Croatia – Ivan Rakitic
Like Ireland Croatia also progressed through the playoffs, a magnificent 3-0 away victory in Turkey proved to be enough to see them through to Poland and Ukraine.
Slaven Bilic is a top manager and one I would love to see come back to the Premier League as a manager. He has a good squad of players to work with, stand out players like Luka Modric, Darijo Srna and Josip Simunic are key to their success.
Modric is as key to Croatia as he is to Tottenham Hotspur, the little midfielder is given freedom of the midfield to pick the ball up deep and keep Blic’s side ticking.
Though it is one of Modric’s fellow midfielders I will be looking out for. Sevilla’s talented midfilder Ivan Rakitic has the makings of a star.
Rakitic is as two-footed as they come, deadly around the edge of the box and also crafty out wide. The midfielder is still only 23 and plays in a similar mature way to Modric. Rakitic isn’t afraid to put his foot in when lying deep in the midfield, he is also intelligent enough to work responsibly alongside Modric and fellow Spurs midfielder Niko Kranjcar.
Expect big things from him in the next few years.
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