Prva HNL Player of the Year


The Prva HNL Player of the Year award was an annual association football award given by the Croatian newspaper Slobodna Dalmacija. It was awarded to the best football player who plied his trade in the Prva HNL, Croatian top flight and winners were chosen by the newspaper's sports editors. Winners for the preceding year were usually announced around 1 January and all players who had spent the entire calendar year playing in the league were eligible for the award, regardless of their nationality. The award was established in 1992 and lasted until 2010 when it was awarded for the last time.
Igor Cvitanović holds the record for most wins with three awards won between 1992 and 1997, followed by Stipe Pletikosa and Niko Kranjčar with two wins each. The current award holder is Sammir of Dinamo Zagreb.
Another similar award is the Yellow Shirt Award which is based on aggregate player ratings in matches throughout the season as judged by the country's only sports daily Sportske novosti.

Winners

† denotes shared wins
YearPlayer Club
1992 † Hajduk Split
1992 † Varteks / HAŠK Građanski
1992 † Hajduk Split
1993 Hajduk Split / Croatia Zagreb
1994 Hajduk Split
1995 Hajduk Split
1996 Croatia Zagreb
1997 † Croatia Zagreb
1997 † Croatia Zagreb
1998 Croatia Zagreb
1999 Croatia Zagreb
2000 Osijek
2001 Hajduk Split
2002 † NK Zagreb / Dinamo Zagreb
2002 † Hajduk Split
2003 Dinamo Zagreb
2004 Zadar / Hajduk Split
2005 Hajduk Split
2006 Eduardo Dinamo Zagreb
2007 Dinamo Zagreb
2008 Hajduk Split
2009 Dinamo Zagreb
2010 Sammir Dinamo Zagreb

Notes on club name changes: