“Modric must continue in Madrid: he is a leader, faithful, he is out …”

Davor suker (Osijek, 1-1-1968, Croatia, former Yugoslavia) is the president of the Croatian federation and has given an interview to ACE in which he reviews his best episodes as a footballer, mainly in Real Madrid, Sevilla and Arsenal, analyzes the current situation on Croatian football and his former teams and stops on proper names such as Modric, Maradona, Rakitic…

How are you doing and how are you dealing with the development of the coronavirus pandemic?

I feel fine, but what is happening is not pleasant. With this pandemic, from the point of view of sport, the leaders, athletes and fans hope that we learn a positive lesson from life. We have delayed the Eurocup, the Olympic Games, other UEFA and FIFA competitions, we have delayed many matches, we have had discussions about whether we have done well or badly … It is not easy and we sports fans have suffered a lot, but I think that things are being done well, in accordance with the situation we live in.

Since 2012 you have been the president of the Croatian football federation. Why did you decide to choose this path?

Many footballers choose their role on the field when they hang up their boots, but I chose the path of remaining linked to football at the administration and management level. I spent four years to decide what I wanted to do, I knew I did not have the spirit of a coach, I do not know if of a sports director, I set up a football academy and the possibility of helping football in my country arose, and from UEFA and FIFA to do my bit to improve world football, I embarked on it and am satisfied, especially after my country's team was runner-up in the World Cup in Russia.

Let's go with your sports career. After shining at Dinamo Zagreb, you signed for Sevilla in 1991, just when the Balkan War broke out. How do you remember that situation and your arrival in Spain?

It was not easy, because many people died for our independence, and football did not even stop. I had to leave my family, my friends and in ten or eleven months I could not return, thinking every day if a bomb or a grenade could hurt or kill my people. That was very hard. And then join another country, its customs, its football … in fact, at first it was not clear if it would succeed. But I will always be grateful to Sevilla for the opportunity they gave me to play in a great league like the Spanish one and to let me grow as a footballer.

You were at Sevilla for five seasons and in 1992-93 you coincided with Maradona, sadly who passed away on November 25. How was his arrival in Seville and your relationship with him?

He was one of my idols as a kid and when it began to be rumored in Seville that he could arrive, I thought: “Until I see him in the dressing room, I don't believe it.” Thanks to Luis Cuervas and Del Nido I was able to enjoy being his companion, playing with him. But it is that Maradona, in addition to being the best in the world, made us good to others. His arrival made the team and the city great. People went crazy to touch him, take a picture with him, or have him sign an autograph. He was very big, and that had its positives and negatives, although I have understood and respected many things in his life. It was a huge privilege to play with him.

Tell us any anecdote about him?

It has been seen many times on television, but I was in the front when he began to tap a small aluminum foil ball when someone threw it at him from the stands in the Pizjuán. But it is that in the locker room with an orange … with anything. He was a show, a magician, unique.

In Sevilla you triumphed: you played 162 games and scored 81 goals. Before signing for Real Madrid in 1996, how many offers did you turn down?

Many. The other day I met Rummenigge, Hoeness and Beckenbauer and they remembered me when Bayern came to sign me to Seville, offering a lot of money. Also Barça, English and Italian clubs … But Luis Cuervas rejected all the offers. He wanted me to stay, to continue scoring goals for Sevilla, until in a match between Sevilla and Valencia, at Sánchez Pizjuán, I spoke with my friend Pedja (Mijatovic) and we liked the great project that Lorenzo Sanz wanted to do in Madrid, with Seedorf, Roberto Carlos, Panucci, Illgner … I got it right. Playing at the Bernabéu and scoring goals for Real Madrid is great, and on top of that we had the privilege of winning the Seventh European Cup for the club, after 32 years.

Is winning the Seventh in Amsterdam the most exciting moment in your career or third place in the 1998 World Cup with the Croatian team?

Both, because they were tremendous. Winning the European Cup and walking it through Madrid among the crowd is indescribable, as well as being third in the first World Cup for the Croatian team, in a country of four million people. That 1998, of course, was my year.

You have had Capello, Heynckes and Hiddink as coaches in Madrid, and in Sevilla, Espárrago, Bilardo and Luis Aragonés. With which did you have a closer relationship and with which one was colder?

I had a good relationship with everyone and I learned from everyone. It was a privilege to listen to Luis Aragonés, Capello, Bilardo… who spoke to you clearly from the first to the last day.

What is the best memory you have of Lorenzo Sanz, also sadly deceased a few months ago due to the coronavirus?

Lorenzo seemed to me to be the typical Spanish man: I loved his way of speaking and being, always with his cigar in his mouth. He was a great president and that Madrid he did, along with Onieva and the rest of the directors, was great. I was very sorry for his death and so I transferred him to his family.

Were you disappointed in your departure from Madrid in 1999?

I was not disappointed to leave, although everyone wants to be at Real Madrid, but it is true that then it was the time when I was with Ana Obregón and the pressure from the pink press was very strong and I did not want to get into that world. Now it is not the same to have a famous girlfriend as then.

After Madrid you played for Arsenal, West Ham and two years at Munich 1860, where you retired. Did you enjoy the Premier and the Bundesliga?

When I decided to leave Madrid, I did not feel like playing for another Spanish team, I wanted to know another league and learn a new language, I went to Arsenal, with Wenger, and I was right, because after LaLiga, the Premier is very important, and different, for the way of talking to the referees, the way they play … And then I ended up in the Bundesliga. I have been privileged to play in three of the best leagues in the world and to live in Seville, Madrid, London and Munich.

Is it true that you were able to return to Spain after leaving Madrid?

My mistake was not going back to Spain after finishing in Munich 1860 and finishing my career in Spain. I would have loved to.

You have played with great footballers. Which one have you got on better with in the field?

In Croatia, with Boban, both for Dinamo Zagreb and for the national team. At Sevilla, with Maradona, of course, also with Bengoetxea, Simeone, Zamorano… At Madrid, with Mijatovic, Redondo, Hierro. At Arsenal, with Bergkamp; and in Munich 1860, with Thomas Hässler.

I ask you about the present time. Madrid have gone to the last 16 of the Champions League with a good game against Gladbach, although on the last day of the group stage; In LaLiga he is fourth and his career is very irregular. Do you understand that Zidane is being questioned?

In the big clubs, the coach will always be questioned if there are no results, because the level of demand is tremendous, but Zidane knows it. I wish him the best, but I am going to say one more thing as a result of the focus on Raúl as Madrid's future coach: I think it's good what he's doing to go little in the ranks. I trust him a lot.

Modric has turned 35 and ends his contract next year. Why should Madrid renew him?

For the following reasons: Modric is a leader, a number one, both in the world and in Croatia, he is a faithful player, physically he is very powerful, and the exhibitions in the last matches, in the League and the Champions League, corroborate it. He must continue and hopefully he will play for Madrid for many more years, but the last word is from the coach and the board of directors.

How do you see the revolution that is being planned in Madrid, with the possible signings of Mbappé, Haaland, Camavinga or Pogba…?

I have great respect for Florentino Pérez for everything he has done for Madrid and he is a man of his word, what he has said has been fulfilled. Madrid have the advantage that they are the best club in the world. Let's see what happens in summer.

What is your opinion of Hazard's situation, with continuous injuries and without the regularity and performance expected when he was signed by Madrid?

It's funny how at Chelsea he was an extraordinary player and at Madrid he's having so many problems. I don't know if it will be a matter of adaptation, although injuries are the daily bread of the athlete.

Were you surprised that Barça let Rakitic go and how are you seeing him at Sevilla?

Rakitic has given Barça six years at the highest level and I am seeing him very well at Sevilla, because he is another leader, and there is a love relationship between the club, the city and him. I also hope he continues in the national team, despite the fact that he announced that he was leaving last September. Nor did I like how Mandzukic said goodbye … You always have to leave the door ajar, never close it.

Let's talk Halilovic. He was aiming a lot when he signed for Barça, but he has stalled, in fact, he was without a team until a few weeks ago when Karanka rescued him for Birmingham. Have you been disappointed?

Yes, and it is not easy for me as president of the Croatian federation to talk about their situation. He was the best U-15, U-17, everyone was talking about him… I feel sorry for him, but football sometimes has these things. I hope it is relaunched in England.

How would you rate the current situation of Croatian football?

Croatian football has many virtues, if not in the last fifteen, twenty years, let's look at how many players have gone to other major leagues, with a country of four million inhabitants. We have lowered the number of teams in the Croatian first division to optimize the league (now there are ten) and we have lowered the participation of foreign players to invest and empower young Croatian footballers. The best way of financing our clubs is to sell to their stars, because there is not much income from television, from marketing, from ticket sales, and now with the pandemic less, and yet Croatian clubs are getting ahead. We have a lot of merit, because with all this, we are achieving great successes at the national level. I am confident that our Prime Minister Plenkovic will grow our sports infrastructures and build a good stadium, because sometimes I feel sorry for the resources we have for the national team and in our football.

Your mandate in the federation, if I'm not mistaken, ends in 2021, after being re-elected in 2017. Are you going to run again?

Yes. I believe that I am the only one in the world who has the privilege of having been third in a World Cup as a player and runner-up as president.

Hey, is it true that you have in mind to write a biographical book?

Yes. I want to tell stories of my professional life as a footballer and give messages, from my experience, to young people about what football is, with its positive and negative aspects, and why it should be respected.

Thank you very much for this talk.

You and AS.