Croatian Talajic is the new coach of the Bahraini national team

The Bahrain Football Association announced on Tuesday the appointment of Croatian coach Dragan Talajic to lead the first team, succeeding Argentine Juan Antonio Pizzi after his contract was terminated by mutual consent after participating in the Asian Cup finals in Doha.

The appointment of Croatian coach Dragan came based on the recommendation issued by the National Teams Committee and approved by the Board of Directors. The coach is expected to arrive in the Kingdom during the coming days, in preparation for his approval of the names of the assistant technical staff, provided that the Federation will later announce the approved formation of the Bahraini Red leadership in its upcoming appointments, the closest of which is In the third and fourth rounds of the joint qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup and the 2027 Asian Cup.”

Talajic, who is 58 years old and was born in Sarajevo, knows Bahraini football well, as he led Al-Khalidiya Club last season to the league title, and then he worked for the Bahraini Football Association as a technical director. He spent most of his coaching career in the Middle East and the Gulf, where he coached many clubs. Jeddah, then Riffa, and its compatriot East Riffa, and Al-Nahda and Dhofar of Oman, and Shabab of Jordan, and Al-Wahdat, and Al-Faisaly, and Al-Kuwait of Kuwait, and Ittihad of Kalba of the Emirates and Al-Tai of Saudi Arabia.

The new coach’s first task will be to face Nepal in the third and fourth rounds of the joint Asian qualifiers on March 21 and 26. The Bahraini team occupies second place in Group eight, 3 points behind the leaders UAE, and by the difference in the direct confrontation against Yemen, while Nepal occupies the last fourth place without points.