 Dalić asCroatia manager at the2018 FIFA World Cup | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Zlatko Dalić[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1966-10-26)26 October 1966 (age 59) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Livno,Bosnia and Herzegovina | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Defensive midfielder | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | Croatia (manager) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| –1983 | Troglav 1918 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1983–1986 | Hajduk Split | 4 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1986–1987 | Dinamo Vinkovci | 12 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1987–1988 | Hajduk Split | 5 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1988–1989 | Budućnost Titograd | 7 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1989–1991 | Velež Mostar | 37 | (3) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1992–1996 | Varteks | 108 | (13) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1996–1998 | Hajduk Split | 28 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1998–2000 | Varteks | 11 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 247 | (23) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2004-2005 | Varteks (caretaker) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2005–2007 | Varteks | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2008 | Rijeka | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2009 | Dinamo Tirana | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2010 | Slaven Belupo | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2012 | Al Faisaly | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2013 | Al Hilal | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2017 | Al Ain | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017– | Croatia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Zlatko Dalić (Croatian pronunciation:[zlâtkodǎːlitɕ];[2][3] born 26 October 1966) is aCroatian professionalfootballmanager and formerplayer. He has been the manager of theCroatia national team since 2017.
He has been manager of the Croatia since 2017 and led them to a second and third place finish at the2018 and2022 FIFA World Cups, respectively, along with qualifications forUEFA Euro 2020 andUEFA Euro 2024. He has consequently been regarded as the greatest manager in the team's history.[4]
During his time as a player, Dalić played for a number of clubs.
He started off his youth career atTroglav 1918 Livno, before joiningHajduk Split in 1983 and thus starting his senior career. He stayed at Hajduk Split until 1986, after joiningCibalia, which was at that time known as Dinamo Vinkovci. Apart from Hajduk Split and Cibalia, Dalić also played forBudućnost Titograd,Velež Mostar andVarteks. He finished his career in 2000 at Varteks.
After ending his playing career in 2000, he became assistant coach atVarteks. From May 2002 to May 2005, Dalić worked as the club's sports director, and during the 2003–04 and 2004–05 seasons he simultaneously acted as assistant coach forMiroslav Blažević.
In May 2005, he was appointed manager of Varteks and in his first season at the helm he won third place in theCroatian First League and reached the final of theCroatian Cup. In the first leg of the final, which was played inRijeka, Varteks lost 0–4 toHNK Rijeka. In the second leg inVaraždin, Dalić nearly created a sensation leading the team to a 5–1 win, but they were one goal short from lifting the silverware.[5]
In the summer of 2007, after his contract with Varteks ended, he became manager of Rijeka, and finished fourth at the end of the2007–08 season. After being knocked out of the2008 UEFA Intertoto Cup byFK Renova, Dalić was sacked on 1 July 2008 just before the start of theseason.[6]
In the 2008–09 season, Dalić managed Albanian championsDinamo Tirana, with whom he won theAlbanian Supercup.[7] He resigned in February 2009 after losing two derbies in a row versus fellow capital teamsTirana andPartizani.[8]
After a short stint in Albania, he returned to Croatia in 2009 and took over his third Croatian football club,Slaven Belupo.[9]
In the 2010–11 season, he became head coach ofAl-Faisaly. At the end of the 2010–11 season under Dalić the club enjoyed the greatest success in its history, qualifying for the King's Cup in theSaudi Professional League.[10] Dalić was named Coach of the Year in theSaudi Professional League for the 2010–11 season by Al Riyadh newspapers.[11] In the selection, he beat other more famous coaches working in Saudi Arabia at the time, such asGabriel Calderón,Walter Zenga andEric Gerets.
On 3 May 2012, Dalić signed a contract with Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal to manage their B team. On 30 January,Al-Hilal agreed with Dalić to coach the first team following the sacking ofAntoine Kombouaré.[12] On 9 February 2013, he made his managerial debut with Al-Hilal against his old club Al-Faisaly in the semi-final of the2012–13 Saudi Crown Prince Cup. Dalić eventually led Al-Hilal to the cup title–the team's sixth consecutive win–which was also Dalić's second major title in his coaching career.[13] During the 2013–14 season, he was the main candidate for the position of sports director at Croatian powerhouseHajduk Split, but turned down the offer from one of the biggest clubs in Croatian football.[14]
On 8 March 2014, Dalić was appointed manager ofAl-Ain in the United Arab Emirates after the team had sackedQuique Sánchez Flores.[15] In his first season, he led the team to finish top of their group in the2014 AFC Champions League, which was the first time since 2006 that the club progressed through the group stage.[16] On 30 April 2014, Al-Ain announced that Dalić would remain head coach for the next two seasons.[17] In the round of sixteen of the 2014 AFC Champions League, Al-Ain beatAl-Jazira by 4–2 to advance to the quarter-finals; in the quarter-finals, the team beatAl-Ittihad 5–1 to advance to the semi-finals, ultimately losing 4–2 to Al-Hilal, which was Dalić's former team.[18] On 18 May 2014, Al-Ain won the final game ofUAE President's Cup against league championsAl-Ahli 1–0, which secured Dalić's first trophy as manager of Al-Ain.[19] Dalić won the title of Best Coach of 2014 for his performances; at the end of the first round of theUAE Pro-League, Al–Ain took the first position with one game in hand.[20] Eventually, Al-Ain won their 12th UAE Pro-League title in the2014–15 season.[21] The club finished the season eleven points above runners-upAl Jazira andAl Shabab, only losing two games throughout the season; in this season, they also achieved several records, namely conceding the fewest goals (19), the longest unbeaten run (15 matches), the longest winning run (eight matches) and the biggest home win againstAjman (7–1).[22] On 12 July 2015, Dalić received the Coach of the Year accolade during the UAE Pro-League award ceremony for the 2014–15 UAE Pro-League season for guiding his side to winning the league title.[23]
Dalić's first match of the 2015–16 season was aUAE Super Cup match between Al-Ain andAl-Nasr, played on 15 August and resulted in victory for Al-Ain, which won 4–2.[24] Following a 3–0 win againstAl-Ahli in the tenth round of theUAE Pro-League on 5 December, Dalić became the best coach in the league's history since it turned professional,[25] though Al-Ain ultimately finished second in the league in 2016.[26] The club also reached the2016 AFC Champions League final, ultimately losing 2–3 toJeonbuk Motors.[27]
Dalić's tenure as manager of Al-Ain saw the club rise rapidly in the Football Database Ranking; initially, the club was ranked 335th in March 2014, when Dalić arrived, and by the time of his departure, the club was ranked 122nd in the world, also reaching fifth position in Asia, according to the ranking.[28]
Dalić formally departed Al-Ain in January 2017, citing a "need for rest" as his reason for departing.[29]
On 7 October 2017, following the sacking ofAnte Čačić due to a series of poor results, theCroatian Football Federation named Dalić as the head coach of theCroatia national football team.[30] Upon arriving, Dalić announced that he would only remain head coach if Croatia qualifies for the2018 FIFA World Cup and that the HNS would decide his future if Croatia miss out on qualifying for the finals.[31]
On 9 October, Dalić led Croatia to a 2–0 win overUkraine in2018 World Cup qualifying, which also securedsecond place in their group, and a place in theplay-off round.[32] On 19 October, Dalić namedIvica Olić, former Croatia international player, as his assistant manager. Croatia drewGreece in the play-off round, and on 9 November, Dalić led the team to a 4–1 first-leg triumph over Greece, all but securing a place in the 2018 World Cup.[33] In the return leg, on 12 November, Croatia drew with Greece 0–0, but won 4–1 on aggregate, thus securing a place in the World Cup finals.[34] Following this, Dalić officially signed a contract with the Croatian Football Federation, running until 30 July 2020, and would reportedly earn around €500,000 per year.[35]
Croatia drew a challenging group, with the likes ofNigeria,Argentina andIceland.[36][37] On 16 June, Croatia won their opening match of the 2018 World Cup, beating Nigeria by a scoreline of 2–0.[38] However, during the game, forwardNikola Kalinić had refused to come on as a late substitute, citing a back injury as his excuse, although he had used this excuse earlier during a friendly match againstBrazil, as well as the previous training session.[39] This prompted Dalić to send him home on just the fifth day of the tournament.[40] Dalić stated that he needed "prepared players, while Kalinić did not show up at three occasions".[41] Dalić received praise for his treatment of Kalinić, with some stating that he had cemented his position as a head coach with the decision.[42] On 21 June, Croatia overwhelmed football heavyweights Argentina, winning by a scoreline of 3–0, withAnte Rebić,Luka Modrić andIvan Rakitić scoring the goals.[43][44] The victory led Croatia to a spot in theknockout stage for the first time since the1998 FIFA World Cup, in which they finished third place.[45] On 26 June, Croatia topped their group with maximum points following a 2–1 win over Iceland, and drewDenmark in theround of sixteen, advancing after a penalty shootout.[46][47][48] Croatia again won through a penalty shootout against hostsRussia in thequarter-finals, setting up asemi-final tie againstEngland.[49][50] On 11 July, Croatia beat England 2–1, advancing to thefinal, where they lost 4–2 toFrance on 15 July.[51][52] For the achievement, he received theFranjo Bučar State Award for Sport Yearly Award.[53]
The first game Croatia played after the World Cup was a 1–1 draw againstPortugal in a friendly match.[54] It is the first time that Croatia managed to draw (and even score) against Portugal.
In theinaugural edition ofUEFA Nations League, Croatia was drawn in the samegroup asSpain and England.[55][56]
Croatia opened their Nations League campaign on 11 September with a disastrous 6–0 defeat to Spain inElche.[57] However, on 15 November, Croatia managed to get revenge with a 3–2 victory inZagreb.[58] Nevertheless, due to a goalless draw with England inRijeka on 12 October[59] and a 2–1 defeat inLondon on 18 November, Croatia were relegated toLeague B.[60] However, due to a format change, Croatia avoided relegation and remained inLeague A.[61]
Croatia entered theirUEFA Euro 2020 qualifying campaign poorly with narrow 2–1 home victories overAzerbaijan andWales, and an upset 2–1 away defeat toHungary.[62][63][64] However, Croatia returned to form beatingSlovakia 4–0 away inTrnava. On 16 November 2019, in their last qualifying match, Croatia beat Slovakia 3–1 in Rijeka, topping the group and securing their place at thefinals.[65][66] Applauded for his successful handling of the national team after the retirement of some prominent internationals such asMario Mandžukić andDanijel Subašić, successful integration of new names such asBruno Petković,Josip Brekalo andNikola Vlašić into the team and successful qualifying campaign, Dalić signed a new contract on 23 July 2020 with the Croatian Football Federation that kept him at the position of Croatia manager until the end of 2022, earning an annual salary of €1.6 million.[67][68]
Croatia entered their2020–21 UEFA Nations League campaign poorly, losing heavily toPortugal and France away, 4–1 and 4–2 respectively.[69][70] After beatingSweden 2–1 at home,[71] Croatia failed to win any of the rest of the matches. They finished third in their group and avoided relegation toLeague B solely due to having better goal difference than last-placed Sweden.[72][73] Croatia also notably conceded more goals than any other team in theNations League.[74] Despite calls from the general public for Dalić to resign,[75] he retained his job.
Croatia began their qualification for the2022 FIFA World Cup with a loss away toSlovenia, drawing further criticism. However, after the first game, Croatia finished the campaign unbeaten, drawing only away to Russia and at home to Slovakia. A first place finish made Dalić the first coach in the history of the team to qualify them for three major tournaments.[76][77][78] In the 2022 World Cup, Dalić led Croatia to their second consecutive semi-final and third in total, after beatingBrazil on penalties in the quarter-finals.[79] However, Dalić's side would be eliminated 3–0 in the semi-finals by Argentina. He would go on to beat Morocco 2–1 in the third place play-off, Croatia’s second-joint best finish in a World Cup.
In thethird edition of the Nations League, Croatia beat France 1–0 for the first time in history. Croatia won the group, ahead of France, Denmark andAustria, and qualified for the Nations League Finals. They defeated the hostNetherlands 4–2 and won a silver medal, losing the final to Spain in a penalty shootout after the score was 0–0. Croatia finished second in the qualifying group forEuro 2024 and therefore securing a spot at the continental tournament, its seventh in history.
Dalić is widely regarded as the greatest coach in the history of the Croatian national team due to his success achieved at multiple World Cups, consisting of a runner-up and a third place finish.[80] He describes a relationship of trust with his players as key to his coaching philosophy. 'If I can respect my players to the maximum, they will follow suit, they will respect me. Our relationship is frank and sincere. There are no secrets, there are no dilemmas. I think that such a relationship is very important in a national team because we are together for a brief time. There is no time for discussions or quarrels.'[81]
Born on 26 October 1966, inLivno, then a part of SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, within Yugoslavia, today's Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dalić comes from aCroat family of mother Kata and father Ivan Dalić.[82][83] He holdsCroatian citizenship.
In 1992, Dalić married his wife Davorka Propadalo, whom he met at a high school in Livno.[84] They have together two sons, Toni and Bruno.[85][86] Dalić is a practicingRoman Catholic, and prays theRosary during every match.[87][88]
In 2023, Dalić opened a football team restaurant in the Croatian city ofVaraždin, the city where he resides and where he started his career as a coach.[89]
Source:[90]
| Club performance | League | Cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Yugoslavia | League | Yugoslav Cup | Europe | Total | ||||||
| 1983–84 | Hajduk Split | Yugoslav First League | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1984–85 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 1985–86 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||
| 1986–87 | Dinamo Vinkovci (loan) | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 13 | 0 | ||
| 1987–88 | Hajduk Split | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1988–89 | Budućnost Titograd | 7 | 0 | — | — | 7 | 0 | |||
| 1989–90 | Velež Mostar | 24 | 1 | — | — | 24 | 1 | |||
| 1990–91 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 13 | 2 | |||
| Croatia | League | Croatian Cup | Europe | Total | ||||||
| 1992–93 | Varteks | Prva HNL | 22 | 2 | 6 | 0 | — | 13 | 1 | |
| 1993–94 | 32 | 8 | 5 | 1 | — | 37 | 9 | |||
| 1994–95 | 27 | 3 | 5 | 0 | — | 32 | 3 | |||
| 1995–96 | 27 | 0 | 9 | 3 | — | 36 | 3 | |||
| 1996–97 | Hajduk Split | 22 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 25 | 2 | |
| 1997–98 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 0 | ||
| Varteks (loan) | 11 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 13 | 1 | |||
| 1998–99 | Varteks | 23 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 31 | 2 | |
| 1999–00 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 20 | 1 | ||
| Country | Yugoslavia | 64 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 67 | 3 | |
| Croatia | 183 | 18 | 34 | 5 | 15 | 0 | 232 | 23 | ||
| Total | 247 | 23 | 37 | 5 | 15 | 0 | 299 | 28 | ||
| Team | From | To | Competition | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M | W | D | L | Win % | GF | GA | GD | ||||
| Varteks Varaždin | 11 September 2004 | 18 September 2004 | Prva HNL | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 050.00 | 4 | 3 | +1 |
| Varteks Varaždin | 20 July 2005 | 19 May 2007 | Prva HNL | 65 | 27 | 8 | 30 | 041.54 | 100 | 110 | −10 |
| Croatian Cup | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 055.56 | 22 | 14 | +8 | |||
| UEFA Cup | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 000.00 | 1 | 3 | −2 | |||
| UEFA Intertoto Cup | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 033.33 | 13 | 13 | 0 | |||
| Varteks Varaždin Total | 84 | 35 | 13 | 36 | 041.67 | 140 | 14 | −3 | |||
| Rijeka | 20 July 2007 | 28 June 2008 | Prva HNL | 33 | 14 | 11 | 8 | 042.42 | 53 | 41 | +12 |
| Croatian Cup | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 050.00 | 4 | 3 | +1 | |||
| Rijeka Total | 35 | 15 | 11 | 9 | 042.86 | 57 | 44 | +13 | |||
| Dinamo Tirana | 17 August 2008 | 4 February 2009 | Superliga | 19 | 7 | 8 | 4 | 036.84 | 23 | 14 | +9 |
| Albanian Cup | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 066.67 | 5 | 1 | +4 | |||
| Albanian Supercup | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 | 2 | 0 | +2 | |||
| Dinamo Tirana Total | 23 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 043.48 | 30 | 15 | +15 | |||
| Slaven Belupo | 9 August 2009 | 13 May 2010 | Prva HNL | 28 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 035.71 | 42 | 43 | −1 |
| Croatian Cup | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 050.00 | 4 | 6 | −2 | |||
| Slaven Belupo Total | 32 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 037.50 | 46 | 49 | −3 | |||
| Al-Faisaly | 15 August 2010 | 27 April 2012 | Pro League | 52 | 17 | 14 | 21 | 032.69 | 75 | 88 | −13 |
| King's Cup | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 000.00 | 1 | 8 | −7 | |||
| Saudi Crown Prince Cup | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 000.00 | 3 | 5 | −2 | |||
| Al-Faisaly Total | 55 | 17 | 14 | 24 | 030.91 | 79 | 101 | −22 | |||
| Al-Hilal | 9 February 2013 | 22 May 2013 | Pro League | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 062.50 | 16 | 9 | +5 |
| King's Cup | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 050.00 | 3 | 4 | −1 | |||
| Saudi Crown Prince Cup | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 050.00 | 2 | 1 | +1 | |||
| AFC Champions League | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 050.00 | 11 | 9 | +2 | |||
| Al-Hilal Total | 20 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 055.00 | 32 | 23 | +9 | |||
| Al-Ain | 12 March 2014 | 23 January 2017 | Pro-League | 93 | 57 | 20 | 16 | 061.29 | 187 | 96 | +91 |
| UAE President's Cup | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 044.44 | 21 | 8 | +13 | |||
| Arabian Gulf Cup | 18 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 027.78 | 27 | 34 | −7 | |||
| UAE Super Cup | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 050.00 | 4 | 3 | +1 | |||
| AFC Champions League | 33 | 16 | 12 | 5 | 048.48 | 52 | 31 | +10 | |||
| Al-Ain Total | 155 | 83 | 40 | 32 | 053.55 | 291 | 217 | +74 | |||
| Croatia | 7 October 2017 | Present | FIFA World Cup | 14 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 042.86 | 22 | 16 | +6 |
| FIFA World Cup qualification | 21 | 16 | 4 | 1 | 076.19 | 53 | 9 | +44 | |||
| UEFA European Championship | 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 014.29 | 10 | 14 | −4 | |||
| UEFA Euro qualifying | 16 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 062.50 | 30 | 11 | +19 | |||
| UEFA Nations League | 26 | 10 | 5 | 11 | 038.46 | 35 | 44 | −9 | |||
| Friendly matches | 19 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 052.63 | 28 | 21 | +7 | |||
| Croatia Total | 103 | 53 | 26 | 24 | 051.46 | 178 | 115 | +63 | |||
| Total | 513 | 237 | 131 | 145 | 046.20 | 873 | 709 | +164 | |||
Hajduk Split
Varteks
Dinamo Tirana
Al-Hilal
Al-Ain
Croatia
Zlȁtko
Dálić
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)Mr. Zlatko Dalić was awarded the Order of Prince Trpimir with Ribbon and Star ...
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