Former Player Urges Support for New Coach Amid High Expectations

The potential departure of Zlatko Dalić and the anticipated arrival of Slaven Bilić as the new head coach of the Croatian national football team have become major talking points. Former Croatian international Mario Tokić shared his insights on this transition in a discussion with Večernji List journalist Željko Janković.

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It's hard to add anything when we talk about Zlatko Dalić's success. It's comparable only to what the French have done in recent years. His successor will have a hard time; that achievement is now considered the normal standard, and that is not at all simple.

Tokić acknowledged the immense success achieved under Dalić, comparing it to the recent accomplishments of the French national team. He stated that Dalić's successor faces a difficult task, as the high standards set by recent achievements are now considered normal, despite their inherent difficulty. "It's hard to add anything when we talk about Zlatko Dalić's success. It's comparable only to what the French have done in recent years. His successor will have a hard time; that achievement is now considered the normal standard, and that is not at all simple," Tokić explained.

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The trap waiting for Slaven Bilić is a tough group in the Nations League. In case of a negative result, there is a danger that negativity will immediately start to spread. I appeal for unconditional support for Slaven Bilić and the national team; that will be very important. In case of a worse result, we must not be negative, but we must experience the Nations League as preparation for the European Championship.

Tokić highlighted the Nations League group stage as a significant challenge for the incoming coach, Bilić. He warned that negative results could quickly lead to criticism and negativity. Therefore, he appealed for unwavering support for Bilić and the national team, emphasizing the need to view the Nations League primarily as preparation for the European Championship, rather than solely focusing on immediate results. Tokić also expressed confidence in Bilić's coaching philosophy, noting his experience with young players and his preference for possession-based football, which aligns with Croatia's traditional style.

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He already showed in 2006 that he has a feel for young players and knows how to create a game with them. Even then, under his leadership, we were competitive with everyone. Slaven is now even more experienced, he knows where he made mistakes, he has charisma, he enjoys the respect of the players... He will certainly demand that we play the Croatian style. We saw that at the World Cup, where only we and the Spaniards remained true to our style. We are not Scandinavians to play long balls. We have a style that we don't need to significantly change.