Stimac and his children with Luka Modric. (Credit: Igor Stimac Twitter)
The Indian Head Coach got to meet up with his former Croatian NT player Luka Modric ahead of starting preparations for the 2024 Asian Championships.
Indian national football team head coach Igor Stimac got to visit his former player and Real Madrid’s Luka Modric while he was out on vacation.
The former Croatian international took to social media to share the moment he got to share with his former player and his sons.
“A friend and my ex player, one of the greatest of all time, the one and only
@lukamodric10. My sons Ivan and Niko finally met their idol, their dream came true,” posted Stimac on Twitter.
Happiness, joy and tears all in one meeting ❤️A friend and my ex player, one of the greatest of all time, the one and only @lukamodric10 🇭🇷 💪🏻🙏🏼
My sons Ivan and Niko finally met their idol, their dream came true!!
One day our 🇮🇳 National Team will reach this level 💪🏼 pic.twitter.com/kzIVxH68Vq
— Igor Štimac (@stimac_igor) July 11, 2023
He added: “Hope our National Team will reach this level.”
Stimac was appointed as the Indian national team’s head coach in 2019 under the recommendation of the technical committee of the All India Football Federation (AIFF).
Stimac took over as the Croatia manager in July 2012, following the departure of former team-mate Bilic, and coached Croatia captain Luka Modric during the tenure. Croatia’s results under Stimac were far from satisfying and the country failed to secure direct qualification for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Stimac resigned after Croatia lost 2-0 to Scotland in the final World Cup qualifying match.
But, upon notice of Stimac’s appointment to the Indian team, Modric took to social media to convey his support for his former manager.
The Ballon d’Or winner, who guided Croatia to the finals of the FIFA World Cup 2018 backed Stimac to take India football to greater heights.
“Hello, coach. Congratulations to the All India Football Federation for appointing you. I wish you a lot of success in your new journey. I hope you will achieve great things with the Indian national team. All the best on your new journey,” the Real Madrid midfielder said in a video posted by Stimac on his Instagram handle.
And it seemed to have worked as under Stimac, the Indian team have won both the Intercontinental Cup and the SAFF Championship and seems to be on a roll as the 2024 Asian Championships is nearing.
