Croatia could have two coaches at the World Cup. Because, if the Czech media is to be believed and if some things coincide completely, Slaven Bilić could take over the bench of that ‘stumbling’ national team with the aim of taking it to the World Cup through additional qualifications.
Namely, the Czech Republic won second place in the World Cup qualifiers in the group with Croatia, in March they will play in Prague against the Republic of Ireland. If he wins that match as well, he will fight for a place in the World Cup, also on his own field, against the winner of the match between Denmark and North Macedonia. So, the Czech Republic still has realistic prospects, but in the Alliance, with Pavel Nedved’s main speech, they are still looking for a man who should fulfill that goal, he writes Germanic.
Namely, after the dismissal of Ivan Hašek in October, after the defeat against the Faroe Islands (2-1), the Czech Republic was taken over by his assistant Jaroslav Köstl as a temporary solution. But the idea was immediately to find a permanent option, someone who could fulfill the goal, take the national team to the WC. The first candidate was Jindrich Trpišovsky, the current coach of Slavia Prague. However, he has so far rejected the offer, saying that he still has work to do at the club, that he wants to make new strides with Slavia and that talking about taking over the Czech Republic “distracts the focus of the club and the team”. Although he did not say a definitive ‘no’, it is clear that he is not very keen on the job and the Alliance turned to other solutions.
The Czech media first mentioned the German Jürgen Klinsmann, then the Turkish Fatih Terim, who is privately close to Nedved, however, the name of Slaven Bilić popped up on Monday. Which, according to local media sources, would meet all the criteria. A well-known football and coaching name, a man who was already a coach, and also financially perhaps more acceptable than many others. Clearly, there are two views.
According to one opinion, the Czechs should bring in a new temporary coach, with the aim of placing at the World Cup and with a contract only for those additional qualifications. Others, on the other hand, advocate for a permanent option, someone who, despite the result in the rematch, will lead the Czech Republic into a new cycle. However, the advocates of Trpišovki hope that, if not sooner, he could agree in the summer and, if the Czechs do not play at the WC, that is why there is no need to hurry with a permanent solution from abroad.
Bilić is certainly one of the candidates, but the question is how close he is to the Czech bench at the moment. In the coming days, we could all be smarter together. Together with the Czechs. By the way, Bilić has led Croatia to two European Championships, but he hasn’t been to the World Cup yet. So this could be a coaching challenge for him.
