World star from Fricktal: No other Swiss can match Rakitic

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That Ivan Rakitic (35) will play for FC Basel again? Virtually impossible! And that is partly thanks to his wife Raquel Mauri. She comes from Seville and wanted to return to Andalusia with her husband Ivan and the children after six years in Barcelona. Rakitic said in a Blick interview in 2018 when asked how realistic a red-blue comeback was: “A difficult question because my wife Raquel is from Seville. It wouldn’t be easy to explain to her at home that I’m the prefer Basel…»

The FCB fans might regret it. Sportingly, however, Rakitic did everything right with his return to Seville. To the club he played for from 2011 to 2014 before finally becoming a world star in Barcelona alongside Messi, Xavi, Iniesta and co. This week Rakitic won the Europa League with Sevilla for the second time since 2014. His last of 17 titles for the time being, spread over all four professional clubs: Basel, Schalke 04, Sevilla and Barca.

The question of whether Rakitic is the best footballer of all time with a Swiss passport should be answered by everyone. But whoever chooses it is certainly not wrong. Because: vice world champion? No Swiss has done that before or after Rakitic.

Background: In 2007 Rakitic chose the homeland of his parents and against the Swiss A-Nati.

Ivan Rakitic also did everything right with the national decision

The same goes for this decision: many fans in this country reacted with disappointment, some unfortunately with primitive hatred. But from a sporting point of view, Rakitic did everything right. In 2018 he stormed into the World Cup final with Croatia, where France was too strong at the time.

Rakitic grew up in the municipality of Möhlin in Aargau. From there he moved to the youth department of FCB in 1995 and made his professional debut ten years later. The former rector of the high school in Möhlin once said in the “AZ” about the student Rakitic: “Ivan knew what he wanted, he was already a little captain then.”

Nearly 30 years later, as captain, Rakitic lifts another trophy. It is quite possible that it will not be the last. Because, “I don’t want to stop at 34 or 35, I want to play longer. Much longer.” So is there still hope for the FCB fans?

Source : Blick