"Football owes this EURO title to Modric"

Ivan Rakitic will watch the European Championship from home for the first time in his career. The Croatian midfielder decided to leave the Croatian national team to make way for the new generation. Nobody knows better than he does what's going on in the Balkans.
"Of course I have the itch because I love football and my national team. But it's happening to me now and it will happen to me in ten years' time. I'm happy to see them at home with my family and my wife. I made the decision to hang up my boots with Croatia with a lot of heart," Rakitic told 'AS' in an interview.
The former Sevilla player, who now plays for Al-Shabab, sums up what Modric is in Croatia: "Football owes him a title with Croatia. It would be nice if he won this European Championship. We are a country of just over four million people and it seems unbelievable to talk about the record we have, especially in World Cups.
"It seems like a made-up story, it's not logical. And apart from the results, there are the players Croatia has brought out. It would be special to see Modric lift the trophy.
"This national team is a mixture. It has people of my generation, for whom it's maybe their last or penultimate dance like Luka himself, Perisic, Vida, Petkovic... but there are also younger players who have stepped up. It's interesting to see that Croatian football is still growing," he concluded.