Slaven Bilic is back in management, returning to a familiar haunt after two years out of the game
Former West Ham manager Slaven Bilic is back in the dugout. The Croatian has taken charge of his country’s national team for a second spell, more than a decade on from the first.
Bilic first managed Croatia between 2006 and 2012. The run included his country’s Euro 2008 campaign, where they qualified ahead of England.
He spent more than two years in charge of the Hammers, with that spell – between 2015 and 2017 – the longest he has held one club post. Most recently he was in charge of Saudi side Al Fateh, leaving in August 2024.
The 57-year-old replaces Zlatko Dalic, who stepped down after Croatia’s elimination from World Cup 2026. Dalic led the national team to the World Cup final in 2018 and the semis four years later and his shoes will be big ones to fill.
“I am genuinely happy to start this challenge and I feel fully prepared for it – as a more mature and experienced coach than in 2006, yet with the same motivation and desire to see Croatia stay powerful, bold, and successful,” Bilic said in an official statement.
He inherits a Croatia side that departed the World Cup in a storm of controversy. They qualified second from their group, behind England, before a last-minute equaliser against Portugal was disallowed for a faint offside as they fell in the round of 32.
That result brought the curtain down on nine years at the helm for Dalic, who guided Croatia to their only World Cup final in 2018. The national football federation celebrated him as the “greatest Croatian coach of all time” in a social media tribute upon his resignation last week.
Bilic was a prominent defender in the squad that finished third at the 1998 World Cup, a historic achievement for the then-newly independent nation. His most recent managerial post was with Saudi club Al Fateh, from July 2023 to August 2024.
He spent time on West Ham’s books as a player before returning to Upton Park as manager in 2015. He led the Hammers to finishes of 7th and 11th in the Premier League but was dismissed early in his third season with the team struggling near the foot of the table.
Bilic said one of his first jobs will be to speak with Luka Modric to determine what’s next for the veteran. “”Let Luka and I discuss that topic first,” he said.
“We’ve already spoken about it as coach and friend, and he wanted to hear my opinion. But I’d prefer to talk to him before discussing it publicly.”
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