Two weeks ago, Dagur Sigurdsson secured his move from the national team head coach of Japan to Croatia. Now, rumors from Croatian media suggest that Ivano Balic is close to being the next man to move to Japan.
Japan needs a new national team coach since their former coach, Dagur Sigurdsson, left to coach Croatia. Rumors from Croatian media now suggest that Japan is pursuing Ivano Balic, a six-time MVP in international tournaments.
Balic previously served as the assistant coach to Hrvoj Horvat when he coached Croatia but left the team after Horvat was fired. Currently, Balic is a member of RK Split’s coaching staff, but according to 24sata, the Croatian icon does not hide his interest in coaching and is genuinely interested in the job with Japan. If he were to sign on with Japan, it wouldn’t necessarily mean leaving his job in Split, and his salary would likely increase significantly.
As a player, Balic was one of the greatest of his generation and should have the capacity to become a great coach over time as well. Currently, he has demonstrated his abilities in developing young talents through his club, the Balić and Metličić academy. As the national team head coach of Japan, he would earn more money and face less pressure from the media.