Zlatko Dalić

Zlatko Dalić (Croatian pronunciation: [zlâtko dǎːlitɕ];[1][2] born 26 October 1966) is a Croatian professional football manager and former player who has been manager of the Croatia national team since 2017.

Zlatko Dalić
Dalić as Croatia manager at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
Personal information
Full name Zlatko Dalić
Date of birth (1966-10-26) 26 October 1966
Place of birth Livno, SFR Yugoslavia
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position(s) Defensive midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Croatia (manager)
Youth career
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 → Varteks (loan) 11 (1)
1998–2000 Varteks 36 (3)
Total 247 (23)
Teams managed
2004 Varteks (caretaker)
2004–2005 Varteks (assistant)
2005–2007 Varteks
2007–2008 Rijeka
2008–2009 Dinamo Tirana
2009–2010 Slaven Belupo
2010–2012 Al-Faisaly
2012–2013 Al-Hilal B
2013 Al-Hilal
2014–2017 Al-Ain
2017– Croatia
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He led the national team to the 2018 World Cup Final, where they reached their highest-ever Elo ranking (1,973 points) and highest-ever positioning in the history of Croatia, securing second place to France.

Early and personal life

Born on 26 October 1966, in Livno, then a part of SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SFR Yugoslavia, today a part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, he comes from a Croat Catholic family, of father Ivan and mother Kata Dalić. He holds Croatian citizenship. In 1992, he married Davorka Propadalo, with whom he has two sons: Toni, and Bruno.[3][4] Dalić is a practicing Roman Catholic.[5][6]

Playing career

During his time as a player, Dalić played for a number of clubs.

He started of his youth career at NK Troglav 1918 Livno, before joining Hajduk Split in 1983, and thus starting his senior career. He stayed at Hajduk Split until 1986, after joining Cibalia, which was at that time known as Dinamo Vinkovci. Apart from Hajduk Split and Cibalia, Dalić also played for Budućnost Titograd, Velež Mostar and Varteks. He finished his career in 2000 at Varteks.

Coaching career

Varteks

After ending his playing career in 2000, he became assistant coach at Varteks. 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 for Miroslav Blažević.

In May 2005, he was appointed manager of Varteks and in his first season at the helm he won third place in the Croatian First League and reached the final of the Croatian Football Cup. In the first leg of the final, which was played in Rijeka, Varteks lost 0–4 to HNK Rijeka. In the second leg in Varaždin, Dalić nearly created a sensation leading the team to a 5–1 win, but they were one goal short from lifting the silverware.[7]

Rijeka

In the summer of 2007, after his contract with Varteks ended, he became manager of HNK Rijeka, and finished fourth at the end of the 2007–08 season. After being knocked out of the 2008 UEFA Intertoto Cup by FK Renova, Dalić was sacked on 1 July 2008 just before the start of the season.[8]

Dinamo Tirana

In the 2008–09 season, Dalić managed Albanian champions Dinamo Tirana, with whom he won the Albanian Supercup.[9] He resigned in February 2009 after losing two derbies in a row versus fellow capital teams Tirana and Partizani.[10]

Slaven Belupo

After a short stint in Albania, he returned to Croatia in 2009 and took over his third Croatian football club, NK Slaven Belupo.[11]

Al-Faisaly

In the 2010–11 season, he became head coach of Al-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 the Saudi Professional League.[12] Dalić was named Coach of the Year in the Saudi Professional League for the 2010–11 season by Al Riyadh newspapers.[13] In the selection, he beat other more famous coaches working in Saudi Arabia at the time, such as Gabriel Calderón, Walter Zenga and Eric Gerets.

Al-Hilal
Dalić beside Amir Ghalenoei before an Al-Hilal match against Esteghlal during the 2013 AFC Champions League.

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 club following the sacking of Antoine Kombouaré.[14] On 9 February 2013, he made his managerial debut with Al-Hilal against his old club Al-Faisaly in the semi-final of the 2012–13 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.[15] During the 2013–14 season, he was the main candidate for the position of sports director at Croatian powerhouse Hajduk Split, but turned down the offer from one of the biggest clubs in Croatian football.[16]

Al-Ain
Zlatko Dalić managing Al-Ain against Naft Tehran, during the 2015 AFC Champions League

On 8 March 2014, Dalić was appointed manager of Al-Ain in the United Arab Emirates after the team had sacked Quique Sánchez Flores.[17] In his first season, he led the team to finish top of their group in the 2014 AFC Champions League, which was the first time since 2006 that the club progressed through the group stage.[18] On 30 April 2014, Al-Ain announced that Dalić would remain head coach for the next two seasons.[19] In the round of sixteen of the 2014 AFC Champions League, Al-Ain beat Al-Jazira by 4–2 to advance to the quarter-finals; in the quarter-finals, the team beat Al-Ittihad 5–1 to advance to the semi-finals, ultimately losing 4–2 to Al-Hilal, which was Dalić's former team.[20]

On 18 May 2014, Al-Ain won the final game of UAE President's Cup against league champions Al-Ahli 1–0, which secured Dalić's first trophy as manager of Al-Ain.[21]

Dalić won the title of Best Coach of 2014 for his performances; at the end of the first round of the UAE Pro-League, Al–Ain took the first position with one game in hand.[22] Eventually, Al-Ain won their 12th UAE Pro-League title in the 2014–15 UAE Pro-League.[23] The club finished the season 11 points above runners-up Al Jazira and Al Shabab Dubai, 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 (8 matches), and the biggest home win against Ajman (7–1).[24]

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.[25]

Dalić's first match of the 2015–16 season was a UAE Super Cup match between Al-Ain and Al-Nasr Dubai, played on 15 August and resulted in victory for Al-Ain, who won 4–2.[26] Following a 3–0 win against Al-Ahli Dubai in the 10th round of the UAE Pro-League on 5 December, Dalić became the best coach in the league's history since it turned professional,[27] though Al-Ain ultimately finished second in the league in 2016.[28] The club also reached the 2016 AFC Champions League final, ultimately losing 2–3 to Jeonbuk Motors.[29]

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 5th position in Asia, according to the ranking.[30]

Dalić formally departed Al-Ain in January 2017, citing a "need for rest" as his reason for departing.[31]

Croatia
Zlatko Dalić during a Croatia training session; ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

On 7 October 2017, following the sacking of Ante Čačić due to a series of poor results, the Croatian Football Federation named Dalić as the head coach of the Croatia national football team.[32] Upon arriving, Dalić announced that he would only remain head coach if Croatia qualifies for the 2018 FIFA World Cup and that the HNS would decide his future if Croatia miss out on qualifying for the finals.[33]

On 9 October, Dalić led Croatia to a 2–0 win over Ukraine in 2018 World Cup qualifying, which also secured second place in their group, and a place in the play-off round.[34] On 19 October, Dalić named Ivica Olić, former Croatia international player, as his assistant manager. Croatia drew Greece 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.[35] 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.[36] Following this, Dalić officially signed a contract with the Croatian Football Federation, running until 30 July 2020, and would reportedly earn around €500k per year.[37]

Croatia drew a challenging group, with the likes of Nigeria, Argentina and Iceland.[38][39] On 16 June 2018, Croatia won their opening match of the 2018 World Cup, beating Nigeria by a scoreline of 2–0.[40] However, during the game, forward Nikola 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 against Brazil, as well as the previous training session.[41] This prompted Dalić to send him home on just the fifth day of the tournament.[42] Dalić stated that he needed "prepared players, while Kalinić didn't show up at three occasions".[43] Dalić received praise for his treatment of Kalinić, with some stating that he had cemented his position as a head coach with the decision.[44] On 21 June, Croatia overwhelmed football heavyweights Argentina, winning by a scoreline of 3–0, with Ante Rebić, Luka Modrić and Ivan Rakitić scoring the goals.[45][46] The victory led Croatia to a spot in the knockout stage for the first time since the 1998 FIFA World Cup, in which they finished third place.[47] On 26 June, Croatia topped their group with maximum points following a 2–1 win over Iceland, and drew Denmark in the round of sixteen, advancing after a penalty shootout.[48][49][50] Croatia again won through a penalty shootout against hosts Russia in the quarter-finals, setting up a semi-final tie against England.[51][52] On 11 July, Croatia beat England 2–1, advancing to the final, where they lost 4–2 to France on 15 July 2018.[53][54] For the achievement, he received the Franjo Bučar State Award for Sport Yearly Award.[55]

On 16 November 2019, in their last match in qualifying for UEFA Euro 2020, Croatia beat Slovakia 3–1, topping the group and securing their place at the finals.[56]

Player statistics

Source:[57]

Club performance League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals
Yugoslavia League Yugoslav Cup Europe Total
1983–84Hajduk SplitYugoslav First League00——00
1984–8500——00
1985–8640100050
1986–87Dinamo Vinkovci (loan)12010—130
1987–88Hajduk Split50000000
1988–89Budućnost Titograd70——70
1989–90Velež Mostar241——241
1990–9112210—132
Croatia League Croatian Cup Europe Total
1992–93VarteksPrva HNL22260—131
1993–9432851—379
1994–9527350—323
1995–9627093—363
1996–97Hajduk Split2211120252
1997–98601030100
Varteks (loan)11120—131
1998–99Varteks2323050312
1999–001312050201
CountryYugoslavia 6433000673
Croatia 1831834515023223
Total 2472337515029928

Managerial statistics
As of match played 19 November 2019

Source:[58][59]

Team From To Competition Record
GWDLWin %GFGA+/-
Varteks Varaždin 11 September 2004 18 September 2004 Prva HNL 2 1 0 1 050.0043+1
Varteks Varaždin 20 July 2005 19 May 2007 Prva HNL 65 27 8 30 041.54100110-10
Croatian Cup 9 5 2 2 055.562214+8
UEFA Cup 2 0 1 1 000.00213-2
UEFA Intertoto Cup 6 2 2 2 033.3313130
Varteks Varaždin Total 84 35 13 36 041.67160143-17
HNK Rijeka 20 July 2007 28 June 2008 Prva HNL 33 14 11 8 042.425341+12
Croatian Cup 2 0 1 1 000.0043+1
UEFA Intertoto Cup 6 2 2 2 033.3302-2
HNK Rijeka Total 41 16 14 11 039.025746+11
Dinamo Tirana 17 August 2008 4 February 2009 Superliga 19 7 8 4 036.842314+9
Albanian Cup 3 2 0 1 066.6751+4
Albanian Supercup 1 1 0 0 100.0020+2
Dinamo Tirana Total 23 10 8 5 043.483015+15
Slaven Belupo 9 August 2009 13 May 2010 Prva HNL 28 10 10 8 035.714243-1
Croatian Cup 4 2 0 2 050.0046-2
Slaven Belupo Total 32 12 10 10 037.504649-3
Al-Faisaly 15 August 2010 27 April 2012 Professional League 52 17 14 21 032.697588-13
Kings Cup 2 0 0 2 000.0018-7
Saudi Crown Prince Cup 1 0 0 1 000.0035-2
Al-Faisaly Total 55 17 14 24 030.9179101-22
Al-Hilal 9 February 2013 22 May 2013 Professional League 8 5 2 1 062.50169+5
Kings Cup 2 1 1 0 050.0034-1
Saudi Crown Prince Cup 2 1 1 0 050.0021+1
AFC Champions League 8 4 2 2 050.00119+2
Al-Hilal Total 20 11 6 3 055.003223+9
Al-Ain 12 March 2014 23 January 2017 Pro-League 93 57 20 16 061.2918796+91
UAE President's Cup 9 4 3 2 044.44218+13
Arabian Gulf Cup 18 5 5 8 027.782734-7
UAE Super Cup 2 1 0 1 050.0043+1
AFC Champions League 33 16 12 5 048.485231+10
Al-Ain Total 155 83 40 32 053.55291217+74
Croatia 7 October 2017 Present FIFA World Cup 10 6 3 1 060.002010+10
UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying 8 5 2 1 062.50177+10
UEFA Nations League 4 1 1 2 025.00410-6
Friendly matches 8 4 1 3 050.00910-1
Croatia Total 30 16 7 7 053.335037+13
Total 440 200 112 128 045.45745631+114

Honours

Player

Club

Hajduk Split

  • Yugoslav Cup: 1983–84

Manager

Varteks

  • Croatian Cup runner-up: 2005–06

Dinamo Tirana

  • Albanian Supercup: 2008

Al-Hilal

  • Saudi Crown Prince Cup: 2012–13
  • Saudi Professional League runner-up: 2012–13

Al-Ain

  • UAE President's Cup: 2013–14
  • UAE Pro-League: 2014–15
  • UAE Super Cup: 2015
  • AFC Champions League runner-up: 2016

Croatia

Bibliography
  • Rusija naših snova (eng. Russia of Our Dreams) (2018)

Orders
  • Order of Duke Trpimir with Ribbon and Star[61]

References
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