The Prva Liga title race has us on the edge of our seats. Dinamo, Hajduk, Rijeka, and Osijek, the top-four sides in the league table, are separated by a minuscule five-point gap with only 11 rounds left in the season.
The final match of the season will be played between Dinamo and Hajduk at Maksimir on May 21st, a derby that could decide the champion (depending on how the rest of the season plays out). Osijek will face a struggling Gorica side in their last match of the season, while Rijeka will host Hrvatski Dragovoljac to end their campaign.
Now, to answer the million-dollar question: will Dinamo’s dominant reign come to an end this season?
Yes. And their downfall will ultimately be celebrated by Bjelica and co. as Osijek hoist the trophy in Spring.
That being said, the road to gold won’t be easy for Osijek. Hajduk can cause some serious problems with Kalinić and Livaja up front, Dinamo are world-beaters when Oršić is in his top form, and Rijeka always seem to find a way to put the ball into the back of the net, even when they are slacking on other ends of the pitch. However, Osijek’s squad depth, talent, and drive present a threat that no other side seems to possess at the moment – consistency. Believe it or not, Osijek have only lost once in their last 27 matches. During this magnificent stretch, Osijek have taken points from Dinamo, Hajduk, and Rijeka twice each.
Osijek have also been excellent in the transfer market recently. This winter alone, they signed free agent Mijo Caktaš, talented striker Antonio Mance, and HNL superstar Kristijan Lovrić, a top-three player in the league. Man for man, Osijek’s squad is arguably better than Dinamo’s at the moment.
Osijek, it might just be now or never for you guys. Dinamo Zagreb will surely field a stronger squad next season, and Hajduk will be electric once they develop chemistry between their newest arrivals. In just a few months time, Croatia will have a new champion.
Mance was not signed. He was out on loan to a German club. Samo Osijek!
https://streamja.com/A5GkR
Gvardiol with a silky smooth assist. He did leave the game early with injury though. I hope it’s nothing serious. Has anyone seen what happened?
He took an elbow to his lower back. It looked very painfull. It’s hard to tell if it’s just a knock, or something more serious.
The injury does not seem too serious. He was in high spirits on social media following the match, and was also able to make his way off the pitch on his own.
It’s nice to see some parity and have another team win it…
But what we REALLY need, is to ensure that HNL teams get as much European prize money as possible (but qualifying for CL and Europa) and get our coefficient ranking increased.
If Osijek does win it, then I hope they try and improve their squad well enough (hopefully with Croatian players) to qualify for Champions League (or at least Europa).
We need to have all of Osijek, Dinamo, Hajduk and Rijeka qualifying for these competitions. Tired of it being just Dinamo.
I agree
Yea.
For example, I was happy to see Rijeka win the HNL title in the 2016–17 season.
…But then they got bounced in Champions League qualifications, and were bounced out of the first round in Europa too.
The benefit of winning the HNL is that it gives you a better shot at European prize money. But if you aren’t in a position to do well in Europe, then winning the HNL is a waste of an opportunity.
If Osijek wins the title…only to get bounced in both Champions League qualifying, and in the first round of Europa…then I would rather Dinamo gets a crack at Champions League qualifying instead (and Osijek can still get a chance to qualify for Europa if they finish second in HNL).
I like Bjelica, and I think if they do win the title, then he won’t stand for some complete selloff of players (like Lovric, Caktas, etc.).
He is ambitious and would want to do well (and he would punch above his weight in terms of coaching).
Osijek can hopefully make good use of that dirty Hungarian money that is fueling their club, lol.
Maminjo, you stole the words right out of my mouth. Parity, parity, parity.
Can’t stress that enough.
I’m rooting hard for Hajduk or Osijek since Rijeka just won it a few years back. And with Hajduk probably one key player away from challenging for a legitimate title, I’m on the Osijek bandwagon. Help us Osijek-Wan-Kenobi, you’re our only hope.
Although, if the season goes down to the final day and Hajduk can play spoiler to Dinamo, I’m happy with that. It feels like it’s been Dinamo steamrolling the HNL by 20+ points for over a decade.
Oh wait, it has.
Any kind of excitement on the final day should be considered serious progress.
Dinamo has a game in hand on Osijek…but that game in hand is a match in Poljud against Hajduk.
This is such a tight race, and all four of the top teams have been pretty disciplined in not losing to the weaker teams in the league.
Each of the top four teams play each other one more time (with Hajduk and Dinamo having that extra game in hand against one another).
The team that can get their three wins against Hajduk, Rijeka, Dinamo and Osijek will win it.
Watch Osijek draw Šibenik now lol. End the title race right there.
Dinamo is out of Europe and and the Croatian Cup, meaning that they can now fully concentrate on defending their championship. I would like to see Osijek win it, but I think it will be Dinamo again. Dinamo for me has the strongest squad and the experience and that is why I think they will win it.
For the sake of the league this year and future years, I hope Osijek win it. We need a different champion to attract better players. If Dinamo keep winning its only to the detriment to the league. Why would you go and play in that league if you’re playing for second or third every year!