Ivan Rakitic packed his bag, kissed his family goodbye and said see you on the 15th. It was early June and he was not planning to be back until mid-July, four days after his daughter’s birthday. His wife, Raquel, told him he had better explain, so he made a promise: “I told her: ‘Don’t worry, when it’s over we’ll have a big party,’” he grins. “And I kept my word.” The day Althea turned five, he was still in Moscow. That night he called, wished her happy birthday and said sorry: daddy wasn’t coming home just yet. He had a World Cup final to play.
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Written by Sid Lowe
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/nov/16/ivan-rakitic-barcelona-croatia-england-world-cup-semi-final-interview under the title “Ivan Rakitic: ‘We saw Football’s Coming Home and thought: yeah, but you still have to play us’”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
