beating FC Prishtina. Following their victory, NK Osijek was set to meet NK Zagreb at Stadion Maksimir in Zagreb. A record-breaking 64,129 tickets were sold with approximately 20,000 of them going to Osijek supporters. NK Zagreb proved victorious on the day, winning via a penalty shoot-out following a 2–2 draw after 90 minutes, Osijek denied promotion for a third time in four years. 1977–1991 In 1977, NK Osijek finally secured its return to the top flight by taking out the league championship. NK Osijek managed to stay competitive in the Yugoslav League up until the Croatian War of Independence, except for the season of 1979–80, when Osijek fought back into the premier league after failing to stay in it. The club was present in the second part of the First League ladder in the 80s, except for 1984, when the team placed 6th, headed by Davidović, Lulić, Džeko, Lepinjica, Rakela, Karačić and the team captain Kalinić. In 1989, the team placed 8th with Davor Šuker leading the line for the side scoring 18 goals, taking out the league's best goalscorer award. Šuker is the only player in NK Osijek history to take out the award. During the last season of the YFL, NK Osijek finished ninth. 1992–1999 After the dissolution of SFR Yugoslavia, the Croatian First Football League was formed and the first season was played in 1992. Due to the war, it was a shortened season played from February to June. NK Osijek was unable to play in Osijek due to the war, so they had to play in the cities of Đakovo, Donji Miholjac and Kutjevo. Osijek finished the 1992 Croatian First League season in 3rd placed, six points behind NK Zagreb and nine behind league champions Hajduk Split. Osijek's top goalscorer was Robert Špehar, who finished the season with nine goals. NK Osijek quickly became one of the top 4 Croatian football teams. One of Osijek's best ever seasons came in the 1994–95. The Bijelo plavi finished in third place, only six points behind first-placed Hajduk. Špehar scored 23 goals to become the league's top goalscorer. The greats of NK Osijek during that time were–a part from Špehar–Žitnjak, Lulić, Beljan, Ergović, Rupnik, Beširević, Bičanić and Labak. As a result of the third-placed finish, NK Osijek qualified for the 1995–96 UEFA Cup. Osijek faced Slovan Bratislava in the preliminary round, going down 6–0. Osijek finished third in the