Zlatko Dalić is back in UAE football, nearly a decade after leaving Al Ain, after being appointed head coach of the senior national team.
The UAE Football Association confirmed the 59-year-old Croatian as the successor to Cosmin Olăroiu on Wednesday. The association said details of his contract, coaching staff and preparation programme would be outlined at a press conference at its headquarters in Dubai.
The move for Dalić marks a return to a country where he made his name at club level.
He managed Al Ain from 2014 to 2017, winning the 2014/15 UAE league title and taking the club to the 2016 AFC Champions League final. Al Ain were beaten by Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors over two legs in the final.
Dalić took charge of Croatia in October 2017 and went on to become the most successful coach in the national team’s history.
Croatia reached the 2018 World Cup final in Russia, losing 4-2 to France, before finishing third at the 2022 tournament in Qatar. They also reached the Uefa Nations League final in 2023.
His nine-year spell ended in July after Croatia were knocked out of the 2026 World Cup by Portugal. Gonçalo Ramos scored the winner in a 2-1 defeat in the round of 32. Dalić stepped down on July 8 having overseen 111 matches and 62 victories.
His attention now turns to the UAE and the next international cycle.
The national team’s major tournament on the horizon is the 2027 AFC Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia, where the UAE have been drawn alongside South Korea, Vietnam and Yemen in Group E.
