November 18, 2019 - A formal presentation of Luka Modric's autobiography, titled My Game, drew a crowd at the Emerald Room of the Esplanade Hotel on Sunday night. In fact, the majority of those present make up the strongest forces of Croatian football in the last quarter of a century.
Novi List reports that Real Madrid's Director of Institutional Relations Emilio Butragueno and Brazilian footballer Marcelo even came from Madrid. Of course, Modric's family took center stage, without whose support his career might not have had such success.
Modric's autobiography was presented by the Croatian hero himself and Robert Matteoni, an outspoken sports journalist who recorded everything in the book. With them was Tarik Filipovic, who played another leadership role. Slaven Bilic arrived from England for this occasion, who led Modric for eight years in Croatia, under the auspices of the U-21 and A national teams.
“Like all other children, I had my dreams, desires and hopes, but all that I have accomplished is more, much more than anything I dreamed of. When I look back, I can only be proud and happy,” said Modric, who was greeted with a great round of applause by the entire Emerald Hall.
On Saturday night at Rujevica, Croatia's secured their spot at the Euros. Since Modric will lead the national team at the tournament next year, it could easily happen that in the next twelve months, another expanded edition of his autobiography will be published. Namely, as he pointed out, the result from the World Cup in Russia was crucial for his cooperation with Matteoni.
“The idea of writing a book has been on my mind for a long time, and it has always been a great wish for me. However, I was missing more success in the national team jersey. That came true in Russia, and then we started writing. Robert and I have had an excellent relationship for many years and he pushed me towards it. When I decided that the time was right for an autobiography, I called him, and that's how things went,” explained Modric.
The intense collaboration lasted for over a year and the end result is My Game, which will be translated into twelve languages.
“For me, it was a great pleasure and privilege. In my humble opinion, Luka’s autobiography is one of the most important things to happen after the World Cup in Russia. He simply had to explain his life to people. We all know his football journey, and now we have a peek behind the scenes and are told the story of his family, which is immensely beautiful. I couldn't wait to write it and I hope we were successful,” Matteoni pointed out.
Judging by the reactions of those who have already read the autobiography, the work has been done at the highest level. It should be noted that Modric was also a guest of Interliber, a book fair in Zagreb before the Esplanade ceremony, where he aroused the interest of many. A multitude of young children came to greet their idol and obtain a signed copy of the book. According to Bilic, all of them will hardly find a better role model than Modric.
“It’s a great honor to be a part of the whole story about Luka. A man is the wisest when he grows old, but if he waited a few more years, volumes of books should be written about him. So much has happened in Luka’s life in very little time and he had to share it with the whole world. It is the duty of all the greats, and Luka certainly is one of them,” concluded Bilic.
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