Zlatko Dalic (Livno, 1966) has revolutionized the Croatian national team in just four years. On October 7, 2017, he took office replacing Ante Cacic in an extreme situation, on the verge of being left out of the 2018 World Cup after a draw against Finland. When Suker thought of Dalic to bring that situation to the surface, the technician had a hard time believing it: “I met the players for the first time at the airport to travel to Ukraine, 48 hours before we played for the World Cup,” he says.
The situation was complicated, but also the chance of a lifetime for a man who at that time was semi-unknown in his country. “Any coach dreams of leading his country, he does not set any conditions.”
His commitment was such that after playing against Ukraine he worked for six weeks without a contract. “I did not need a salary, I was not there for that. If we got the pass to the World Cup, we would talk”, explains the coach. The Croats managed to qualify after beating Greece in the play-off and then yes, Dalic agreed to sit down with Suker to sign his contract.
After that, he led Croatia to the final of the World Cup and now, in the European Championship, they have it again among the 16 best on the continent. In 1998 Dalic was a modest footballer (he played for the Varteks, of the Croatian first division) who spent his summer touring France with his country's shirt on. He wanted to cheer on his team at the World Cup, the first they played. Now he has become an idol in his country and a benchmark for his players …