Slaven Bilić appointed as the Hornets’ new Head Coach
Watford FC has appointed Slaven Bili as its next Head Coach on an 18-month deal, pending the receipt of the necessary work visa.
He takes over for Rob Edwards, who has departed Vicarage Road along with assistant Richie Kyle.
“As with other Board decisions, I feel this change is in the best interests of the club,” Hornets owner Gino Pozzo said of the move.
💬 “I want my team to have control of the game, play on the front foot and play good football.”
Slaven Bilić discusses aims and expectations in his first interview as the Hornets’ Head Coach.#WatfordFC
— Watford Football Club (@WatfordFC) September 30, 2022
“We believed Rob had ample time to show us his team’s identity, but performances haven’t mirrored our aspirations and goals.”
“Now we must move forward, and, in Slaven Bilić, we have secured the services of an experienced coach who has recent experience of promotion to the Premier League.”
Watford FC confirms Slaven Bilić as its new Head Coach on an 18-month contract, subject to receiving the relevant work permit.
— Watford Football Club (@WatfordFC) September 26, 2022
Bili, a former Croatia international footballer and national team coach, most recently guided West Bromwich Albion to promotion in the 2019/20 season.
In addition to managing West Ham United in the Premier League, the 54-year-old has coached at Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia and, most recently, Beijing Guoan in China. He has also managed in Russia and his native Croatia.
The ex-centre-playing half’s career began in his own country in the late 1980s, before gaining experience in Germany and then in England with West Ham United and Everton. His career came to an end in 2000, following an emotional return to his original club, Hajduk Split in Croatia.
Other members of Bili’s team will be announced in due course, and Watford FC will make no more comment at this time.
Slaven Bili, the new manager of Watford, comes to Vicarage Road with a plethora of local and international experience, having had a storied career in football both as a player and as a manager.
Early Playing Days
Bili was born in Split, former Yugoslavia, in September 1968. At the age of nine, he joined his hometown club, Hajduk Split. He began his professional career as a dominant central defense in the late 1980s, and after loan periods in the lower levels with Primorac and ibenik, he went on to win the Yugoslav Cup in 1991, the first Croatian League championship the following year, and the Croatian Cup in 1993 with Hajduk.
Bili made his international debut against Australia in July 1992, before joining German club Karlsruher a year later. In his debut season with the club, he scored one goal in nine UEFA Cup matches en route to the competition’s semi-finals, which featured victories against PSV Eindhoven and Valencia. Bili departed the Bundesliga for West Ham United in January 1996 for a cost of £1.3 million after appearing in over 60 games and wearing the captain’s armband on multiple occasions.
Entering The Dugout
After being released by Everton in the summer of 1999, Bili completed a career circle by returning to his childhood club Hajduk Split, which he captained to Croatian Cup victory in 2000, the team’s first silverware in five years.
After hanging up his boots soon after the final success of his playing career, Bili had his first taste of management when he was named caretaker of Hajduk for a 16-game spell, prompting him to visit Europe in search of more experience.
International Success
Bili was elevated as national team manager in 2006 after two years with Croatia’s Under-23s following their disappointing performance at the World Cup in Germany. With 44 senior caps, he led his country to Euro 2008 qualifying, including a double over Steve McClaren’s England.
Croatia would secure three group victories for the first time in the country’s history before falling to Turkey on penalties in the quarter-finals, while four years later in Poland and Ukraine – having narrowly missed out on qualification for the 2010 World Cup – a group-stage exit brought the curtain down on a managerial spell that included 42 wins and only eight defeats from 65 matches in charge.
Recent Achievements
Club management stints at Lokomotiv Moscow in Russia and Beşiktaş in Turkey preceded Bili’s return to West Ham as manager in the summer of 2015, where he guided the Irons into Europe with a seventh-place finish in his first season, picking up the club’s then-best points tally in the Premier League era (62).
Bili has taken command of Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia and, most recently, Beijing Guoan in China after leaving the London Stadium in November 2017. Promotion to the Premier League was secured in his first season at the Hawthorns in 2019/20, and having departed the Chinese capital at the start of 2022, he will be looking to emulate that feat in command of the Hornets.
