Revelation of the conversation between Lionel Messi and Jorge Sampaoli after the defeat to Croatia in Russia 2018
Zlatko Dalić revealed that he had decided to resign as coach of Croatia, but now he is reconsidering his decision due to the overwhelming reception he received in his country after achieving the runner-up position in Russia 2018.
"Now is the ideal time for me to leave. I had made the decision after America (a tournament before the World Cup) with my family. However, upon arrival in Zagreb, when I saw that reception, I have to reconsider my decision. For those people, who are the most important, for those emotions, I wonder if I have the right now to disappoint them," the coach admitted in an interview with the Croatian newspaper Vecernji list.
The Croatian team was received last Monday in Zagreb by hundreds of thousands of people who flooded the streets of the Croatian capital to greet their World Cup heroes.
Dalić revealed that, for four months before the World Cup, he experienced "obstructions" from some people in the Croatian football world who did not let him work his way.
However, he explicitly exempted the president of the Croatian Federation, Davor Šuker, who gave him full autonomy in the choice of players and assistants. "They attacked me and no one defended me. That's why it's my decision, I can't allow, in two months' time, after some first defeat, some guys want to fire me again," he said.
However, despite admitting that he is reconsidering his resignation, he added that "the most beautiful thing is to leave when you are at the top, when you are the best, as (Zinedine) Zidane did", the coach of Real Madrid, who left his position this year after winning three consecutive Champions Leagues.
New challenges
For the coach, Croatia's next goal is to "win the European Championship". "Based on what the players have shown, so compact, together, they can achieve it, I'm sure," he said.
Zlatko Dalić led his team to the runner-up position in Russia 2018, after losing 2-4 to France in the final. The Croatian team reached this stage after playing three extra times in the round of 16, quarterfinals, and semifinals.
During the World Cup, Dalić made the drastic decision to remove forward Nikola Kalinić from the team, from Milan, for refusing to enter the game in the last minutes of the match against Nigeria. This decision meant that Croatia faced the rest of the tournament with one less player.
