of time, the club is in horrible financial state and barely survived last season, kind of upsetting as the team does have a fanbase and is being replaced by a team with no fans. Istra 1961 were less crap and will have a playoff to survive, another team in financial mess and relegation could see them drop all the way to the third tier
- The winners of the second division are HNK Gorica (Velika Gorica), a Zagreb suburb. While the city has seen first division football before this club was founded in 2009 after Radnik Velika Gorica went bankrupt. NK Varazdin will compete with Istra in a two-leg playoff. Varazdin had a rich tradition in Croatian football with a club called Varteks but they went bankrupt in 2015. Varazdin are considered the successor and have swiftly climbed the Croatian leagues but the hardcore fans aren't happy with the clubs management and support a club named Varteks currently in the third tier...confused?