Slaven Bilic will be remembered by West Ham United fans as the man who delivered a fantastic final season at Upton Park. He guided the Hammers to a seventh-place finish, which got them into the Europa League qualifiers. During that 2015/16 campaign, West Ham also got to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.
A memorable night was the final game at the Boleyn Ground, where the Hammers came back to defeat Manchester United 3-2. Bilic was visibly emotional that night; he knew what the stadium meant to supporters, as he had also played for the club.
West Ham and Bilic found it difficult to adjust to life at the London Stadium. Dimitri Payet went on strike, and Bilic was sacked in November 2017. Since his time with the Hammes, Bilic has managed Al-Ittihad, West Bromwich Albion, Beijing Guoan, Watford, and Al Fateh. He is now back in charge of Croatia.
Bilic managed the country from 2006 to 2012 after being promoted from Under-21 coach. During that period, Bilic led Croatia to a 3-2 win against England at Wembley. Mladen Petric, who had a brief stint at West Ham, scored the winner that day.
The famous victory over the Three Lions was in a qualifier for Euro 2008. Steve McLaren was sacked soon after, as England failed to qualify for the tournament. Bilic's Croatia went on to make it to the quarter-finals before they lost to Turkey. Bilic would also lead Croatia to Euro 2012, but they went out in the group stages. However, they were in a difficult group alongside Spain, Italy, and Ireland.
Slaven Bilic is back in charge of Croatia
He was reappointed as Croatia's manager just after the World Cup last summer. His second stint began with a promising 2-1 win over the Czech Republic. However, last night, they were defeated 4-1 by Spain, with Lamine Yamal scoring a brace.
Bilic has quite a difficult task with Croatia, as their squad is ageing. Luka Modric is still in the squad, and he is now 41. Ivan Perisic is 37 and still started against Spain. Mateo Kovacic is also 32. It is up to Bilic to call when the time is up for these great servants of Croatian football.
Croatia also has a former Hammer in their squad, Nikola Vlašić. He spent the 2021/22 season at West Ham. However, he made just 31 appearances, scoring once and making two assists. His goal came in a 4-1 win over Watford. Vlašić then went on loan to Torino before joining them permanently.
Next up for Croatia is England in the Nations League. Bilic's team faces Thomas Tuchel's side in Rijeka this Saturday. So far in the competition, England lost 3-2 to Spain, but bounced back with a 2-0 win over the Czech Republic last night.
Bilic has great memories of defeating England in the past. That game back in 2007 was a shock, as England had the likes of Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, and David Beckham playing. The Three Lions are now more of a team than the squad of individuals that was the so-called 'Golden Generation.' It would perhaps be a bigger shock if Bilic could guide Croatia to another victory over England.
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