Croatia look back for future after Dalic departs

"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. 

He takes over a Croatia team which exited the World Cup amid a blizzard of recriminations. Its last-gasp equaliser was ruled offside over the lightest of touches detected by a sensor in the ball, ensuring a 2-1 loss to Portugal in the round of 32.

That ended nine years in charge for Dalic, who led Croatia to its only World Cup final in 2018, a loss to France, and then third place in 2022. The national soccer federation hailed him as the "greatest Croatian coach of all time" on a social media graphic when he stepped down last week. 

Bilic was a standout defender on the team which was third at the 1998 World Cup, a landmark result for the then-newly independent nation. He has also worked in Russia, Turkey and China with his last coaching job with Saudi club Al Fateh from July 2023 to August 2024.