Slaven Bilić

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.

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.

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 initially joined Croatia after the 2006 World Cup (pictured) until 2012, later returning 14 years later in 2026. 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. thumb leftIn 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.

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. 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).

Following Manchester United's win in the 2016 FA Cup Final, West Ham took their UEFA Europa League place and qualified for the third qualifying round of the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League. For the second consecutive season, they were eliminated in the qualifying stage of the competition. Bilić's second season with West Ham was less successful, as the club finished 11th in the Premier League with a total of 17 losses. This was the first season the club played home matches at the newly constructed London Stadium. The season was marred by the acrimonious departure of star player, Dimitri Payet, who refused to continue playing for West Ham mid-season, on 12 January 2017.

In his third season, after a poor run of results in the Premier League, culminating in a 1–4 home loss to Liverpool on 4 November 2017, Bilić was dismissed. The announcement, made two days after that match, stated that "West Ham United can confirm that Slaven Bilic has left his position with the club. West Ham United believe a change is necessary in order for the club to move forward positively and in line with our ambitions." He left the team with a record of 1.33 points per Premier League game, which was the best among all previous West Ham managers.

Al-Ittihad On 27 September 2018, Bilić joined Al-Ittihad of the Saudi Professional League. On 24 February 2019, after five months as manager of Al-Ittihad, and after winning only 6 of his 20 matches in charge, Bilić was dismissed from the position.

West Bromwich Albion On 13 June 2019, Bilić was named as head coach of West Bromwich Albion on a two-year contract. On 22 July 2020, he led the club to promotion back to the Premier League, finishing as runner-up in the 2019–20 EFL Championship.

On 22 September, Bilić was charged with improper conduct by the FA, after remonstrating with referee Mike Dean a few days earlier, during his team's 2–5 defeat to Everton.

On 16 December 2020, despite a surprise 1–1 draw against Manchester City, Bilić and his coaching staff were dismissed by West Brom due to a poor start to the season. At the time, West Brom were 19th in the league, having taken just seven points from 13 games.

Beijing Guoan On 6 January 2021, Bilić was named as head coach of Chinese Super League side Beijing Guoan on a two-year contract. On 8 January 2022, Bilić parted ways with Beijing Guoan.

Watford On 26 September 2022, Bilić became manager of Watford on an 18-month contract, after the dismissal of Rob Edwards. In Bilić's first game in charge, on 2 October, Watford won 4–0 away against Stoke City.

On 7 March 2023, Bilić was dismissed, with the club sitting in ninth position and four points away from the play-offs. The club statement focused on the fact that Watford had won just once in the most recent eight Championship games. He was replaced by Chris Wilder until the end of the season.

Al-Fateh On 8 July 2023, Bilić was appointed as manager of Saudi Pro League side Al-Fateh. On 16 August 2024, Bilić and Al-Fateh to end the contract by mutual agreement.

Croatia return After 14 years, Bilić returned as head coach of the Croatia national team on 13 July 2026 at the behest of the Croatian Football Federation following the departure of Zlatko Dalić.

Management style Bilić is a long-time proponent of extensive opposition research as part of game preparation. He has used music as a motivational tool for teams in both pre- and post-match contexts. Bilić has credited Croatia's 3–2 knock-out win over England in the UEFA Euro 2008 with raising his international profile as a manager. He is known for his on-field composure and calm demeanor. He plays rhythm guitar and is a member of Croatian rock band Rawbau. In 2008, the band recorded a song for Croatia's performance at Euro 2008 called (Fiery Madness).

Since early childhood, Bilić has been suffering from a slight stammer, which he has learned to control as he grew older.

Career statistics

Club

International Source:

Results list Croatia's goal tally first.

Managerial statistics + Managerial record by team and tenure

Croatian First League: 1992 Yugoslav Cup: 1990–91 Croatian Cup: 1992–93, 1999–2000 Croatian Super Cup: 1992

Croatia FIFA World Cup third-place: 1998

Manager West Bromwich Albion EFL Championship runner-up: 2019–20 Best Croatian footballer of 1997 by Novi list Best Croatian footballer of 1997 by Sportske novosti Ivica Jobo Kurtini Award: 1997 Franjo Bučar State Award for Sport: 1998 (as player), 2007 (as manager) Media Servis person of the year: 2007 Vatrena krila heart of the supporters Award: 2014 Saudi Professional League Manager of the Month: January 2019

Orders