, since the 1992 inception of the top level Croatian association football league competition, the Prva HNL, 132 players have scored three goals (a hat-trick) or more in a single match. Including players repeating the accomplishment, the feat has been achieved 195 times.
The first player to achieve the feat was Dean LjubanÃÂiÃÂ, in May 1992, who scored three times for Rijeka in a 3âÂÂ0 victory over Istra. Eighteen players, on a total of 21 occasions, have scored more than three goals in a match: Marijo Dodik holds the record for most goals in a match, netting six times for Slaven Belupo in a 7âÂÂ1 victory over Varteks, in October 2000; Goran Vlaoviàscored more than three goals in three different games (twice in 1993, once in 1995), while Mate DragiÃÂeviàachieved it in two different games (both in 2002).
In January 1994, both Goran Vlaoviàand Igor Cvitanoviàscored hat-tricks for Croatia Zagreb twice in a week, against Dubrovnik in an 8âÂÂ2 victory and a week later against Osijek in a 7âÂÂ1 win. In April 2008, Rijeka's Radomir ÃÂaloviàand Zadar's à ½elimir Terkeà ¡ scored opposing hat-tricks in a match that Rijeka won 5âÂÂ3; of the 195 total hat-tricks, Terkeà ¡' was the first, and one of only four total, scored by a player on the losing club. The July 2009 fixture between Rijeka and Lokomotiva saw Rijeka's brothers Ahmad and Anas Sharbini both score a hat-trick for the home team.
Eighteen players have score more than one hat-trick, of which four players have each accomplished the feat six different times: Igor CvitanoviÃÂ, Igor PamiÃÂ, Goran VlaoviÃÂ and Davor Vugrinec. Four players have each scored hat-tricks for at least three clubs: Igor PamiÃÂ (Istra, Pazinka, Osijek), Davor Vugrinec (Varteks, Rijeka, Dinamo Zagreb, NK Zagreb), Zoran ZekiÃÂ (Zadar, Kamen Ingrad, Cibalia) and Ivan KrstanoviÃÂ (NK Zagreb, Rijeka, Zadar).
The following table lists the number of hat-tricks scored by players who have scored three or more hat-tricks. Bold denotes players still playing in the Prva HNL, italics denotes players still playing professional football.