Bilić: 'They Crossed the Line', Two Experienced Internationals Dropped from the Vatreni
In October 2009, the coach dismissed Josip Šimunić and Ivica Križanac for breaching discipline, and the incident in Rovinj echoed across Croatia.
In October 2009, the coach dismissed Josip Šimunić and Ivica Križanac for breaching discipline, and the incident in Rovinj echoed across Croatia.
Slaven Bilić, the former and current coach of the Croatian national football team, has never shied away from decisive moves when it comes to maintaining order in the dressing room. One of his most notable decisions came in October 2009, when he dropped two experienced players from the squad.
Namely, Josip Šimunić and Ivica Križanac were removed from the national team roster. The reason was a breach of discipline during a night out and an incident on the team bus, which occurred in Rovinj ahead of the final stretch of qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, which Croatia ultimately failed to qualify for. After official duties and dinner, the players left the hotel, which infuriated the coaching staff. Tensions escalated, and there was reportedly a scuffle with some teammates, including captain Niko Kovač, who tried to calm the situation.
Instead of sweeping the incident under the rug, Bilić called an emergency press conference and made it clear: "Šimunić and Križanac have violated discipline and the rules of conduct that have been in place from day one. They crossed the line, and I made the decision to remove them from the national team. I'm sorry, but it's the only way!"
He added that the situation wasn't so severe that it couldn't have been covered up, but he chose not to: "It wasn't anything terrible; we could have hushed it up, but I didn't want to. I won't go into specifics about what happened, but as I said, they crossed the line."
On the same occasion, for consuming alcohol, Anas Sharbini and Nikica Jelavić got off with just a warning. Bilić explained the difference: "Those two are young, and it can still be forgiven. But with Šimunić and Križanac, I couldn't overlook what they did."
Interestingly, the coach admitted that many might be surprised by the harsh punishment: "Although, if you knew what it was about, you'd realize it's not such a big deal. In fact, 80 percent of people would be surprised that I punished them so drastically." While the details of the incident were never fully clarified, it's been mentioned that Šimunić and Križanac nearly came to blows before teammates intervened.
Šimunić and Križanac publicly expressed regret and surprise at the severity of the punishment. Although tensions later subsided, this event marked the end or a later phase of their status in the national team under Bilić's leadership.
This wasn't the first time Bilić resorted to radical measures. Before the start of the qualifiers for Euro 2008, three players, Balaban, Srna, and Olić, escaped from the training camp in Čateške Toplice to Zagreb and the nightclub "Fontana" ahead of a match against Russia in Moscow. All three were dropped from the squad and fined, but they later returned to the national team.
