| Season: | 1996–97 |
| Chairman: | Franjo Šoda |
| Chrtitle: | Chairman |
| League Result: | 4th |
| Cup1 Result: | Round 2 |
| League Topscorer: | Admir Hasančić (10) |
| Season Topscorer: | Admir Hasančić (11) |
| Highest Attendance: | 7,000 vs Hajduk Split (26 April 1997 - Prva HNL) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 1,000 (2 times - Prva HNL) |
| Average Attendance: | 3,333[1] |
| Nextseason: | 1997–98 |
The 1996–97 season was the 51st season in Rijeka's history. It was their 6th season in the Prva HNL and 23rd successive top tier season.
| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | |||||
| Prva HNL | 18 August 1996 | 1 June 1997 | Matchday 1 | 4th | ||||||||
| Croatian Cup | 14 August 1996 | 4 September 1996 | First round | Second round | ||||||||
| Total | ||||||||||||
See main article: 1996–97 Croatian First Football League.
See main article: 1996–97 Prva HNL.
| Round | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Attendance | Rijeka Scorers | Report | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 Aug | H | 2 – 0 | 4,000 | HRnogomet.com | |||
| 2 | 25 Aug | A | 2 – 2 | 6,000 | HRnogomet.com | |||
| 3 | 1 Sep | H | 0 – 0 | 3,500 | HRnogomet.com | |||
| 4 | 8 Sep | A | 0 – 4 | 1,500 | HRnogomet.com | |||
| 5 | 15 Sep | H | 1 – 0 | 2,500 | HRnogomet.com | |||
| 6 | 22 Sep | A | 0 – 1 | 1,700 | HRnogomet.com | |||
| 7 | 29 Sep | H | Croatia Zagreb | 1 – 2 | 6,000 | HRnogomet.com | ||
| 8 | 13 Oct | A | 0 – 1 | 8,000 | HRnogomet.com | |||
| 9 | 20 Oct | H | 2 – 2 | 2,000 | HRnogomet.com | |||
| 10 | 27 Oct | H | 0 – 0 | 2,000 | HRnogomet.com | |||
| 11 | 3 Nov | A | 4 – 1 | 1,500 | HRnogomet.com | |||
| 12 | 17 Nov | H | 2 – 0 | 2,500 | HRnogomet.com | |||
| 13 | 24 Nov | A | 0 – 2 | 1,000 | HRnogomet.com | |||
| 14 | 1 Dec | H | 4 – 0 | 1,000 | HRnogomet.com | |||
| 15 | 8 Dec | A | 0 – 3 | 400 | HRnogomet.com | |||
| 16 | 2 Mar | A | 2 – 0 | 3,500 | HRnogomet.com | |||
| 17 | 9 Mar | H | 4 – 0 | 6,000 | HRnogomet.com | |||
| 18 | 16 Mar | A | 1 – 0 | 2,000 | HRnogomet.com | |||
| 19 | 23 Mar | H | 2 – 0 | 3,500 | HRnogomet.com | |||
| 20 | 5 Apr | A | 0 – 0 | 3,000 | HRnogomet.com | |||
| 21 | 12 Apr | H | 5 – 3 | 3,000 | HRnogomet.com | |||
| 22 | 20 Apr | A | 0 – 3 | 2,000 | HRnogomet.com | |||
| 23 | 26 Apr | H | 1 – 3 | 7,000 | HRnogomet.com | |||
| 24 | 3 May | AR | 2 – 3 | 700 | HRnogomet.com | |||
| 25 | 7 May | A | 0 – 0 | 2,500 | HRnogomet.com | |||
| 26 | 11 May | H | 3 – 0 | 3,000 | HRnogomet.com | |||
| 27 | 18 May | A | 0 – 1 | 1,000 | HRnogomet.com | |||
| 28 | 21 May | H | 1 – 1 | 1,000 | HRnogomet.com | |||
| 29 | 25 May | A | 2 – 0 | 300 | HRnogomet.com | |||
| 30 | 1 Jun | H | 3 – 0 | 3,000 | HRnogomet.com |
See main article: 1996–97 Croatian Cup.
| Round | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Rijeka Scorers | Report | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R1 | 14 Aug | A | Varaždin | 5 – 1 | HRnogomet.com | ||
| R2 | 4 Sep | AR | 0 – 1 (aet) | HRnogomet.com |
Competitive matches only.
Appearances in brackets indicate numbers of times the player came on as a substitute.
| Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| League | Cup | Total | ||||
| 14 (0) | 0 | 2 (0) | 0 | 16 (0) | 0 | |
| 16 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 16 (0) | 0 | |
| 20 (4) | 2 | 1 (1) | 1 | 21 (5) | 3 | |
| 26 (0) | 2 | 2 (0) | 1 | 28 (0) | 3 | |
| 25 (2) | 3 | 2 (0) | 0 | 27 (2) | 3 | |
| 25 (1) | 0 | 2 (0) | 0 | 27 (1) | 0 | |
| 12 (2) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 12 (2) | 0 | |
| 21 (2) | 5 | 2 (0) | 1 | 23 (2) | 6 | |
 | 17 (0) | 9 | 0 (0) | 0 | 17 (0) | 9 |
| | 21 (1) | 10 | 1 (0) | 1 | 22 (1) | 11 |
| 15 (8) | 1 | 2 (0) | 0 | 17 (8) | 1 | |
| 21 (2) | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 22 (3) | 0 | |
| 16 (1) | 1 | 1 (0) | 0 | 17 (1) | 1 | |
| 10 (10) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 10 (10) | 0 | |
| 14 (0) | 2 | 0 (0) | 0 | 14 (0) | 2 | |
| | 10 (6) | 2 | 0 (0) | 0 | 10 (6) | 2 |
| 11 (8) | 1 | 0 (1) | 0 | 11 (9) | 1 | |
| 6 (5) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 6 (5) | 0 | |
 | 8 (2) | 2 | 0 (0) | 0 | 8 (2) | 2 |
| 0 (7) | 0 | 1 (0) | 0 | 1 (7) | 0 | |
| 6 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 6 (0) | 0 | |
| 0 (6) | 1 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 (7) | 1 | |
| 2 (1) | 0 | 2 (0) | 0 | 4 (1) | 0 | |
| 5 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 5 (0) | 0 | |
| | 5 (0) | 0 | 0 (0) | 0 | 5 (0) | 0 |
| 2 (7) | 0 | 2 (0) | 1 | 4 (7) | 1 | |
| 1 (2) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 1 (3) | 0 | |
| 1 (0) | 0 | 1 (0) | 0 | 2 (0) | 0 | |
| 0 (1) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 (2) | 0 | |