A glimpse of the past: Luka Modrić again against Czech Republic. In his autobiography ‘My Game’ he recalls the duel at the previous championship

The Czech team will face Croatia again at the European Championships. They faced them at the previous championship in France in 2016 and the duel ended unexpectedly in a draw. The opponent’s star midfielder Luka Modrić recalls it in his book ‘My Game’.

Pavel Vrba’s charges fell as expected to defending champions Spain in their opening match, while the Croatians beat Turkey. Already leading 2:0, they were clearly going for another win, which would mean that the Czechs could pack their bags and get ready to go home.

But football provides unexpected dramas, unsuspected twists and turns. Those happened five years ago (17 July 2016) at the Geoffroy-Guichard stadium in St. Etienne.

Not surprisingly, the wild ending of the match has remained in the memory of the Croatian idol, even though she had to substitute before the hectic climax..

“At first we crushed the Czechs and goals from Ivan Perisic and Ivan Rakitic put us 2:0 up. Shortly after the second goal, in the sixty-second minute, I had to leave the field.

Muscle problems had been bothering me since the Champions League final in Milan. I felt the slight effects of the injury all the time and the burden of two games in quick succession took its toll again.

In the seventy-sixth minute, the Czechs scored.

Four minutes before the end of the game, flares hit the field. They were thrown from the stands by Croatian fans and the referee stopped the match. Some of our fans cause these problems repeatedly and we feared riots and a possible severe punishment for the national team.

Moreover, it disturbed our mental state and concentration. The fans protested against the people in charge of the Croatian Football Federation and the way they run the federation.

They were convinced that the federation does not treat everyone equally and favours the interests of a privileged few. I find it fine to fight for my ideals, but I cannot understand the way they did it. A thing that can harm the national team can’t possibly do anyone any good.

Unfortunately, in the eighty-ninth minute, the Czech Republic won a penalty and equalised the score.”

This and similar experiences from his rich career are recounted in his autobiography ‘My Game’, published by the publishing house Praha.