Zlatko Dalić

During his time as a player, Dalić played for a number of clubs as a defensive midfielder. He started off his youth career at Troglav 1918 Livno, before joining Hajduk Split in 1983 and thus starting his senior career. He stayed at Hajduk Split until 1986, after joining Cibalia, which was at that time known as Dinamo Vinkovci. Apart from Hajduk Split and Cibalia, Dalić also played for Budućnost Titograd, Velež Mostar and Varteks. He finished his career at Varteks in 2000.

Varteks

After ending his playing career in 2000, he became assistant coach at Varteks. From May 2002 to May 2005, Dalić worked as the club's sports director, and during the 2003–04 and 2004–05 seasons he simultaneously acted as assistant coach for Miroslav Blažević. In May 2005, he was appointed manager of Varteks and in his first season at the helm he won third place in the Croatian First League and reached the final of the Croatian Cup. In the first leg of the final, which was played in Rijeka, Varteks lost 0–4 to HNK Rijeka. In the second leg in Varaždin, Dalić nearly created a sensation leading the team to a 5–1 win, but they were one goal short of winning the competition.

Rijeka

In the summer of 2007, after his contract with Varteks ended, he became manager of Rijeka, and finished fourth at the end of the 2007–08 season. After being knocked out of the 2008 UEFA Intertoto Cup by FK Renova, Dalić was sacked on 1 July 2008 just before the start of the season.

Dinamo Tirana

In the 2008–09 season, Dalić managed Albanian champions Dinamo Tirana, with whom he won the Albanian Supercup. He resigned in February 2009 after losing two derbies in a row versus fellow capital teams Tirana and Partizani.

Slaven Belupo

After a short stint in Albania, he returned to Croatia in 2009 and took over his third Croatian football club, Slaven Belupo.

Al Faisaly

In the 2010–11 season, he became head coach of Al-Faisaly. At the end of the 2010–11…

As the longest-serving head coach of Croatia, he is regarded as the greatest manager in the team's history. Dalić describes a relationship of trust with his players as key to his coaching philosophy. "If I can respect my players to the maximum, they will follow suit, they will respect me. There is no time for discussions or quarrels." An ESPN analysis found that Dalić retains tactical maneuverability through the midfield because, he believes, the "best defense is a good offense." Advanced sport psychology has been identified as a key marker of Dalić's management style. He is known for his effective integration—so-called zajedništvo—of newer and seasoned players throughout the 2010s and 2020s. Dalić explained in 2026 that "hierarchy is very important; this is not a club, this is a national team." He dismissed striker Nikola Kalinić for impacting "squad harmony" after the player refused to play during a match. The New York Times found that he was "forward-thinking" with gameplay analysis and uses reactive on-field player feedback to switch in-game tactics dynamically. He measures players by their efficiency and work rate during trainings to ensure starting squads reflect the team's maximal output.

Born on 26 October 1966, in Livno, then a part of SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, within Yugoslavia, part of modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Dalić family hail from the Croat community of Bosnia through which he holds Croatian citizenship as an ethnic Croat. In 1992, Dalić married his wife, Davorka, whom he met at a high school in Livno. They have two children. Dalić is a practicing Catholic and prays the Rosary during every match. In 2023, Dalić opened a football team restaurant in the Croatian city of Varaždin.