Top flight. First division was divided into 3 groups – 2 outsiders, 3 favourites, and the bulk of 13 teams fairly equal and not concerned with either first place, or relegation.
NK Zagreb – last with 19 points.
Teteks (Tetovo) – 17th with 23 points. Both teams relegated.
Osijek – 16th with 29 points.
OFK Beograd – 15th with 30 points. Their decline was seemingly unreversable.
Vardar (Skopje) – 14th with 30 points, but better goal-difference than OFK Beograd. Standing from left: K Dimitrovski, Georgiev, Bankovic, Gruevski, Jovanovski, V. Dimitrovski.
Crouching: Ringov, Odzakov, Zdravkov, P. Georgievski, Savovic.
Sloboda (Tuzla) – 13th with 31 points.
Rijeka – 12th with 32 points.
Radnicki (Nis) – 11th with 32 points. After their sudden ascent, they dropped back to their usual position in the league. Good years for Radnicki, but evidently they were not capable to handle both European and domestic tournaments. No surprise: the team was not really strong and a small team had no chance of improving it – good players were more likely to leave, not to come.
Vojvodina (Novi Sad) – 10th with 32 points. Standing from left: Šuica, Dimitrić, S. Marić, Mićović, Zovko, Jablan, Ćirić.
First row: Novaković, Z. Marić, Vujadinović, Ilić, Pejović.
Olimpija (Ljubljana) – 9th with 33 points.
Buducnost (Titograd) – 8th with 34 points.
Velez (Mostar) – 7th with 36 points.
Partizan – 6th with 37 points. Stagnation.
Zeljeznicar (Sarajevo) – 5th with 38 points. Rapidly coming back to the top of the league, but not ready yet to concur.
FK Sarajevo – 4th with 39 points. Like their city rivals, in good shape and ahead of them. Standing from left: Pašić, Handžić, Radeljaš, N. Vidaković, N. Ferhatović, Hadžibegić
Crouching: Vukičević, S. Melić, Kapetanović, Hadžialagić, Janjoš.
That was the bulk. On top – familiar names, the usual suspects, but… there was no big battle for the title.
Hajduk (Split) – 3rd with 44 points. Lost silver medals on worse goal-difference. Consistently strong squad, but this year was not great.
Crvena zvezda – clinched 2nd place, but there was no pleasure: the title was entirely out of reach.
Dinamo (Zagreb) was unquestionable champion – 20 wins, 9 ties, 5 losses, 67-32, 49 points. Hajduk had sturdier defense and Crvena zvezda better scoring record, but Dinamo finished 5 points ahead of them. Perhaps not the most balanced team even in their own history, but Dinamo had arguably the most exciting players at the moment: Zajec, Kranjcar, Cvetkovic, Mlinaric, and Deveric. Hadzic, Mustedanagic, and Bosnjak were not to be underestimated either.
Their 5th title and first after 1957-58 – the long wait was over at last. The building of this team started a few years back and finally the true rewards came. Credit to their coach Miroslav Blazevic, the next generation of talented Yugoslavian coaches was making itself more and more present. A squad so strong Dinamo did not have since mid-1960s and they joined again the best clubs in the country. Sweet victory – it was great to be ahead of fellow Croatians Hajduk (Split), not to mention ahead of Belgrade’s clubs.