Slaven Bilić is a former Croatian football player and current head coach of the Croatian national team. He was an important member of the Croatian team during their successes from 1994-1998, winning a third place medal in the 1998 World Cup.
The National Team coach rankings have long recognized Bilić as the second best national team manager in the world, behind Dunga of Brazil. He is known worldwide as one of the most charismatic coaches of his time and is typically seen sprinting, leaping and celebrating along the sidelines.
Bilić began his professional career at age nineteen with his hometown club, Hajduk Split, and spent six seasons there before moving to Bundesliga in a £750,000 deal in 1993. After impressing the German side Karlsruher SC, he was bought by England’s West Ham United for a fee of £1.3M in January 1996.
His performance with West Ham helped him get elected to the Croatian national team for Euro 96 which was held in England. He shone on the international stage as Croatia made their way to the quarterfinals of the tournament where they were beaten by eventual winners Germany.
Following his impressive play in Euro 96, he was slated to move to Everton in a £4.5M deal, however Bilić claimed he had a debt of loyalty to West Ham which saw him stay with the club until the end of the season to help ensure they were not relegated. He turned out for Everton in August of 1997 but unfortunately he missed several games due to suspensions.
1998 brought another World Cup performance and the Croatian team reached the semi-finals where they were beaten by hosts France. Croatia eventually finished in third place after winning the playoff game. Bilić's play in the tournament was controversial due to his role in the dismissal of French-player, Laurent Blanc. Bilić fell to the floor clutching his head after receiving a blow from Blanc's swinging arm, who was dismissed by the referee and subsequently missed the World Cup final.
After his exertions in the World Cup, Bilić was plagued with various injuries which caused him to miss the first part of the season with Everton in 1998. He eventually returned to the club however he could never fully establish himself due to such injuries and received a pay-off in 1999. Bilić went on to play briefly for his home club, Hajduk Split, before retiring for good as a player.
Slaven Bilić, together with Aljoša Asanović, managed the Croatian U-21 team for several years during the qualification rounds for the U-21 European championship of 2006. Their team made it through the group stage but lost in the playoffs to Serbia and Montenegro.
As a shareholder in his hometown club, Hajduk Split, he temporarily agreed to manage them for five games until the club found a replacement manager. Having admitted that the adrenaline inspired him, he reportedly received coaching guidance after travelling around Europe and visiting managers Arsene Wenger and Marcello Lippi.
He was appointed head coach of the main national team on July 25, 2006, succeeding Zlatko Kranjčar following an unsuccessful 2006 World Cup bid. His assistants included former teammates Aljoša Asanović, Robert Prosinečki, Nikola Jurčević and Marijan Mrmić. One of his first moves as manager was to promote three players from the U21 squad - Eduardo da Silva, Luka Modric and Vedran Corluka – all three were a success and subsequently transferred to the English Premier League.
The team's first official game under Bilić was a 2-0 friendly win in Livorno against Italy, while Bilić's first competitive game was a 0-0 draw in Moscow against Russia in the opener of the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign. Many criticized this result due to Bilić's suspension of Dario Srna, Ivica Olić and Boško Balaban who were caught skipping training and therefore temporarily cut from the squad.
Further along in the Euro 2008 qualifiers, Bilić led Croatia to a very successful campaign amidst a strong field which included England, Russia, Israel, Macedonia, Estonia and Andorra. Bilić managed to lead Croatia to a first place finish in Group E, most notably masterminding home and away victories against England, which resulted in them failing to qualify for the tournament and the sacking of their manager, Steve McClaren. They also managed to equal their highest ever win record as they beat Andorra 7-0.
As the youngest manager in the Euro 2008 tournament, Bilić and his squad had to participate with a "handicap" as they were without their star striker Eduardo who sustained a serious injury a few months earlier. Nonetheless, Bilić led his side to an outstanding achievement as they won all three group stage games of the competition, taking maximum points in the group for the first time in their history, which included an impressive 2-1 victory over eventual finalists Germany. Even his second string reserve side was seen to be too strong for their final group opponents, Poland, who they beat 1-0 due to an Ivan Klasnic goal.
Croatia quickly became favourites in the tournament however eventually suffered a controversial exit in the quarterfinals against Turkey. Bilić was angry at officials who he claimed did not allow him to make a substitution during the late stages and also trailed the match over the specified time limit regulations. Though he admitted that the defeat would haunt him and his squad, he pledged to stay on with Croatia and return for the 2010 World Cup to take place in South Africa.
Bilić was born in Split, Croatia, holds a law degree and is a UNICEF Ambassador. Fluent in four languages, he has a passion for rock music and had a number one hit in Croatia playing lead guitar with his band, Rawbau. Bilić’s passion, commitment and enthusiasm for life make him an unforgettable keynote speaker for audiences worldwide.
