Vahid Halilhodà ¾ià(; born 15 October 1952) is a Bosnian professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Nantes. He is regarded as one of the most controversially successful Bosnian football managers, due to his successful tenure in coaching various national teams yet having problematic relations with his teams and players due to different approaches.
Regarded as one of the best Yugoslav players, Halilhodà ¾iàhad successful playing spells with Veleà ¾ Mostar and French clubs Nantes and Paris Saint-Germain before retiring in 1987. During that time, he earned 15 full international caps for Yugoslavia and was part of national squads who won the 1978 European Under-21 Championship and played at the 1982 FIFA World Cup. He was top scorer of the French league in 1983 and 1985.
In the early 1990s, Halilhodà ¾iàturned to coaching and, after a short stint as a sporting director at Veleà ¾, permanently moved to France in 1993 after fleeing war-torn Bosnia with his family. Since then, he managed a number of teams in French-speaking countries and his achievements include winning the 1997 CAF Champions League with Moroccan side Raja Casablanca, leading French side Lille from second level to third place in Ligue 1 in less than three years, winning the 2003âÂÂ04 Coupe de France with Paris Saint-Germain, and winning the Croatian league in 2011 with Dinamo Zagreb.
Halilhodà ¾iàalso qualified for the 2010 World Cup with Ivory Coast (although he was sacked only months before the final tournament) and the 2014 World Cup with Algeria, with whom he reached the round of 16, Algeria's best result in history. Later, he qualified for the 2018 World Cup with Japan, but again was fired just prior to the tournament. After a short stint with Nantes in 2018, where he helped avoid relegation to Ligue 2, Halilhodà ¾iàbecame head coach of the Morocco national team, whom he qualified for the 2022 World Cup. Like with Ivory Coast and Japan, he was sacked by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation in August 2022, after Morocco's poor performance at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations and his fallout with star player Hakim Ziyech.
Born in Jablanica, Halilhodà ¾iàstarted playing football in his early teens at local minnows Turbina Jablanica, as the club's ground was located some 100 metres from his family home. According to his admission, he did not consider becoming a professional footballer at the time and instead chose to continue his formal education, moving to the nearby city of Mostar at age 14 to study at the local electrotechnical high school, without ever appearing for Turbina in an official match. Nevertheless, it was in Mostar that he first started taking football seriously as he went on to join Yugoslav First League side Veleà ¾ Mostar academy at age 16, in part on the insistence of his brother Salem, who at the time played for the club as a striker. Halilhodà ¾iàthen went on to play there at youth levels for the next two and a half years, and, upon signing a professional contract with the club, was sent on a six-month loan to second-level side Neretva Metkoviàto gain some experience.
Upon his return from loan, he quickly broke into the first-team squad in the 1972âÂÂ73 season, forming a successful attacking partnership with Duà ¡an Bajeviàand helping Veleà ¾ finish the season as league runners-up behind Red Star Belgrade. Halilhodà ¾iàthen went on to become one of the club's key players throughout the 1970s, appearing in a total of 376 matches and scoring 253 goals for the club (including 207 appearances and 103 goals in the Yugoslav First League) before leaving the country in September 1981 to join French side Nantes. Earlier that year, he was instrumental in winning the club's first major silverware, scoring two goals in their 3âÂÂ2 Yugoslav Cup final win against à ½eljezniÃÂar.
At Nantes, he struggled in his first year although he quickly became a first-team regular, scoring 7 goals in 28 appearances in the 1981âÂÂ82 season. He also got sent off in the first round of the UEFA Cup vs. Lokeren and received a 4 matches suspension from UEFA. The following season, he helped Nantes win their sixth French championship title and was the league's top scorer with 27 goals in 36 appearances. Halilhodà ¾iàwent on to spend five years at La Beaujoire, appearing in a total of 163 league matches and scoring 92 goals for the club, also becoming league top scorer in the 1984âÂÂ85 season with 28 goals.
In 1986, Halilhodà ¾iàdecided to return to Mostar so he could spend more time with his father, who in the meantime fell seriously ill. While negotiating a new contract with Nantes, he intentionally asked for a salary bigger than anything the club could afford so that he could be released and return home. However, Francis Borelli, chairman of Paris Saint-Germain, stepped in and made him a "fantastic offer" to sign a one-year contract, with the intention of bringing Halilhodà ¾iàto Parc des Princes in order to strengthen the team for their upcoming 1986âÂÂ87 European Cup campaign.
Halilhodà ¾iàaccepted the offer and went on to appear for the club in the first 18 games of the 1986âÂÂ87 season, scoring eight goals. However, his mother back home died during the season, and it was then that Halilhodà ¾iàdecided to finally retire from active football.
Halilhodà ¾iàwas capped 15 times for the Yugoslavia national team, scoring eight goals. After debuting as a full international in June 1976, he also appeared in a few matches for Yugoslavia under-21 team in 1978, helping them win the 1978 European Under-21 Championship where he claimed the Golden Player award for the best player in the tournament. Halilhodà ¾iÃÂ, who was 26 at the time, took advantage of the rule that allowed two players over the age of 21 to participate â hence him and Velimir Zajec (who had also already debuted for Yugoslavia full squad in 1977) were the two senior players brought in to strengthen the under-21 squad.
Spanning nine years, Halilhodà ¾iÃÂ's time with the national team was marked by frequently alternating ups and downs, periods of automatic inclusion followed by years-long omissions and frustrating substitute stints.
He made his debut as a substitute at UEFA Euro 1976 under head coach BiÃÂe Mladiniàduring the third place match versus Holland that Yugoslavia lost 2âÂÂ3 at Zagreb's Maksimir Stadium. The 23-year-old Halilhodà ¾iàcame on for Slavià ¡a à ½ungul.
Over the next couple of years, he recorded two more substitute appearances â first in September 1976 in a friendly against Italy in Rome and in November 1977 at home against Spain (the infamously violent qualifying home loss at Belgrade's Marakana that ended Yugoslavia's chances of going to the 1978 World Cup).
It was not until October 1978 that now 26-year-old Halilhodà ¾ià(riding high from his under-21 European championship win) got his first national team start â the opening Euro 80 qualifying clash versus Spain at home in Maksimir. With his first inclusion in the starting lineup by returning coach Mladiniàalso came his first goal â Yugoslavia was down 0âÂÂ2 in the first half when Halilhodà ¾iàpulled one back in the 44th minute for 1âÂÂ2, which ended up being the final score as Yugoslavia again lost at home to Spain. With his performance versus Spain, Halilhodà ¾iÃÂ's stock was somewhat raised and as a result he got to start the next qualifier away at Romania that Yugoslavia also lost, this time 2âÂÂ3. The second consecutive qualifier loss prompted the end of BiÃÂe MladiniÃÂ's time as head coach â he got replaced by interim coach Draà ¾an JerkoviÃÂ. Halilhodà ¾iàplayed the next friendly match under JerkoviÃÂ, scoring a hat-trick against Greece.
The resumption of Euro 1980 qualifying five months later in April 1979 saw the return of Miljan Miljaniàto the Yugoslav bench as the FA's permanent solution at the head coaching position. Miljaniàmade major changes to the team he inherited from Mladiniàwith Halilhodà ¾iàone of the many casualties. The changes worked as Yugoslavia won its remaining four qualifiers (including a win away at Spain) as well as its two friendlies versus Italy and Argentina (none of the six matches featured Halilhodà ¾iÃÂ), but the opening two losses still proved too much to overcome as Plavi finished a point behind Spain in the group and did not progress to Euro 1980.
Halilhodà ¾iàmade two substitute appearances at the 1982 World Cup: playing the last 15 minutes of the controversial group match versus Spain as well as the entire second half against Honduras. For the position of forward at the tournament, Miljaniàpreferred Safet Suà ¡iÃÂ, and in his later interviews, Halilhodà ¾iàoften expressed dismay and disappointment with head coach Miljaniàfor not giving him a more prominent role in the Yugoslav team at the 1982 World Cup.
On multiple occasions in the 2000s and 2010s, looking back on his playing days, retired-from-playing-football Halilhodà ¾iàexpressed bitterness over not getting a bigger part in the national team during the 1970s and 1980s, sarcastically citing his surname being "too long for Belgrade scoreboards" as the reason, thus insinuating that discrimination against Muslims was behind his lack of playing time in the Yugoslavia national team. In a 2023 interview, Halilhodà ¾iàclaimed that Yugoslav politics had a strong influence on the country's 1982 World Cup squad selection, adding non-specifically that "certain players had to make that team" and that "Hajduk Split and Red Star Belgrade players were privileged" over those from comparatively smaller sides.
In July 1997, he signed with Moroccan side Raja Casablanca. In his first season with the club, he won the 1997 CAF Champions League in December 1997, and the 1997âÂÂ98 Moroccan Championship in May 1998. These successes raised his international profile.
In October 1998, he returned to France to coach Lille, which at the time was struggling to survive in the French Division 2. His first season at the club ended with Lille finishing fourth, missing a promotion spot on goal difference. In the 1999âÂÂ2000 season, Halilhodà ¾iÃÂ's club dominated the competition and finished top of table, 16 points clear of second-placed Guingamp, earning promotion to the French Ligue 1.
Lille's strong performances on the pitch continued the following season, and they finished third in the 2000âÂÂ01 French Division 1, only seven points behind champions Nantes, thus qualifying for the 2001âÂÂ02 UEFA Champions League for the first time in club's history. The following season, after knocking out Parma in qualifying, Lille finished third in group stage behind Deportivo de La Coruña and Manchester United, progressing to the 2001âÂÂ02 UEFA Cup where they reached the Round of 16 before being knocked out by Borussia Dortmund on away goals.
On 14 October 2002, he was hired by another Ligue 1 club, Rennes, to save them from relegation after the club had picked up only eight points in the opening ten matches of the season under Philippe Bergeroo. Halilhodà ¾iàthen managed to take the club to a 15th-place finish in the 20-club league, avoiding relegation zone by two points. After his successes with Lille and Rennes, he started to become one of the most sought after coaches in Europe, and whilst receiving offers from several German and Spanish clubs, he joined Paris Saint-Germain in June 2003.
During his first season at the helm of PSG, the club experienced one of the greatest and unexpectedly successful seasons in its history by winning the 2003âÂÂ04 Coupe de France and arriving second in the 2003âÂÂ04 Ligue 1, just three points behind Lyon, qualifying for the 2004âÂÂ05 Champions League.
Halilhodà ¾iÃÂ's second season at the club, however, was not a success. From their opening Champions League group stage 0âÂÂ3 home loss versus Chelsea, to their French league struggles, PSG never succeeded in replicating the winning form of the previous season. Going into the final round of Champions League group stage fixtures in December 2004, Halilhodà ¾iÃÂ's team still had a chance of advancing as beating CSKA Moscow at home would have seen PSG move on to the knockout stage. Even just a draw combined with group leaders Chelsea winning or drawing away at Porto would have ensured progress while a draw regardless of the other match outcome guaranteed at least a spot in the UEFA Cup round of 32. The club, however, suffered a disappointing 1âÂÂ3 defeat at its home stadium, courtesy of a Sergei Semak hat-trick, which meant straight elimination from Europe. It was a bitter loss that even prompted club president Francis Graille to publicly relay his disappointment at the "lack of pride" shown by the squad, though remaining guardedly coy when explicitly asked about Halilhodà ¾iÃÂ's future at the club.
Now with only domestic competition to worry about, PSG began the calendar year 2005 looking to improve its league standing. Sluggish form continued, however, and on 8 February 2005, following a 0âÂÂ2 defeat at home versus Lens that saw PSG drop to 12th spot in the 2004âÂÂ05 Ligue 1 table, the club's management decided to sack Halilhodà ¾iÃÂ. He was replaced by the coach of the reserves team, Laurent Fournier, under whom the club was knocked out of 2004âÂÂ05 Coupe de France by Auxerre in March and eventually finished ninth in the league.
On 2 October 2005, Halilhodà ¾iàwas signed by Turkish Süper Lig side Trabzonspor. Although he led the club to fourth place in the 2005âÂÂ06 Süper Lig, just behind Istanbul's "Big Three", thus qualifying for the 2006âÂÂ07 UEFA Cup, Halilhodà ¾iàdecided to leave Turkey in June 2006 after just one season with the club.
In May 2008, Halilhodà ¾iàwas appointed manager of the Ivory Coast national team, captained by Didier Drogba and including the likes of Yaya and Kolo Touré, Salomon Kalou, Emmanuel Eboué and the young Gervinho. In a two-year unbeaten run in African qualifiers, the team qualified for both the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Angola and the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. In January 2010 in the quarter-finals of the continental championship against Algeria, however, the Ivory Coast were eliminated after Madjid Bougherra scored a 2âÂÂ2 equaliser in injury time, with Hamer Bouazza adding Algeria's third goal in the opening minutes of extra time.
The defeat came as a huge disappointment for many Ivorians, for whom the national football team played a central social role and a source of national pride and unity, especially as the country was recovering from the 2002âÂÂ07 civil war and preparing for its first post-war elections in October that year. As a consequence, Halilhodà ¾iàwas fired on 27 February 2010, less than four months before the 2010 World Cup finals tournament in South Africa.
Back in Europe, Halilhodà ¾iàwas announced as the new manager of Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb on 16 August 2010, signing a two-and-a-half-year contract to take over from club legend Velimir Zajec who had been fired after the team's Champions League qualifying elimination on penalties by the Moldovan side Sheriff Tiraspol. Although failing to qualify for the Champions League under Zajec, Dinamo still had the Europa League to compete in, and incoming Halilhodà ¾iàwas tasked with guiding the rest of the club's European campaign while being expected to continue their dominance in the national championship.
Club fans immediately took to Halilhodà ¾iÃÂ, as Dinamo started playing an attractive and more attacking style of football. At the start of the Europa League group stage, on 16 September 2010, exactly one month after signing on, he led Dinamo to a somewhat improbable 2âÂÂ0 victory over favoured Spanish side Villarreal. Despite some encouraging results early in the competition, Dinamo eventually failed to progress past the group stage, losing the deciding match in December 2010 at home against Greek club PAOK. Despite the setback, Halilhodà ¾iàstayed on due to support of both the fans and club management.
In the 2010âÂÂ11 Croatian First League, the club was a runaway leader without any real competition, managing to clinch the domestic league title months prior to season's end. Simultaneously, issues arose over the renegotiation of terms of Halilhodà ¾iÃÂ's contract and, on 6 May 2011 two matches short of the end of the season, he abruptly left the club following a vicious shouting incident with Dinamo's president Zdravko Mamiàin the team dressing room at Maksimir during half-time of the league match versus Inter Zapreà ¡iÃÂ.
On 22 June 2011, the Algerian Football Federation announced that Halilhodà ¾iàwould take over the vacant Algeria national team manager position starting on 1 July. On 2 July, the deal was made official with Halilhodà ¾iàsigning a three-year contract. He successfully led Algeria through the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualification and in preparation for the finals tournament to be held in January 2013 in South Africa, the team invited Bosnia and Herzegovina (Halilhodà ¾iÃÂ's country of birth) for a friendly match in November 2012. Algeria lost 0âÂÂ1 in injury time on a rainy night in Algiers.
Despite arriving at the final tournament with plenty of confidence and with the emergence of young stars Islam Slimani and El Arbi Hillel Soudani, as well as the addition to the squad of talented Valencia winger Sofiane Feghouli, Algeria finished bottom of their group, losing their opening two matches to Tunisia and Togo without scoring a single goal. Although the result was widely regarded as a disappointment, the Algerian Football Federation decided to keep Halilhodà ¾iàin charge and allow the team to gain more experience.
Now focusing on the 2014 World Cup qualifiers, Algeria under Halilhodà ¾iàsecured a spot at the finals tournament on 19 November 2013 having beaten the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations runners-up Burkina Faso in a two-legged tie on away goals rule following a 3âÂÂ3 aggregate score in the African qualifying play-offs. This was only the fourth time the country qualified for a World Cup in 32 years.
Algeria's performance at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil was a significant surprise as they beat South Korea 4âÂÂ2 and drew with Russia 1âÂÂ1 to progress past the group stage for the first time in the team's history. In the round of 16, Les Fennecs had to face a very strong Germany side. Although Algeria put up a very spirited resistance, they lost the game after a goalless 90 minutes, followed by extra time in which Germany scored twice through André Schürrle and Mesut ÃÂzil, with substitute Abdelmoumene Djabou pulling back one in the dying moments of the game to make it 1âÂÂ2. Germany later went on to deliver a historic 7âÂÂ1 thrashing of hosts Brazil and win their fourth World Cup title.
Despite the exit, Algeria's performance was the team's biggest success in history and Halilhodà ¾iàwas frequently praised for his strategic counter-attacking tactics, calm yet motivating influence on the players, and skillful game management. Although he was offered a contract extension after the tournament, on 7 July 2014 he left the team.
In July 2014, Halilhodà ¾iàreturned to Trabzonspor, signing a two-year contract. Under his management, the squad underwent significant changes, with nearly 20 new signings, including ÃÂscar Cardozo, Mehmet Ekici, Kévin Constant, Waris, and Yatabare. Halilhodà ¾iàsecured Trabzonspor a place in the 2014âÂÂ15 UEFA Europa League group stage after eliminating Russian side Rostov in the play-off round, but was sacked in November after poor domestic results.
On 7 March 2015, in the wake of Halilhodà ¾iàbeing shortlisted for and eventuallyâÂÂfollowing two November 2014 meetings with the Bosnian Football Association (FSBiH) representativesâÂÂrejecting the Bosnia and Herzegovina manager job offer, press reports appeared about Halilhodà ¾iàbeing set to take over as the Japan national team's new manager. He was officially appointed on 12 March 2015, thus replacing Javier Aguirre who had been sacked by the Japan Football Association (JFA) over his involvement in a 2011 match-fixing investigation in Spain.
In June 2016, Halilhodà ¾iÃÂ's Japan hosted Bosnia and Herzegovina in a Kirin Cup friendly, losing 1âÂÂ2. In September 2016, the 2018 World Cup qualifying final round kicked off with six teams including Japan, Saudi Arabia and Australia fighting for two direct qualifying spots. In their opening match, Japan were unexpectedly beaten 1âÂÂ2 by the UAE, a contest that featured a controversially disallowed Japanese goal. Nevertheless, the Japanese media raised a number of questions regarding Halilhodà ¾iÃÂ's squad selection.
Since then, media criticism of Halilhodà ¾iÃÂ's strategy and squad selection continued, and would follow him throughout his time at the job. He abandoned the decade-long Japanese traditional playing style of short passes, instead, he emphasized intense fighting for the ball (as he called it in French, "duel") and quick pace football. His most controversial decision was to drop Keisuke Honda (AC Milan), Shinji Kagawa (Dortmund) and Shinji Okazaki (Leicester). Another controversial call was to put Hotaru Yamaguchi, a player in the domestic second division, to his starting lineup.
Finishing the group with 6 wins, 2 draws, 2 losses with 7 conceded goals, Japan's performance was inconsistent, yet it secured crucial victories at critical moments to earn itself the top spot. The two critical moments was first, winning 2âÂÂ1 against Saudi Arabia in November 2016 to end the first half of the group matches in the first place; second, beating Australia 2âÂÂ0 in August 2017 to secure top spot and qualified to the 2018 FIFA World Cup. It is at these two moments the Japanese media temporarily admitted Halilhodà ¾iàis right on his strategy and his selection of squad. Yet they were called into questions once again after Japan's poor performance in the international friendlies in October and November against Haiti, Brazil and Belgium.
In December, Halilhodà ¾iàsummoned his second and third team to 2017 East Asian Cup. Half of the team were uncapped. This unconventional inexperienced Japan team lost to South Korea 1âÂÂ4. The Japanese media saw this as a humiliating defeat. Without realizing the JapanâÂÂSouth Korea football rivalry, Halilhodà ¾iàcomments "I was amazed by South Korea's explosiveness of power, technique and control of the game. South Korea dominated us in every way." His comments made himself under siege by the Japanese media for weeks. Halilhodà ¾iàwas dismissed in early April 2018, following friendlies with non-World Cup teamsâÂÂlast minute draw with Mali and 1âÂÂ2 loss to Ukraine, with former international Akira Nishino named the new head coach. At a news conference, JFA President Kozo Tashima told reporters that poor results and a lack of "communication and trust with the players" were the reasons for Halilhodà ¾iÃÂ's dismissal.
Halilhodà ¾iÃÂ's spiky personality frequently ruffled feathers after arriving in Japan to take over from Javier Aguirre in March 2015, and rumors of his impending dismissal swirled throughout his three-year reign. Soon after Halilhodà ¾iÃÂ's dismissal, Japan's midfielder Keisuke Honda, who had had an increasingly fractious relationship with the Bosnian throughout 2017 over the head coach's rigid tactics, came out publicly against the fired coach by saying: "To submit myself to the kind of football Halilhodà ¾iàplayed in order to get picked, that would be shameful for me. I'm proud that I've stayed true to myself". On 24 May 2018, Halilhodà ¾iàlaunched a lawsuit in a Tokyo district court against the JFA president Kozo Tashima, contending he was dismissed wrongfullyâÂÂspecifically that Tashima failed to consult the JFA board when deciding to fire Halilhodà ¾iÃÂ.
In July 2018, Halilhodà ¾iàmade a 4-man shortlist for the vacant Egyptian national team manager job alongside Quique Sánchez Flores, Jorge Luis Pinto, and Javier Aguirre. Aguirre ended up getting hired.
In October 2018, Halilhodà ¾iàbecame the new manager of Nantes, a club he had played for as a striker. His first win came on 22 October when Nantes beat Toulouse 4âÂÂ0 at the Stade de la Beaujoire.
On 5 May 2019, Nantes beat Dijon at home 3âÂÂ0 and Halilhodà ¾iàmade a club record, winning five Ligue 1 matches in a row, a venture which was not done in over 18 years in the club. Halilhodà ¾iÃÂ's Nantes beat Lyon, Paris Saint-Germain, Amiens, Marseille and at the end Dijon to capture that record.
On 2 August 2019, Halilhodà ¾iàdecided to leave Nantes after disagreements with the club's owner and president Waldemar Kita.
In August 2019, it was confirmed that Halilhodà ¾iàwould take over as the Morocco national team's new manager. His first win came on 10 September when Morocco beat Niger 1âÂÂ0 at the Stade de Marrakech. On 29 March 2022, Halilhodà ¾iàqualified Morocco for the 2022 World Cup, eliminating DR Congo in the CAF Third round qualifiers.
On 11 August 2022, Halilhodà ¾iàwas officially sacked by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation over disagreements with its president on how the team should move forward. This marked the third timeâÂÂthe other two being Ivory Coast and JapanâÂÂHalilhodà ¾iàwas sacked before a World Cup tournament after prior successful qualification.
On 10 March 2026, Halilhodà ¾iàrejoined relegation threatened Nantes until the end of the season.
During the Bosnian War in 1992, Halilhodà ¾iàwas wounded in Mostar but recovered within a few months. He acquired French nationality by naturalization on 13 June 1997.
When visiting Mostar with a France 3 crew in 2001, he said:
On 23 July 2004, during his tenure as the manager of PSG, Halilhodà ¾iàwas named a Knight of the Legion of Honour of the French Republic. Halilhodà ¾iàis married and has two children. His primary residence is in Lille, where his family lives.
He speaks Bosnian and French, the result of spending most of his time in France.
Veleà ¾ Mostar
Nantes
Yugoslavia U21
Individual
Raja Casablanca
Lille
Paris Saint-Germain
Dinamo Zagreb
Individual