The coach has decided to continue his career in Saudi Arabia – and we have no doubts the money is good.
The Saudi Premier League football club Al-Ittihad has confirmed Slaven Bilić as their new coach! The Croatian expert should be earning around 3 million euro per season at the rich Saudi club, though we are not yet aware of the number of seasons in his contract, reports Index.hr on September 27, 2018.
?? الكرواتي بيليتش مدرباً للفريق الكروي الأول pic.twitter.com/NI8xmhwqaH
— نادي الاتحاد السعودي (@ittihad) September 27, 2018
Bilić, after joining West Ham, was linked with several English clubs and national teams, though the speculation that Bilić was in negotiations with the oldest Saudi club over the last few days proved to be accurate. Al-Ittihad introduced Bilić on Twitter and other social networks before they await his official presentation.
“Bilic will coach Al-Ittihad throughout the upcoming season. The management hopes Slaven Bilić will have a lot of success in his new mission of putting Al-Ittihad back on the old paths of glory,” the Saudi club said.
Al-Ittihad has not won the championship title for ten years, which will be the primary task of the Croatian coach. Allegedly, Al-Ittihad has agreed to cooperate with the Croatian strategist until the end of this season with the possibility of extending his contract, reports Gol.hr.
مرحباً بك في معقل النمور .. pic.twitter.com/fLxhhDYyWS
— نادي الاتحاد السعودي (@ittihad) September 27, 2018
Bilić started his coaching career at Hajduk in 2001, and in the summer of 2006, he took over the Croatian national team, succeeding Zlatko Kranjčar. Bilić called up Eduardo, Vedran Ćorluka and Luka Modrić from the youth team, defeated Italy at Livorno in his first match, and at the Euro 2008, his national team played perhaps the best football we’d seen – though they fell to Turkey on penalties in what is remembered as the most disappointing game for many national team players.
Bilić took Croatia to the Euro 2012 where they were eliminated from their group with Italy, Spain, and Ireland. After the European Championship, he took over Lokomotiv Moscow, where he was fired after the first season and finished in ninth place. It was the weakest placement of Lokomotiv since the independence of Russia.
Bilić then went on to Beşiktaş in 2013, who came in third in his first season, though he left the club at the end of the 2014–15 season. A few months later, he took over English Premier League club West Ham.
Bilić finished in seventh in his first season with West Ham, which was an impressive and applauded result. The next season, West Ham finished 11th, and the year was marked by the departure of Dmitry Payet. West Ham continued with poor results, and after losing to Liverpool 1:4 at home, Bilić was sacked on November 4 last year. Bilić has been without a club until this contract with Al-Ittihad.
