Bilić back on Croatia's bench: "I came to achieve a big result, there will be no rejuvenation"

The departure of Zlatko Dalić from the Croatian national football team has opened the way for the already announced return of Slaven Bilić.

It was officially announced today at the HNS premises that the 57-year-old expert from Split will once again lead the "fiery" team. Bilić previously sat on the Croatian bench from 2006 to 2012.

This will be the biggest task in his coaching career, considering that after the Dalić era, only high rankings and successes are expected from the Croatian national team.

Bilić came with that goal.

"We are going step by step. We will be modest and humble. That is today's narrative. I came to achieve a great result, primarily at the European Championship. I have three foundations for that. One is the stability of the Federation, the second is the quality and potential of the team. The third is Croatia's successes from 1998 until Dalić's generation. When I was the coach, I thought even then that we would win EURO 2008. We were very close to a great result. Before that, there is the Nations League, where we will aim for a good result," Bilić began at today's press conference.

Of course - the number one topic is the status of Luka Modrić.

"My first step is to form a coaching staff. The second step is to talk to the players, first and foremost with Luka Modrić. It's his decision whether he wants to continue playing. As much as he means to football, he means to the national team. He's much more to Croatia than just being the best player. Modrić has been asked if he's leaving since 2018. I don't know why. I'd like him to continue playing for the national team."

It is not easy to succeed Dalić, who brought the "Firemen" world silver and bronze, as well as silver in the Nations League.

"I haven't heard from Dalić yet, but I definitely will. Zlatko has achieved great results. He has shown that dreams can come true. I didn't want to call him until my appointment was official."

Although there has been talk about rejuvenating the national team, Bilić is not a supporter of that process.

"Rejuvenating the national team is a term that is not normal for me. The national team is not a club. If I were the president of Hajduk, I could say that we want to sell someone, that we are not bringing players to certain positions. There are no contracts there, the best players of that country must play in the national team. The only criterion should be quality."

He also commented on Croatia's performance at this year's World Cup. As a reminder, the "fiery" team was eliminated in the round of 32 by Portugal (2:1).

"The impression is better than the result. The main goal was achieved, we got through the group, which was much harder than it looked. I neglected Panama. It's a shame against Portugal, we saw two faces of Croatia. I want us to get to grips with the other face, that is, the second half. It was phenomenal. We were robbed, I have no other words. That last ball, it's impossible. We can't always play like the second half against Portugal. We have to maintain that guard and attitude towards the opponent," Bilić concluded.