Slaven Bilic, a discreet rocker who wears sneakers, has molded a successful side that matches his own relative youth since taking over as Croatia coach.
That approach faces its sternest test yet at the upcoming European Championships, for which pundits and Croatian soccer fans have high hopes after the misery of exiting in the first round at the 2006 World Cup finals.
Bilic, 39, was born in Split, where he signed his first contract as a player with the central coastal town’s top-league side Hajduk in 1987.
After extended stints in the German and English leagues, he returned to the club in 2000, shortly before ending his career.
“Atypical” is the word most used by locals to describe his character.
Dressed in T-shirts featuring leftist revolutionary icon Ernesto “Che” Guevara and wearing sneakers, he enjoys his free time performing in a rock band between matches and training.
Bilic and his “Rawbau” band, for which he plays guitar, recently recorded a theme song for Croatia at the Euro 2008 championships.
Recorded in Split, the video clip for the Fiery Madness song, which was written by Bilic, was unveiled earlier this month.
Bilic’s first transfer abroad was for Karlsruhe, where he became captain only a few months after arriving in Germany in 1993.
After establishing himself as the Bundesliga’s best defender, he received a lucrative offer in 1996 for a £1.85 million (US$3.66 million) transfer to West Ham United, where he played for two seasons.
Bilic then moved to Everton, where in two years he played only 28 matches bacause of a hip injury.
Bilic ended his carrier as a player at the age of 32 after playing the 2000-2001 season for Hajduk Split.
He stayed with the club for one more year as a coach and later coached Croatia’s junior squad for two years.
It was in this role that Bilic spotted young talent whom he quickly promoted to the senior team after taking the helm of Croatia at the senior level in July 2006, in place of the sacked Zlatko Kranjcar.
These included Eduardo da Silva, Mladen Petric, Ivan Rakitic, and Ognjen Vukojevic.
Success followed and Croatia completed their Euro 2008 qualification by defeating England with a 3-2 victory at Wembley, unceremoniously dumping their more fancied opponents out of the competition.
Bilic, whose courage to play all matches at World Cup 1998, where Croatia finished third, with a fractured hip and under medication, was never forgotten by adoring fans — though French ones remember him less favorably as the man whose theatrical fall to the ground in the semi-final with France cost captain Laurent Blanc his place in the final as he received a red card.
Earlier this month, he signed a new two-year contract with the soccer federation, which wants him to continue working his magic up to World Cup 2010 in South Africa.
Bilic last month rejected an offer to succeed Dutchman Huub Stevens as coach of Bundesliga side Hamburg, despite being offered a “fantastic” deal.
Bilic, who has openly said he would love to manage a Premier League side in the future, had also reportedly been approached by English clubs, such as Fulham, and French side Paris Saint Germain.
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