29 days, 7 games, three knockout games, three full overtime 120 minutes, what makes two thirty-year-old players so hard? It is enjoying the joy of competition, it is chasing fame and fortune, and it is because of the firm faith in my heart.
Croatian national team starting group photo
To this day, even as a hardcore Real Madrid fan, I have to cast a look of admiration at former Barca midfielder Rakitic.
In the late 1980s, Yugoslavia was in turmoil and war was on the verge of breaking out. Rakitic's parents moved their family to Switzerland to escape the war. Rakitic was born in Basel, Switzerland. Although far from his homeland, Rakitic's father warned Rakitic from an early age not to forget his Croatian identity.
Young Rakitic
For the healthy growth of the Rakitic brothers, Rakitic's parents never talked about war in front of their two children. In Rakitic's childhood memories, I only remember my father sometimes crying out on the phone with relatives in Croatia. It wasn't until he was five years old that Rakitic was shocked for the first time when he saw photographs and images of the war on television. And it all comes from a place they call "home" ----- Croatia!
The Rakitic brothers
One day, the family received a box sent from Croatia. The father took the box to the two children, opened the box with a knife and pulled out two red and white plaid shirts, which were the croatian national team jerseys. Rakitic and his brother were excited. They have had sustenance ever since. The brothers didn't even want to take it off after wearing it for three days in a row. At that time, they wanted to have 10 such shirts, because with this shirt, they never wanted to wear any other clothes.
Rakitic was encouraging his teammates before the penalty shootout
Because he was in Switzerland and far away from his homeland, Rakitic first played for the Swiss national youth team as a teenager. Soon, Rakitic's performance caught the attention of the Croatian Football Association. In 1998, he won the third place in the World Cup. Bilic came to Switzerland to find Rakitic. Before the meeting, Rakitic thought to himself: Whatever he says, I will say yes, I am willing to go with you!
Wearing a plaid suit, Rakitic is a warrior
In interviews after Rakitic, Bilic was mentioned several times as one of the most important figures in his life. Because Bilic made him wear a Croatian red and white plaid shirt.
The same person who has had the same experience as Rakitic is The Swiss player Shaqiri from Kosovo. But Shaqiri will only raise a flag on the pitch and will never play a game for the Kosovo national team.
Shaqiri, who plays for Switzerland, will never play a game for Kosovo
In the summer of 2018, the thirty-year-old Rakitic was his 11th year of playing for the national team and was destined to be his last international competition for Croatia. Luckily, he has a good teammate named Modric.
Croatian midfielder double axis
Rakitic and Modric played for La Liga duo Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively, and the hostility of the club could not change the love of the croatian comrades of the two.
Rakitic vs. Modric in La Liga
Unlike Rakitic's happy childhood in Switzerland, Modric's childhood made everyone sad. Born in the Croatian coastal city of Zakar, Modric was supposed to have had a happy childhood, but war broke that. When the war of 1991 came, Modric's family faced the north, which was already occupied by the Serbs, and they had to flee to the Croatian ghetto in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Civilians fleeing during the Croatian War of Independence
During that war, five-year-old Modric witnessed his grandfather die at the hands of Serbian soldiers, inflicting great trauma on his young psyche.
Modric's childhood was accompanied not by melodious nursery rhymes, but with the sound of grenades and bullets. During the escape, a bullet-pierced football in a hotel parking lot attracted Modric. During that war-torn period of escape, the football became Modric's favorite.
After arriving in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Modric learned to take responsibility early. A few years later, when Modric became famous, a reporter flipped through a film and television footage filmed in Bosnia and Herzegovina that year, and could see a young Modric herding sheep on the hillside, while a wolf not far away was looking at the child.
Modric herding sheep in the mountains as a young man
When the war was over, Modric moved his family back to Croatia. The Athletic Talent of the Yugoslavs is evident in Modric. But unfortunately, his thin body has made him rejected by many clubs. However, after several trials, the superb skills still conquered the Croatian giants Dinamo Zagreb, and at the age of 15, Modric threw himself into Dinamo Zagreb and began his brilliant football career.
Modric showed excellent football talent in his childhood
The war sent Rakitic north and Modric south, and football had them fight side by side in red and white plaid shirts.
Modric and Rakitic hugged each other to celebrate the victory
In the 2018 World Cup in Russia, the group stage won three games and three wins, including a 3-0 victory over Argentina with Messi and Di Maria, which dominated the group stage. In the knockout rounds that followed, they fought to the last minute with all their might. Two penalties eliminated Denmark and host Russia. In the semi-finals, he defeated the most expensive England team. In the end, although they were relegated to the second place, their fighting spirit and light covered the champion France.