He formed quite quickly, first met the new team at the Zagreb airport. He met the players in the room and repeated to them: “Don’t worry, we can do it”.
In October 2017, Croatian football was teetering on the precipice. He needed points in Ukraine to qualify for the World Cup. After an unexpected draw with Finland, manager Ante Čačič was sacked and the then head of Croatian football, Davor Šuker, unexpectedly pointed out Zlatko Dalič, who had been training in the Arabian Peninsula for over six years and was out of sight at home.
Montage of the match for 3rd place at the World Cup in Qatar. Croatia won over Morocco 2:1.video: Czech television
“At the time there wasn’t much faith in me and in my abilities, but I learned quickly. Of course, I also made mistakes, but I did everything with the best intentions. The most important thing was to instill confidence in the players.” recalled Dalič.
His team won the key match in Kiev 2-0, easily overcame Greece in the play-offs and won silver at the World Cup, which is the most brilliant success of an independent Croatia. And four years later, with a changed team, he followed up with a bronze.
“It’s amazing that we have won medals in two world championships. Maybe not much was expected of us because we are a small country. But we have big dreams,” confessed Dalič. He spoke of euphoria, which grew in the following sentences: “I want to dedicate this medal to the man who started it all. He is Čiro Blažević”.
The Moroccan players asked for a penalty in vainvideo: Czech television
For completeness: Miroslav Blažević has been the coach of the bronze team around the magician Šuker, whom we mentioned at the beginning, since the 1998 World Cup in France. “Boss, this is for you,” Dalič said in a trembling voice. with emotion “Even if you win five medals, you will still be the coach of all coaches, the coach of all coaches.”
Dalič is already a legend, at fifty-six he enjoyed another career milestone. The Croatians had already made it to the round of 16 at last year’s European Championship, but largely made up for it in Qatar. They eliminated Belgium in the group, stopped the Japanese heat in the round of 16 penalty, and four days later also Brazil, the hottest title contenders. “We showed all the qualities that adorn Croatians: pride, courage and self-confidence,” Dalič praised after a tense battle, which his boys saved with a goal from the first direct shot on goal.
They were bottom after a 0:3 loss to Argentina in the semi-finals, but managed to get back up and beat the biggest upset of the tournament. “Morocco played great. It was a tough match, but we made it and we go home as winners,” said Dalič with a bronze medal around his neck.
The first goal of the Croatians in the fight for bronzevideo: Czech television
After the celebrations, the elegant Moor has more work to do, he will build the squad for the 2024 European Championship. He hopes to continue the 37-year-old captain Luka Modric, and in the meantime the younger players could gain experience with even better addresses than now: Joško Guardiola could become the most expensive defender in history and move Goalkeeper Dominik Livakovič has also said he is from Dinamo Zagreb.
“It could have been the last championship for some older players – admitted Dalič -. But we have promising young players, Croatia has nothing to fear.”
