Croatia's most successful coach travels to the United Arab Emirates today, where he will sign a four-year contract tomorrow. He brings a trusted staff, with Bišćan and Ivanković also joining the project.
A new chapter in Zlatko Dalić's career officially begins. The former Croatia national team coach flies to Dubai today, August 12, where he will take the helm of the United Arab Emirates national team. According to Dnevno.hr, the contract is expected to be signed on Thursday, and Teleskop.hr adds that an official presentation at the local football association's headquarters will follow the same day. The news was also confirmed on the UAE Football Association's official Instagram profile, where they posted: "The United Arab Emirates Football Association is pleased to announce that the new head coach is Croatian Zlatko Dalić."
Dalić achieved historic success with the Croatian national team, winning World Cup silver and bronze, as well as a Nations League silver. After the team's elimination in the round of 16 at the last World Cup by Portugal, he decided to take on a new challenge that is also financially rewarding. It is estimated that he will earn around five million euros annually, which is more than three times his salary as Croatia's coach. The UAE is not unfamiliar territory for Dalić – from 2014 to 2017, he led Al Ain, with whom he won the league and cup, and reached the final of the Asian Champions League in 2016. It was from Al Ain that he left in 2017 to take the Croatia job.
Dalić is not going alone. He had already announced that he would surround himself with a large number of Croatian experts, and now the first names are known. His initial staff will include Vedran Ćorluka, Danijel Subašić, fitness expert Luka Milanović, and video analyst Marc Rochon. It is expected that the staff will be further expanded with new Croatian personnel over time. Dalić thus succeeds Romanian coach Cosmin Olăroiu, whose collaboration with the association ended after the UAE failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
The Croatian contingent in the Emirates will not be limited to Dalić's staff. Former Dinamo coach Igor Bišćan is set to become the head coach of the UAE U-23 team, with Ante Tomić and several other Croatian coaches in his staff. Bišćan will also sign a four-year contract.
Branko Ivanković is slated for the role of national teams director, with his extensive experience in the Middle East being key to the Emiratis seeing him as the ideal man for the position.
Dalić's first serious challenge will be the Gulf Cup, which takes place in Saudi Arabia at the end of September. Although the pressure for results will not be great, the association's leadership expects a visible improvement in play. The main long-term goal is qualification for the 2030 World Cup. Dalić will thus lead a new cycle for the national team, given that the Emirates missed out on the 2026 World Cup.
A special task for the new staff will be selecting from among the many foreign players. According to Teleskop.hr, there are currently between 35 and 40 foreign footballers in the Emirates, mostly Brazilians and Africans, who can compete for citizenship. Dalić and his associates will need to assess who among them can contribute the most to the national team.
After signing the contract and the presentation, Dalić will briefly return to Croatia, and at the end of August, he will come back to the Emirates, where serious work begins: assembling the squad and preparing for the first matches of the new project.
