Bilić named coach of the Croatian national football team

The Croatian Football Federation has name Slaven Bilić to succeed Zlatko Dalić as coach of the Croatian national football team. Slaven Bilić’s first test will come in the Nations League this September in an away game against the Czech Republic.

Slaven Bilić, a former national team stalwart who was capped 44 times and won the bronze medal with Croatia at the 1998 World Cup in France, is the only coach in Croatian football history to have two mandates with the national team, having led the team from 2006 to 2012.

The news of Dalić’s replacement was announced at Monday's press conference by the president of the federation Marijan Kustić: “Congratulations Slaven, and thank you for coming back into our football family, and obviously I can say that you have our full support and we're looking forward to the first games in September.”

For his part, Bilić said upfront that this was not a sudden or last minute decision by either side: “I feel the need to say that we have been in contact for two years already, and from the outset, whenever there were any doubts, the discussion always started with if and when Zlatko steps down.”

Bilić is likely to oversee a changing of the guard, as the future of veteran players like Luka Modrić, Ivan Perišić and Andrej Kramarić remain in question. During his first tenure as national team coach, Bilić led the team in 65 games, registering 42 wins, 15 draws and eight losses. Widely liked by fans, he was however criticized by fans after failing to qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

“Obviously there are some things I wouldn't do again, because people change. But one's principles are changed less easily. Personally, I feel that this the right time. I think I'm in my best years, and not just in terms of experience, knowledge and all that, but also in terms of motivation, intelligence and energy,” Bilić told reporters.

Zlatko Dalić stepped down on Wednesday after almost nine years at the helm of Croatian national team. He walked away as the most successful coach in Croatian history, but also one of the most successful coaches of his generation. He led the Croatian national team to the silver medal at the 2018 World Cup in Russia and the bronze in Qatar four years later, as well as the silver medal in the 2023 League of Nations. Under his leadership, Croatia qualified for every major tournament.

Source: HRT