Yet another coach saw his tenure come to an inglorious end after his country’s elimination from the World Cup.

Zlatko Dalić followed Roberto Martínez to the unemployment line, as it was announced that he had stepped down as coach of the Croatian national team after nine years.

It was the first World Cup in which Dalic led Croatia without bringing home a medal. After winning silver in Russia in 2018 and bronze in Qatar in 2022, the loss to Portugal marked the end of his most successful era in the history of the Croatian national team.

“The role with the national team requires many difficult decisions, but this was definitely the hardest one for me. I’ve always said that there is no greater honor than leading my national team, and that I couldn’t have a more important, responsible, and rewarding job than this one. When I took over the national team, I believed both in the quality of the players and in myself, but I never dared to dream that we would achieve everything we have achieved in these nearly nine years.

I can’t describe how proud I am of every victory, of our finishes in major tournaments, of the three medals, for the great nights in Croatian soccer, such as when we beat England or Brazil at the World Cup, but above all for the unity we achieved within the team and with the Croatian people, which we saw especially during those unforgettable celebrations after winning World Cup medals,” said Zlatko Dalic, among other things, in his farewell message. He had decided to step down, and his resignation was accepted by the Croatian Football Federation.

*photo source: AP