Luka Modrić, Real Madrid midfielder and captain of the Croatia national team, spoke in the session that tackled sports under the title “Football Skills... Foundation and Development”. The session was moderated by journalist Ahmed Sultan.
The session discussed a number of sports topics that tackled football player’s talent, continuity in the stadiums, competition, development of levels, and other topics that discussed Luka Modrić’s long experience on the football field and the secrets of his distinguished level.
At the beginning of the meeting, Modrić expressed his thanks and gratitude for inviting him to come to Sharjah and for giving him the opportunity to talk about football, which he considers the most important thing he has worked on and accomplished throughout his life and worked hard to reach international ranks that fulfilled all his dreams and made him an icon for players in his country and abroad.
The Real Madrid player spoke about the fact that talent is the starting point towards the world of football, but the football player must have self-confidence, believe in his own abilities, and work hard to achieve what he always aspires to, because football is a collective, continuous and renewable game, and one must strive to preserve it. The player must also have his own goals and raise his levels at every stage of his life in order to remain at the top and maintain his position.
Regarding the most important reasons for a football player’s success, referring to his experience on the field with the clubs he played for and his country’s national team, Luka Modrić pointed out that the player’s love for football and his innate talent are among the most prominent things that can make a youngster start playing, in addition to high physical fitness and attention. He added that continuous learning, not giving up, and overcoming challenges are among the most prominent things that make a player succeed and excel, in addition to the supportive environment, which relates to the family, the older players in the club, and good relationships with colleagues, which is an incentive and encouragement to develop and excel.
During his speech, Luka Modrić expressed his happiness in achieving many titles in the clubs he played for, as well as with his country’s national team, which achieved great leaps in his presence with the rest of the players, attributing this to the seriousness in work, making an effort, supporting young players, enjoying the game, constantly improving the player’s level, and adapting to high pressure facing the player and the great ambition, especially with the national team, which reflects the players’ pride in their country.
Regarding the advice he gives to the players of the UAE national football team, Modrić said that all players in the world must believe in their abilities and work hard and put their country’s pride at the forefront, adding that new talents must be encouraged by giving young players the opportunity to develop through different programmes to show their love for football, through diligence and giving. They must also be supported through professional training and building their football personalities and confidence, as happened to a large group of players from Croatia, which led to major European clubs contracting with them as distinguished professionals.
Regarding the stability of players and their transfers across different clubs, the captain of the Croatian national team said that continuing with any team requires the player to be up to the challenge and constantly show his highest level and provide the best possible performance, as well as carry out the roles assigned to him inside and outside the field to help the team win, and then he can move to a higher level team.
During the session, the player touched on his experience in moving from his early childhood from Croatia to Spain, to the Tottenham team in England, noting that it was a special experience for him in all the clubs he played for.
At the end of the session, Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed bin Sultan Al Qasimi honoured the player Luka Modrić.
In addition to the Chairman of the Sharjah Media Council, the session was attended, by Tariq Saeed Allay, Director General of the Sharjah Government Media Bureau (SGMB); Alia Bu Ghanem Al Suwaidi, Director of SGMB; and a number of athletes, media figures, and a large crowd of the public.
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