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List of Croatia national football team managers

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Zlatko Dalić the current head coach, during a Croatia training session; ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup

Below is a list of the head coaches of Croatia national football team, their statistics and achievements in the national team. The Croatian Football Federation considers the date of its foundation to be 1912,[1] when the country itself was still part of Austria-Hungary. In 1919, all sports federations in Croatia came under the jurisdiction of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.[2][3] On 6 August 1939, the HNS regained its independence. On 17 July 1941, FIFA recognized the HNS as the national association of the Independent State of Croatia and considered it a member until the formation of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1945.[4][5] Croatian football players from 1945 to 1990 played for Yugoslavia national team.

The first head coach of the Croatian team was Hugo Kienert, who only formally held this position in 1918–1919, since in those days it was not possible to convene the national team. On the eve and during the World War II, the Croats held a number of friendly meetings, in which it was headed by local experts: Jozo Jakopić, Rudolf Hitrec, Bogdan Cuvaj and Bernard Hügl.[6] During the period of existence of socialist Yugoslavia (from 1945 to 1991), Croatia played only one friendly match in 1956. In this match with the Indonesian national team, it was led by a triumvirate of coaches (Bruno Knežević, Leo Lemešić and Franjo Wölfl). During the period of independence in the early 1990s, the Croatian national team played friendly matches in which Dražan Jerković, Stanko Poklepović and Vlatko Marković were its head coaches.

In 1994, the national team was headed by Miroslav Blažević. It was under his leadership that the Croatian national team achieved its first and impressive success. First, he managed to qualify for the 1996 European Championship,[7] unexpectedly ahead of the Italians, and to leave the group at the championship itself. Under the leadership of Blažević, the Croats created the loudest sensation at the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France, where they win bronze medal.[8]

In the 2000s and the first half of the 2010s, Croats, led by such specialists as Mirko Jozić, Otto Barić, Zlatko Kranjčar, Slaven Bilić, Igor Štimac, Niko Kovač and Ante Čačić, regularly made their way to the final stages of world and continental championships, where occupied either third places in their groups, or stopped at the first stages of the playoffs.

The current head coach of the national team since 7 October 2017 is Zlatko Dalić.[9] He temporarily led the team, which had decisive matches in the selection for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Having brought his national team to the final part of the tournament, Dalić signed a permanent contract with the HNS. At the World Cup itself, the Croats made a loud sensation, reaching the final match,[10][11] where they lost against France team with a score of 2–4.[12] Four years later, under the leadership of the same coach, they took the bronze medals of the 2022 FIFA World Cup,[13] in the quarterfinals of which they sensationally defeated Brazil.[14][15]

List

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The following table provides a summary of the complete record of each Croatia manager's results in the FIFA World Cup, UEFA European Championship and UEFA Nations League Finals.

Coach Nat First match Last match Pld W D L Win % Tournaments
Jozo Jakopić[16] Kingdom of Yugoslavia 2 April 1940 8 December 1940 4 2 1 1 50.00%
Rudolf Hitrec[17] Independent State of Croatia 15 June 1941 1 0 0 1 0.00%
Bogdan Cuvaj[18] Independent State of Croatia 7 September 1941 6 June 1943 13 6 3 4 46.15%
Bernard Hügl[19] Independent State of Croatia 9 April 1944 1 1 0 0 100.00%
Bogdan Cuvaj Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 12 September 1956 1 1 0 0 100.00%
Dražan Jerković[20] Croatia 17 October 1990 19 June 1991 3 3 0 0 100.00%
Stanko Poklepović[21] Croatia 5 July 1992 22 October 1992 4 1 1 2 25.00%
Vlatko Marković[22] Croatia 25 June 1993 1 1 0 0 100.00%
Miroslav Blažević[23] Croatia 23 March 1994 11 October 2000 73 34 24 15 46.57% 1996 European Championship – Quarter-finals
1998 World Cup – Third place
2000 European Championship – Failed to qualify
Tomislav Ivić (c)[a][24] Croatia 16 November 1994 1 1 0 0 100.00%
Mirko Jozić[25] Croatia 28 February 2001 13 June 2002 18 9 6 3 50.00% 2002 World Cup – Group stage
Otto Barić[26] Croatia 21 August 2002 21 June 2004 24 11 8 5 45.83% 2004 European Championship – Group stage
Zlatko Kranjčar[27] Croatia 18 August 2004 22 June 2006 25 11 8 6 44.00% 2006 World Cup – Group stage
Slaven Bilić[28] Croatia 16 August 2006 18 June 2012 65 42 15 8 64.61% 2008 European Championship – Quarter-finals
2010 World Cup – Failed to qualify
2012 European Championship – Group stage
Igor Štimac[29] Croatia 15 August 2012 15 October 2013 15 8 2 5 53.33%
Niko Kovač[30] Croatia 15 November 2013 6 September 2015 19 10 5 4 52.63% 2014 World Cup – Group stage
Ante Čačić[31] Croatia 10 October 2015 6 October 2017 25 15 6 4 60.00% 2016 European Championship – Round of 16
Zlatko Dalić[32] Croatia 9 October 2017 18 November 2024 93 45 25 23 48.39% 2018 World Cup – Runners-up
2020 European Championship – Round of 16
2022 World Cup – Third place
2024 European Championship – Group stage
Total 2 April 1940 18 November 2024 382 198 103 81 51.83% 12 out of 14

Last updated: vs. Portugal, 18 November 2024. Source: Croatian Football Federation

Notes

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  1. ^ In September 1994, national team manager Miroslav Blažević, who was also coaching Croatia Zagreb at the time, was dismissed in a 1994–95 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup match against Auxerre. Blažević was suspended by UEFA for one game and Ivić was appointed as his replacement for the qualifying match against Italy in November 1994 for UEFA Euro 1996.

References

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  1. ^ Rogić, Marijan (2008). Hrvatsko nogometno predstavništvo 1940. - 2008 (in Croatian). Zagreb: Gipa. ISBN 9789539529718.
  2. ^ "Povijest - Hrvatski nogometni savez". hns-cff.hr. Retrieved 2023-05-03.
  3. ^ "Hrvatska nogometna reprezentacija kroz povijest" (in Croatian). Uvijek Vjerni. Archived from the original on 16 February 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2008. Translation
  4. ^ "Povijest Hrvatskog Nogometnog Saveza" (in Croatian). H-R. 25 September 2007. Retrieved 19 August 2008. Translation
  5. ^ "Goal Programme – Croatian Football Federation – 2006". Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA.com). 17 July 2008. Archived from the original on 4 September 2008. Retrieved 4 September 2008.
  6. ^ "Novi izbornik je Zlatko Kranjčar - Sportnet". sportnet.hr. Retrieved 2023-05-03.
  7. ^ "1996 European Championship – Qualifying". The Football Association. Archived from the original on 11 February 2005. Retrieved 10 August 2008.
  8. ^ "Tragedy and triumph: the remarkable tale of Croatia's first football steps". The Guardian. 2022-06-12. Retrieved 2022-12-11.
  9. ^ "Ukraine vs. Croatia | 2017 UEFA World Cup Qualifying Highlights (VIDEO)". Fox Sports. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  10. ^ Taylor, Daniel (11 July 2018). "England's World Cup dream dashed as Croatia win semi-final in extra time". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  11. ^ FIFA.com. "2018 FIFA World Cup Russia - Matches - Croatia - England - FIFA". FIFA. Archived from the original on 24 December 2018. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
  12. ^ "Далич повезёт хорватов на ЧМ-2018". campeones.ua (in Russian). Retrieved 2023-05-03.
  13. ^ Morse, Ben (2022-12-17). "Croatia beats Morocco in World Cup third-place playoff match". CNN. Retrieved 2022-12-17.
  14. ^ Beaton, Andrew. "Brazil Loses to Croatia on Penalty Kicks to Exit the World Cup". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2022-12-10.
  15. ^ "Brazil out of World Cup as Croatia win on penalties". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  16. ^ "Jozo Jakopić, football manager". eu-football.info. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  17. ^ "Rudolf Hitrec, football manager". eu-football.info. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  18. ^ "Bogdan Cuvaj, football manager". eu-football.info. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  19. ^ "Bernard Higl, football manager". eu-football.info. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  20. ^ "Dražan Jerković, football manager". eu-football.info. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  21. ^ "Stanko Poklepović, football manager". eu-football.info. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  22. ^ "Vlatko Marković, football manager". eu-football.info. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  23. ^ "Miroslav Blažević, football manager". eu-football.info. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  24. ^ "Tomislav Ivić, football manager". eu-football.info. Retrieved 2023-05-04.
  25. ^ "Mirko Jozić, football manager". eu-football.info. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  26. ^ "Otto Barić, football manager". eu-football.info. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  27. ^ "Zlatko Kranjčar, football manager". eu-football.info. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  28. ^ "Ante Čačić, football manager". eu-football.info. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  29. ^ "Igor Štimac, football manager". eu-football.info. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  30. ^ "Niko Kovač, football manager". eu-football.info. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  31. ^ "Ante Čačić, football manager". eu-football.info. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  32. ^ "Zlatko Dalić, football manager". eu-football.info. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
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