The 2016–17 season was the 71st season in HNK Rijeka’s history. It was their 26th successive season in the Croatian First Football League, and 43rd successive top tier season.
Season overview
European elimination and strong league start
Rijeka began their competitive campaign with a 3–0 away victory over RNK Split on 16 July 2016. In the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League, they entered in the third qualifying round against İstanbul Başakşehir. Following a goalless first leg in Istanbul, Roman Bezjak scored twice in the return at Rujevica, but two goals from Edin Višća secured a 2–2 draw for the Turkish side. Rijeka were eliminated on the away-goals rule despite remaining unbeaten across the tie.
Rijeka nevertheless made a strong start to their domestic campaign. They won five of their opening six league matches, including a 4–2 victory away to Hajduk Split. On 18 September, Rijeka defeated defending champions Dinamo Zagreb 5–2 at Rujevica, with Alexander Gorgon and Marko Vešović scoring twice each. Rijeka remained unbeaten throughout the first half of the league season and entered the winter break at the top of the table.
League and cup campaigns
Rijeka continued their unbeaten league run after the winter break, winning their first five matches of 2017. In the 2016–17 Croatian Football Cup, they defeated Đakovo Croatia, Rudeš and Lokomotiva to reach the semi-finals. Mario Gavranović scored a hat-trick in a 3–1 first-leg victory over Osijek, before a 2–0 away win completed a 5–1 aggregate victory and secured a place in the final against Dinamo Zagreb.
Rijeka's unbeaten league run ended in their 32nd match with a 1–0 defeat away to Lokomotiva on 6 May. Kek's side responded with three consecutive victories, defeating Hajduk Split, Slaven Belupo and Cibalia. The 4–0 victory over Cibalia at Rujevica on 21 May secured the first Croatian league championship in the club's history with one match remaining and ended Dinamo Zagreb's sequence of eleven consecutive titles.
Historic double
Rijeka finished the league season with 88 points from 36 matches, recording 27 victories, seven draws and two defeats. They scored 71 goals and conceded 23, finishing two points ahead of Dinamo Zagreb. Their only two league defeats came during the final five rounds, including a 5–2 loss to Dinamo after the championship had already been secured.
Four days after the final league match, Rijeka faced Dinamo again in the Croatian Cup final at Stadion Varteks in Varaždin. Gavranović scored twice and Dario Župarić added a third as Rijeka won 3–1, completing the first league-and-cup double in the club's history.
Across all competitions, Rijeka won 33 of their 44 matches and suffered only two defeats. Franko Andrijašević was the club's leading league scorer with 16 goals, while Andrijašević and Gavranović shared the overall season record with 18 goals each.
Competitions Overall Competition First match Last match Starting round Final positionRecordGWDLGFGAGDWin % MAXtv Prva liga 16 Jul 2016 27 May 2017 Matchday 1 Winners Croatian Cup 21 Sep 2016 31 May 2017 First round Winners UEFA Europa League 28 Jul 2016 4 Aug 2016 QR3 QR3 Total Last updated: 31 May 2017.
MAXtv Prva liga
Classification
Results summary
Results by round
Results by opponent TeamResultsPoints1234Cibalia 0–0 2–0 3–0 4–0 10Dinamo Zagreb 5–2 1–1 1–1 2–5 5Hajduk Split 4–2 2–1 1–1 2–0 10Inter Zaprešić 1–1 1–0 2–1 2–0 10Istra 1961 4–1 2–0 1–0 1–1 10Lokomotiva 1–0 2–0 2–1 0–1 9Osijek 1–0 3–0 3–2 2–0 12Slaven Belupo 2–0 0–0 3–2 2–0 10RNK Split 3–0 2–0 2–0 2–0 12 Source: 2016–17 Croatian First Football League article
Matches
MAXtv Prva liga
Source: Croatian Football Federation
Croatian Cup
Source: Croatian Football Federation
UEFA Europa League
Source: uefa.com
Friendlies
Pre-season
On-season (2016)
Mid-season
On-season (2017)
Player seasonal records Updated 31 May 2017. Competitive matches only.
Goals Rank Name League Europe Cup Total1 Franko Andrijašević 16 – 2 18 Mario Gavranović 11 – 7 183 Alexander Gorgon 12 – 3 154 Roman Bezjak 11 2 – 135 Marko Vešović 6 – – 66 Filip Bradarić 2 – – 2 Josip Elez 2 – – 2 Florentin Matei 2 – – 2 Josip Mišić 2 – – 2 Matic Črnic 1 – 1 2 Mate Maleš 1 – 1 2 Matej Mitrović 1 – 1 2 Dario Župarić 1 – 1 214 Marin Tomasov 1 – – 1 Stefan Ristovski – – 1 1 Aleksandar Šofranac – – 1 1 Own goals 2 – 1 3TOTALS7121992 Source: Competitive matches
Assists Rank Name League Europe Cup Total1 Marko Vešović 9 1 1 112 Stefan Ristovski 9 – – 93 Josip Mišić 6 – 2 8 Franko Andrijašević 5 – 3 85 Filip Bradarić 4 – 3 76 Mario Gavranović 5 1 – 67 Josip Elez 4 – 1 5 Alexander Gorgon 4 – 1 5 Florentin Matei 3 – 2 510 Roman Bezjak 3 – – 3 Ivan Martić 3 – – 3 Leonard Zuta 1 – 2 313 Goodness Ajayi 2 – – 2 Marin Tomasov 2 – – 215 Mate Maleš 1 – – 1 Odise Roshi 1 – – 1 Dario Župarić 1 – – 1 Haris Handžić – – 1 1TOTALS6321681 Source: Competitive matches
Clean sheets Rank Name League Europe Cup Total1 Andrej Prskalo 21 1 1 232 Simon Sluga – – 1 1TOTALS211224 Source: Competitive matches
Disciplinary record NumberPositionPlayer1. HNLEuropeCroatian CupTotal 4 DF Ante Kulušić100000000100 5 MF Dario Čanađija200000000200 6 DF Stefan Ristovski700000100800 8 DF Leonard Zuta300000100400 10 MF Florentin Matei100000100200 11 MF Matic Črnic200000000200 13 DF Dario Župarić100000000100 14 FW Roman Bezjak200000000200 15 DF Matej Mitrović000100100200 17 FW Mario Gavranović200100000300 18 DF Josip Elez200000200400 20 MF Alexander Gorgon210000100310 22 DF Aleksandar Šofranac200000000200 23 MF Franko Andrijašević401000200601 26 MF Mate Maleš700000000700 27 MF Josip Mišić800000100900 28 MF Filip Bradarić8001002001100 29 DF Marko Vešović9001002001200 32 GK Andrej Prskalo200000000200 77 DF Ivan Martić200000000200 99 FW Haris Handžić100000100200TOTALS681140015008711 Source: nk-rijeka.hr
Appearances and goals NumberPositionPlayer Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps GoalsTotal1. HNLEuropa LeagueCroatian Cup 3 MF Jasmin Čeliković10+10+00+00 4 DF Ante Kulušić70+20+00+00 5 MF Dario Čanađija290+240+10+20 6 DF Stefan Ristovski411+00+00+21 7 MF Marin Tomasov41+01+00+00 8 DF Leonard Zuta430+10+00+10 10 MF Florentin Matei232+92+20+00 11 MF Matic Črnic132+101+00+11 12 GK Simon Sluga20+00+00+00 13 DF Dario Župarić122+01+00+01 14 FW Roman Bezjak2813+611+02+10 15 DF Matej Mitrović252+01+00+01 16 MF Ivan Močinić10+10+00+00 17 FW Mario Gavranović3618+211+00+17 18 MF Josip Elez402+02+00+00 20 MF Alexander Gorgon3115+412+00+13 21 FW Goodness Ajayi80+70+00+10 22 DF Aleksandar Šofranac101+30+00+11 23 MF Franko Andrijašević3218+016+00+02 23 MF Odise Roshi10+10+00+00 26 MF Mate Maleš312+91+00+31 27 MF Josip Mišić422+62+10+10 28 MF Filip Bradarić402+02+00+00 29 DF Marko Vešović406+16+00+10 32 GK Andrej Prskalo420+00+00+00 77 DF Ivan Martić190+110+00+10 99 FW Haris Handžić80+30+20+10 Source: nk-rijeka.hr
Suspensions Date Incurred Competition Player Games Missed Reason13 Aug 20161. HNL Mate Maleš15 Nov 20161. HNL Stefan Ristovski Josip Mišić20 Nov 20161. HNL Marko Vešović Franko Andrijašević33 Dec 20161. HNL Alexander Gorgon119 Feb 20171. HNL Filip Bradarić4 Mar 20171. HNL Stefan Ristovski Marko Vešović2 Apr 20171. HNL Leonard Zuta8 Apr 20171. HNL Josip Mišić15 Apr 20171. HNL Mate Maleš25 Apr 20171. HNL Filip Bradarić6 May 20171. HNL Franko Andrijašević17 May 20171. HNL Marko Vešović
Penalties For Date Competition Player Opposition Scored? 4 Aug 2016UEL Roman BezjakBaşakşehir 7 Aug 20161. HNL Mario GavranovićInter Zaprešić 21 Aug 20161. HNL Roman BezjakHajduk Split 27 Aug 20161. HNL Roman BezjakSlaven Belupo 11 Sep 20161. HNL Alexander GorgonCibalia 26 Oct 2016Cup Mario GavranovićRudeš26 Nov 20161. HNL Alexander GorgonCibalia Florentin Matei 29 Nov 2016Cup Alexander GorgonLokomotiva 11 Dec 20161. HNL Franko AndrijaševićRNK Split 11 Mar 20171. HNL Roman BezjakHajduk Split25 Apr 20171. HNL Roman BezjakOsijek Franko Andrijašević 29 Apr 20171. HNL Roman BezjakInter Zaprešić 27 May 20171. HNL Franko AndrijaševićDinamo Zagreb Against Date Competition Goalkeeper Opposition Scored? 7 Aug 20161. HNL Andrej PrskaloInter Zaprešić 21 Aug 20161. HNL Andrej PrskaloHajduk Split26 Oct 2016Cup Simon SlugaRudeš Simon Sluga Simon Sluga 1 Mar 2017Cup Andrej PrskaloOsijek 22 Apr 20171. HNL Andrej PrskaloIstra 1961 6 May 20171. HNL Andrej PrskaloLokomotiva
Overview of statistics Statistic Overall 1. HNL Croatian Cup Europa League Most appearances Zuta (43) Prskalo (36) 5 players (6) 13 players (2) Most starts Prskalo (42) Prskalo (36) Bradarić (6) 10 players (2) Most substitute appearances Čanađija (27) Čanađija (24) Maleš (3) Handžić & Matei (2) Most minutes played Prskalo (3,780) Prskalo (3,240) Bradarić (515) 7 players (180) Top goalscorer Andrijašević & Gavranović (18) Andrijašević (16) Gavranović (7) Bezjak (2) Most assists Vešović (11) Ristovski & Vešović (9) Andrijašević & Bradarić (3) Gavranović & Vešović (1) Most yellow cards Vešović (12) Vešović (9) 4 players (2) 4 players (1) Most red cards Andrijašević & Gorgon (1) Andrijašević & Gorgon (1) – –Last updated: 31 May 2017.
Transfers
In DatePos.PlayerMoving fromTypeFee14 Jun 2016LB Jamilu Collins ŠibenikReturn from loan14 Jun 2016CF Filip Dangubić KrkaReturn from loan14 Jun 2016GK David Nwolokor ŠibenikReturn from loan14 Jun 2016AM Aliyu Okechukwu ŠibenikReturn from loan14 Jun 2016CF Theophilus Solomon ŠibenikReturn from loan15 Jun 2016LW Goodness Ajayi Široki BrijegReturn from loan15 Jun 2016LB Muhammed Kabiru KrkaReturn from loan15 Jun 2016LW Anas Sharbini OsmanlısporReturn from loan15 Jun 2016CB Jozo Špikić Široki BrijegReturn from loan15 Jun 2016RW Tomislav Turčin CibaliaReturn from loan15 Jun 2016CM Damir Zlomislić Istra 1961Return from loan30 Jun 2016CM Dario Čanađija SpeziaReturn from loan30 Jun 2016CB Niko Datković LuganoReturn from loan30 Jun 2016CF Andrija Filipović SpeziaReturn from loan30 Jun 2016RW Zoran Kvržić SpeziaReturn from loan30 Jun 2016RB Mato Miloš PerugiaReturn from loan30 Jun 2016CM Josip Mišić SpeziaReturn from loan30 Jun 2016GK Simon Sluga SpeziaReturn from loan1 Jul 2016RB Stefan Ristovski SpeziaLoan (until 30/6/2017)1 Jul 2016RW Marko Vešović SpeziaLoan (until 30/6/2017)11 Jul 2016CB Josip Elez LazioLoan (until 30/6/2017; option to buy for €450,000)12 Jul 2016CB Aleksandar Šofranac SutjeskaTransferFree19 Jul 2016CF Haris Handžić UfaTransferFree29 Jul 2016AM Franko Andrijašević Dinamo ZagrebTransferFree2 Aug 2016RB Ivan Martić SpeziaTransferFree16 Aug 2016RW Alexander Gorgon Austria WienTransferFree30 Aug 2016LW Matic Črnic DomžaleTransfer€500,00024 Jan 2017CB Dario Župarić PescaraLoan (until 30/6/2018; option to buy for €800,000)13 Feb 2017CB Bamidele Samuel Ayodeji Abuja AcademyTransferFree13 Feb 2017CB Ante Kulušić GençlerbirliğiTransferFree14 Feb 2017AM Milan Ristovski RabotničkiLoan (until 30/6/2017; option to buy)14 Feb 2017CF Roman Bezjak Darmstadt 98Loan (until 30/6/2017)17 Feb 2017DM Bernardo Matić NK ZagrebTransferFree17 Feb 2017LB Nikola Totić KrkTransferFree Source: Glasilo Hrvatskog nogometnog saveza
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