“This is maybe the best Croatian team, on paper” proclaimed West Ham manager Slaven Bilic when asked about his country’s chances during his stint as ITV analyst during the 2016 European Championships. His reasoning was sound - Croatia had never had as many players starring at big clubs at now, starting with the spine of Luka Modric, Ivan Rakitic, Marcelo Brozovic, Mario Mandzukic and Ivan Perisic. When pressed to explain why his country produced so many technical players with a population of only four million people (only Uruguay and Holland can claim to produce as much quality per capita), Bilic pointed to those same players getting senior first team appearances as teenagers. This was in contrast to England, where players of that age are either loaned out or sit on the bench. 

A charismatic communicator with the resume to match, it’s easy to see why his post-match analysis proved to be popular with audiences. The overlap with Croatia’s Golden Age of Technique was also significant. Bilic led Croatia on their 2008 European Championship run, a side lead by the 22-year-old Luka Modric (who became only the second Croatian player to be named Team of the Tournament), and also featured a 20-year-old Ivan Rakitic, the second youngest player on the side. Dark horses coming into this tournament with their wealth of technical midfielders, criticism of the team revolved around manager Ante Cacic’s failure to find a stable formation. Bilic meanwhile took in the tournament as an observer, breaking out as both a newspaper columnist and TV star.  

“You can’t press all the time because it’s too demanding...It can be high pressing, it can be middle pressing. When you are tired, you go back behind the ball. But you have to be close to them all the time.” 

“There’s no space in today’s game.”

Having commented on Spain more than any other team during the tournament, Bilic’s analysis of the side showed both his appreciation for technical midfielders like Andres Iniesta and David Silva (he observes how Spanish players appear to have been born between the lines) and the importance of opponents using the press to close off space. He presents two rules for pressing: first, it must be done in spurts to save energy. Secondly, the entire team must press the ball, as he highlights Chile winning the ball and counter attacking Spain at the 2014 World Cup. Even then, he says teams must get lucky to win. With similar sized and style midfielders, Bilic’s admiration for Spain, especially Iniesta’s humility, was on full display.

But a quick interaction with Ian Wright and Lothar Matthaus revealed a limitation of Spain’s approach. While no team is better at playing in small spaces than Spain, they rarely utilize the diagonal ball to switch play. Matthaus remarks how Germany play like Spain, but with the long ball. The variety in play is significant, as even Pep Guardiola will attest. Barcelona won the Champions League in 2015 through balancing tiki taka with a direct counterattack, which was driven by Rakitic’s energy. For all their proficiency between the lines, Spain couldn’t find their way out of Italy’s press. 

“It’s mostly between the north and the south, between Zagreb and Split…Zagreb are now the big club, while Hajduk Split has no money, no anything...”

While Russian supporters received ban warnings, Croatia’s match against the Czech Republic was delayed by their supporters throwing flares onto the field to protest corruption within the domestic game. As Mandzukic and Rakitic tried to calm the situation, the incident displayed a division in Croatia that was years in the making. Yes, Croatia played Italy in an empty stadium in the qualification rounds. But this was the most public display of a conflict between the supporters and the Croatian FA. 

Bilic’s response showed his disappointment of taking attention off on-field play, and an exasperation of how consequences ranging from paying fines to playing in empty stadiums have had little impact on fan behavior. He relays a story from a World Cup qualification match in 2005 against Malta that was delayed by a riot in the stands. 11 years later, there is no simple resolution in sight - only frustration for both players, managers, and supporters alike.    

“We got Feghouli..a top player, top winger...for free” 

In addition to Bilic, West Ham was in the spotlight with Dimitri Payet providing the first memorable moment of the tournament with his goal against Romania in the opening match. With Bilic paying tribute to Balkan and Spanish playmakers, his recruitment of Payet last summer was obvious. Payet’s performances were an extension of the technique and emotion Bilic cherishes in his players. Bilic had an inkling, texting Payet that he was the best player in the tournament before France’s first match. 

West Ham at one point last season sat side by side with Leicester City, with wins over Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City to start the season. With the Europa League in mind, West Ham showed its ambitious in the transfer market. And with his experience managing in Croatia and Turkey, the tournament will surely be a priority for Bilic. They signed winger Sofiane Feghouli from Valencia, adding to a group of North African dribblers who have reshaped Premier League sides. Feghouli said the thought of playing at Olympic Stadium swayed his decision to join West Ham. 

At 26 years old, Bilic will get Feghouli’s prime years. In addition to adding Payet last summer, perhaps the market inefficiency for West Ham to exploit are world class playmakers in their mid to late 20s - they came close to signing Carlos Bacca before he turned down the club (chairman David Sullivan realizes the difficulty of bringing in a big name without Champions League soccer, but a Payet/Feghouli/Bacca trio in attack would have inspired countless YouTube highlight compilations).

“What I like about Modric is the sacrifice. Him and Rakitic...they are ready to die for every ball, to get the ball. That’s what’s on top of our quality, skill, pace...”

“If Iniesta is 1 against 1, he will beat you. If you have to do 2 against 1, then he passes a great ball. But what impresses me the most...is he’s so humble. He doesn’t mind doing the dirty work.”

As for Bilic, his Croatia lost in the quarterfinals to eventual champions Portugal. But he did pick up the title for best BBC or ITV pundit for the tournament. The Telegraph called his dichotomy of his outward intense gaze combined with his intelligence analysis the breakout television star of the Euros. The Guardian rated his performance a 9/10, also noting his mix of passion and authoritative analysis. That’s not including his goal celebrations. And at just 47 years old, you wouldn’t put it past Bilic to manage Croatia again one day.

What stood out most during his analysis was how quick Bilic was to point out how Iniesta, Modric and Payet worked for their team in defending. He used the term “humility” to describe players and teams throughout the tournament (it’s seemingly the highest compliment he gives), and it’s well noted how much Bilic values spirit and an undefinable quality that enables teams to become more than its parts. Leading audiences into his thinking over the past month, the answer lied in some combination of hard and soft skills exhibited, especially by the team’s playmaker. And when all those traits come together, even an experienced manager like Bilic can get swept away in its brilliance.