The 1978–79 Yugoslav First League season was the 33rd season of the First Federal League (), the top level association football competition of SFR Yugoslavia, since its establishment in 1946. Hajduk Split won the league title.
A total of 18 teams competed in the league, with the defending champions Partizan nearly relegated, finishing the season in 15th place, one point above the relegation zone. Hajduk Split and Dinamo Zagreb both finished the season equal on 50 points, but Hajduk won the championship due to better goal difference.
The season began on 12 August 1978 and concluded on 17 June 1979. This was the third and last national title win for Hajduk under the guidance of manager Tomislav Ivić, who previously led the club to four consecutive Yugoslav Cup wins in 1972, 1973, 1974 and 1976 (not contested in 1975). Striker Dušan Savić of Red Star won the Golden Boot with 24 goals scored, his second, having previously topped the scoring table four years earlier in the 1974–75 season.
Rijeka, which finished 10th in the league, defeated Partizan in the final of the 1978–79 Marshal Tito Cup under the guidance of Marijan Brnčić, and qualified for the 1979–80 European Cup Winners' Cup.
Other standout players this season were Hajduk's Vedran Rožić, Mišo Krstičević, and Slaviša Žungul, Dinamo Zagreb's forwards Snješko Cerin and Zlatko Kranjčar, Sarajevo's attacking midfielders Safet Sušić and Srebrenko Repčić, the Velež stalwart Vahid Halilhodžić.
The season was marked by controversy after Rijeka's 2–1 win over Dinamo at Kantrida in the first round. Dinamo claimed that Rijeka's player Edmond Tomić, who had joined the club in pre-season from Lirija Prizren, should have served a one-match suspension for two yellow cards received while playing for his former club. They appealed to the Football Association of Yugoslavia (FSJ), which after two months of deliberation decided to award the match 3–0 to Dinamo. After more appeals and counter-appeals from both Rijeka and Dinamo, in the spring of 1979 FSJ ruled in favor of Rijeka. The case was then brought to the Employment Appeal Tribunal, which four years later ruled Dinamo as champions.
Teams A total of eighteen teams contested the league, including sixteen sides from the 1977–78 season and two sides promoted from the 1977–78 Yugoslav Second League (YSL) as winners of the two second level divisions East and West. The league was contested in a double round robin 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.
Čelik Zenica and Trepča Kosovska Mitrovica were relegated from the 1977–78 Yugoslav First League after finishing the season in bottom two places of the league table. The two clubs promoted to top level were Napredak Kruševac and Željezničar Sarajevo.
Team Location Federal Republic Positionin 1977–78Borac Banja LukaBanja Luka01212thBudućnostTitograd01111thDinamo ZagrebZagreb0044thHajduk SplitSplit0033rdNapredak KruševacKruševacOFK BelgradeBelgrade01616thOlimpija LjubljanaLjubljana01010thOsijekOsijek01313thPartizanBelgrade0011stRadnički NišNiš01414thRed StarBelgrade0022ndRijekaRijeka0055thSarajevoSarajevo0099thSlobodaTuzla0066thVeležMostar0077thVojvodinaNovi Sad0088thNK ZagrebZagreb01515thŽeljezničarSarajevo
League table
Results
Winning squad + Champions: Hajduk Split Player League MatchesGoals Boriša Đorđević 324 Šime Luketin 323 Vedran Rožić 32 Mišo Krstičević 318 Boro Primorac 30Luka Peruzović 30 Dražen Mužinić 29 Ivica Šurjak 276 Zlatko Vujović 259 Nenad Šalov 251 Ivan Budinčević 21 Zoran Vujović 184 Slaviša Žungul 1712 Davor Čop 162 Mićun Jovanić 162 Špiro Ćosić 11 Damir Maričić 9 Ivica Matković 4 Mario Boljat 31 Robert Juričko 2 Milorad Nižetić 2 Marijan Zovko 1 Ivan Gudelj 1 Ivan Katalinić 1 Head coach: Tomislav IvićSource:
Top scorers RankPlayerClubGoals1 Dušan SavićRed Star242 Vahid HalilhodžićVelež163 Safet SušićSarajevo154 Slobodan SantračPartizan145 Snješko CerinDinamo Zagreb13 Abid KovačevićBorac Banja Luka Zlatko KranjčarDinamo Zagreb Ivan LukačevićOsijek9 Muhamed IbrahimbegovićBorac Banja Luka12 Vladimir JocićRadnički Niš Miloš KostićOFK Belgrade Srebrenko RepčićSarajevo Slaviša ŽungulHajduk Split
See also 1978–79 Yugoslav Second League 1978–79 Yugoslav Cup 1978–79 NK Hajduk Split season
External links
Yugoslavia Domestic Football Full Tables