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“I went backstage at an Iron Maiden gig, expecting a party. Instead, one of the members was blow-drying his daughter’s hair...”

Interview Jonathan Holloway

Euro 96 wasn’t just about England and football coming home, you know. In a halcyon summer of excitement, music and memorable moments, Slaven Bilic had more to smile about than most.

Representing Croatia was far from the standard honour of cap-stacking: it was the Vatreni’s first tournament as an independent nation. The squad was packed with talent, and though several members would later grace the Premier League, none managed to cultivate an enduring relationship with British football quite like Bilic.

University-educated and multilingual, Bilic grew up in Yugoslavia and, like most kids who’ve ever kicked a ball around with their mates, he dreamed of becoming a professional footballer. But while a young Slaven was breaking through at hometown club Hajduk Split, war broke out across the region – one that would rage for years, destroy the lives of millions and birth new, independent countries like Croatia.

Across 44 caps, Bilic represented his country with the same whole-hearted pride and passion which made him a cult hero at West Ham in particular, before he returned to the Hammers as a Premier League manager in 2015. Either side of that came a successful, brolly-inducing spell as Croatia boss and promotion at West Brom among other jobs – not to mention some lead guitar for his band Rawbau. Now, after a stint in China, it’s over to you Slav…

What was it like growing up in Split in the ’70s? Is it true your father was very involved in political change?

Jonathan Fisher, Sandy He was. It was around 1971 –I was only two or three years old, so I didn’t notice it then, but I learned about it later when I was a teenager because my parents didn’t talk about it much. My father was a doctor of economic science – he was a very educated man. He taught at a university, and when he was talking to different people who had different ideas, were progressive and just wanted changes for their country, it made him want to join the Croatian Spring [a political struggle from 1967-71]. My mother taught geography and biology, but I wouldn’t say we were rich – in Yugoslavia, there was no difference in status. But I had a very normal, happy childhood – it was a safe place to play in the street. We were outside our building all day.

Wikipedia tells me you enrolled in ‘information, journalism and documentary studies’ at school. What made you choose that?

Sam Marshall, Basingstoke Actually, in the end I studied law at university. We were brought up that school was always number one, but my parents were also crazy about football. Split is a very sporty town; we were good at football and great at basketball. My father swam and played water polo. I was absolutely sure that I was going to try to become a professional footballer. It wasn’t usual to be at that level and to finish university, but I’m very proud that I did both. The reason I picked law wasn’t because I was in love with it, but in Yugoslavia there were only a couple of courses you could do that you didn’t have to attend on a daily basis. The only two universities I could attend were for law or economics!

You made your Croatia debut in 1992, which was their first official game as an independent nation. What was it like to join a team in that situation?

Marko Juric, Zagreb We were so proud. We travelled over to Australia for three matches, because there’s a big community of proud Croatians who emigrated after the Second World War and what happened in the Spring. We were welcomed like heroes and my family were very proud. I could represent the country that I’d basically dreamed of; that my father had dreamed of during his life. It was much more than a privilege, it was an unbelievable feeling. You can still feel that with Croatian players in the team now – it’s such a special feeling.