“I have never been convinced by the idea of returning,” Slaven Bilic once said while sitting in the lobby of a Canary Wharf hotel, dressed in a black Soundgarden T-shirt and dark jeans. Speaking with characteristic confidence, he moved effortlessly between subjects such as Sir Alex Ferguson’s memoir, classic Yugoslav films and Nikola Tesla’s decision to remain celibate. At the time, he was enjoying life in London before beginning his third Premier League campaign with West Ham, while a rare conversation with Croatian journalists gave him an opportunity to revisit events back home.
“Living abroad naturally keeps me at a distance,” he said with a relieved sigh. The conversation continued to wander, touching on a Metallica show, meals at an Argentinian steakhouse and several stories that were not intended for publication. Bilic was visibly content and made no attempt to hide it. His spell in charge of Croatia appeared firmly in the past, even though discussing the national team still stirred mixed emotions.
“Those memories are special, and I would rather not damage them,” he explained. “Returning has never appealed to me. It is not because I am afraid of failing; I simply feel that some chapters reach a natural conclusion.”
But circumstances have now brought him back. Nine years after making those comments, and 14 years after his first period as Croatia’s manager concluded, Bilic is once again in charge and preparing for Saturday’s Nations League meeting with England in Rijeka. His career in the intervening years included jobs in Saudi Arabia and China, along with spells at West Brom and Watford, before he spent 23 months without a position from August 2024.
Time has given Bilic a more polished appearance, with his current look combining familiar traits associated with several leading modern coaches: a greying beard, glasses hanging from a cord and an entirely black wardrobe. Yet his personality remains unchanged. He is still forthright, articulate and intensely emotional, providing a striking contrast to predecessor Zlatko Dalic’s quiet, modest and almost clerical manner.
When Bilic made his first public appearance after returning to the role in July, the atmosphere immediately seemed renewed. At 58, he still possesses a distinctive presence and an effortless ability to attract attention and win people over.
Replacing Dalic was never going to be straightforward after he guided Croatia to second- and third-place finishes at World Cups. Even so, Bilic appeared the most natural candidate. He understands the demands of the position, and many believe his earlier work helped create the platform for the achievements that followed.
His first tenure planted many of the ideas that later flourished in the side shaped around Luka Modric and led by Dalic. Bilic encouraged Croatia to aim high for the first time since the celebrated 1998 generation in which he played. The defining example came with the memorable 3-2 victory at Wembley in 2007, when Croatia prevailed not through necessity but because the players trusted their quality and knew they were capable of winning.
Bilic may also have been the only person capable of persuading Modric to continue with the national team. Appropriately, the 41-year-old scored the opening goal of Bilic’s second spell during last Saturday’s 2-1 victory over Czechia in Prague, before running over to embrace his coach. “Luka means everything to this team; what he does is extraordinary,” Bilic said.
Bilic must now demonstrate his abilities as a manager all over again. He is naturally a different coach from the one who led Croatia during his first spell, and the key question is how effectively he can use everything he has learned since then. Two matches offer too little evidence for firm conclusions, particularly because he made extensive changes for the second, a 4-1 away loss to a much stronger Spain, but the early signs reveal elements of his plan.
Dalic’s Croatia frequently embraced being the outsider, sitting patiently before attacking with precision on the break. That approach succeeded despite the squad lacking many fast players and possessing most of its quality in a technically gifted midfield. Bilic has a different vision. He wants Croatia to control matches, press further up the pitch, accept greater risks and send more players into the opposing penalty area. His central defenders are expected to carry the ball forward instead of waiting for Modric or Mateo Kovacic to retreat deep and collect it. Above all, he wants a courageous, offensive team that reflects his own intensity.
Whether that approach can work with a squad that has welcomed plenty of younger talent but continues to rely heavily on experienced figures such as Modric, Kovacic and Ivan Perisic remains uncertain. Bilic, however, has no doubts about its potential.
Self-belief has always defined him. In 2012, he was convinced Croatia could win the European Championship, although the team ultimately departed during the group stage. Now he insists he can equal Dalic’s achievements. Bilic may once have dismissed the prospect of returning, but his confidence in pursuing even greater ambitions has never disappeared.
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