Slaven Bilić (; born 11 September 1968) is a Croatian professional football manager and former player. He is currently the head coach of the Croatia national team. His career as a footballer was primarily with Hajduk Split during the 1980s and 1990s where he played as a defender. He played in the Premier League with both West Ham United and Everton during the late 1990s. He represented the Croatia national football team from 1992 to 1999, helping Croatia secure its first World Cup medal, finishing third with bronze in the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
Following his retirement from football in 2001, Bilić embarked on his management career by returning to Hajduk Split until 2002. He was called up to coach Croatia's under-21 team for two years before taking over the senior team from 2006 to 2012. He led the team to the quarter-finals of the 2008 UEFA European Championship and left after the next edition four years later. His tenure was noted for the successful integration of emerging second "Golden Generation" players into the senior team. He went on to manage eight clubs across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East – notably West Ham United – during the 2010s and 2020s.
Club career
Early life and Hajduk Split Almost all Hajduk juniors attended local high schools. As there were no classical grammar schools in Split, Bilić enrolled in an information, journalism and documentary (INDOK) studies program. All throughout high school, Bilić was a top student in his class and graduated by completing Matura. His favorite subjects were mathematics and history. The year he enrolled in a university program, he already had excellent prospects to build a career as a football player. However, he still decided to attend university and later graduated from the law faculty in Split where his father acted as dean.
As a Hajduk player, he was on loan for half a year at NK Primorac, and for 18 months at HNK Šibenik, which, that season, finished fifth in the Yugoslav Second League, barely missing promotion to the top flight Bilić, as centre half, scored seven goals in the championship. He also played for the Yugoslavia national team, having been called up by Petar Nadoveza for three matches in which he then scored two goals and was declared man of the match in all three.
Bilić was then targeted by other clubs in the league, including Dinamo Zagreb, Red Star Belgrade and Partizan. However, he decided to stay with Hajduk which finished third in the 1989–90 season and won the 1990–91 cup competition. During the first season of the newly founded Croatian First League, Hajduk won both the league and the Super Cup. The following season, the club also secured its first Croatian Cup title.
West Ham United In January 1996, Harry Redknapp, manager of Premier League club West Ham United, brought Bilić to the club for a fee of £1.3 million, setting the new club record for highest fee paid for an incoming player. Bilić made his debut on 12 February 1996 in a 0–1 away win against London rivals Tottenham Hotspur. The goal for West Ham came after Bilić's shot had been saved by Tottenham goalkeeper Ian Walker and the ball then diverted into Tottenham goal by another West Ham debutant, Dani.
He played 13 games in the 1995–96 season and 41 in the 1996–97 season in which he scored three goals (two in the Premier League, against Liverpool and Sunderland, and one in the League Cup, against Barnet) and was voted runner-up, to Julian Dicks, for the Hammer of the Year award.
In March 1997, Joe Royle brokered Bilić's £4.5 million move to Everton, with Bilić requesting to stay with West Ham until the end of the season and help club's efforts to avoid relegation. West Ham finished the season in 14th place, two points outside the relegation zone.
Everton Bilić first played for Everton in August 1997, with full support from the new manager Howard Kendall. Bilić initially brought some class to Everton's backline, but his season was marred by bookings that saw him miss several games due to suspensions.
After the 1998 World Cup, Bilić developed issues with a persistent groin strain, and returned to Croatia for treatment. After missing the first quarter of the season, he was left wondering if he would get back into Everton's first eleven, now managed by Walter Smith. He did so and showed some good form, but never fully re-established himself due to injuries and suspensions. Subsequently, Everton released Bilić in July 1999.
Hajduk Split Two days after being released by Everton, Bilić signed for his home club Hajduk Split, where he played briefly before retiring. He led Hajduk as team captain to their first trophy in five years, winning the Croatian Cup.
International career On 5 July 1992, Bilić made his international debut for the Croatia national football team in a friendly match against Australia at the Olympic Park Stadium, where Croatia lost 0–1. At the UEFA Euro 1996, he played in all four matches as Croatia secured a spot in the top eight, losing to Germany 1–2 in the quarterfinals.
At the 1998 World Cup, Croatia became the biggest surprise of the tournament. The team only lost two matches, against Argentina in the group stage (0–1) and France in the semifinals (1–2). After winning the play-off match against the Netherlands, Croatia finished the tournament in third place. Bilić played in all seven matches and was involved in a controversy for the role he played in the dismissal of Laurent Blanc in the semi-final against France. With Croatia behind, a free-kick was awarded, which saw Bilić marking and holding the French defender. Blanc pushed Bilić, making contact with his chin and chest. Bilić fell to the ground clutching his forehead. Bilić later admitted to overacting and going down only after being encouraged to do so by teammate Igor Štimac. Blanc was sent off and missed the World Cup final due to suspension. Bilić never officially apologized, but stated: "If I could change that moment, so that Blanc could have played in the final, I would."
Managerial career
Early days In 2001, as a shareholder of his hometown club, Hajduk Split, Bilić agreed to temporarily manage the team until the club could find a replacement manager. He stated that the adrenaline rush he experienced during this period inspired him, and reportedly sought and received guidance from Arsène Wenger and Marcello Lippi.
Croatia
Bilić was initially appointed head coach of the Croatia national team on 25 July 2006, succeeding Zlatko Kranjčar. His assistants included former teammates Aljoša Asanović, Robert Prosinečki, Nikola Jurčević, and Marjan Mrmić. One of his first actions was the promotion of three players from the under-21 squad: Eduardo, Luka Modrić, and Vedran Ćorluka, all of whom eventually built impressive careers. The team's first official game under Bilić was the 2–0 win in an away friendly match against Italy, while Bilić's first competitive game was the goalless draw in Moscow against Russia in the opener of the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign. Many criticized this result due to Bilić's suspension of Darijo Srna, Ivica Olić and Boško Balaban, who left the team camp three days before the match for a controversial evening at a night club in Zagreb.In the continuation of the Euro 2008 qualifiers, Bilić led Croatia with success. In a group consisting of England, Russia, Israel, Macedonia, Estonia, and Andorra, Croatia secured the top spot in Group E, with notable wins against England both home and away. Bilić's win against the English was widely publicized, with their manager Steve McClaren dismissed shortly thereafter.
At the Euro 2008 tournament itself, where he was the youngest coach, Bilić's squad had to deal with the absence of star striker Eduardo who had sustained a serious injury a few months earlier. Nonetheless, Croatia won all three group stage games of the competition, including the match against the eventual finalists Germany. The media subsequently labelled Croatia favourites to win the tournament, but the team suffered an abrupt exit in the quarterfinals against Turkey.
At UEFA Euro 2012, Croatia won against the Republic of Ireland, drew against Italy, and lost 0–1 to Spain, exiting the tournament at the group stage. The team garnered widespread praise for their performance, and were greeted by a large crowd upon their return to Zagreb. Upon his formal departure as national coach, Bilić was praised for his long-standing service. Domestic media outlet Jutarnji list labelled him as Croatia's first manager to leave the team on a positive note and credited him for the team's revival during his six-year tenure.
Lokomotiv Moscow On 14 May 2012, it was confirmed that Bilić had signed a coaching contract with the Russian club Lokomotiv Moscow. Club chairman, Olga Smorodskaya, stated that Lokomotiv had tough competition in their attempt to signing Bilić, as he was targeted by many other clubs from across Europe. Bilić again joined forces with former teammates and former assistants, Aljoša Asanović and Nikola Jurčević, who again acted as his assistants. Bilić also immediately secured a major signing by bringing Ćorluka from Tottenham Hotspur for a fee of £5.5 million. Bilić's first official match as the new Lokomotiv manager was a 3–2 away win against Mordoviya Saransk on 20 July 2012. His first season at the club ended with Lokomotiv's worst league result (ninth place) since the establishment of Russian championship in 1992. Bilić accepted responsibility for team's failure and was dismissed on 18 June 2013.
Beşiktaş After leaving Lokomotiv, Bilić entered talks to take over as Beşiktaş manager. The deal was confirmed on 26 June 2013, and two days later, Bilć signed a three-year contract worth €4.8 million. On 22 September, during the Istanbul derby against Galatasaray, Bilić was sent-off from the bench by referee Fırat Aydınus, after he had complained about the amount of time added by the referee. Beşiktaş president Fikret Orman announced on 21 May 2015 that Bilić would leave the club at the end of the 2014–15 season.
West Ham United
On 9 June 2015, Bilić was appointed manager at his former club West Ham United in the English Premier League. He signed a three-year contract. In his first Premier League game on 9 August, his team defeated Arsenal 2–0 at the Emirates Stadium. Three weeks later, he became the first manager since 1963 to lead West Ham to victory against Liverpool at Anfield. On 19 September, Bilić led West Ham to a third successive 2–1 away win against Manchester City. It was the first time the Hammers had won three successive Premier League away games since September 2007, and only three other sides had recorded away wins at Arsenal, Liverpool, and Manchester City in the same Premier League season. In Bilić's first season as manager, West Ham finished seventh in the Premier League. Towards the end of the season, they defeated Manchester United 3–2, thereby significantly lowering United's chances of securing a spot in the Champions League. Bilić's West Ham team broke several club records in the Premier League era, including the highest number of points (62), the highest number of goals scored in a season (65), a positive goal difference for the first time in the Premier League (+14), the lowest number of losses in a season (8), and the lowest number of away losses in a season (5).