Ivan Rakitić

Basel

After spending some short time in the youth teams, Rakitić went on to make his first-team debut for Basel on 29 September 2005 during the UEFA Cup away match at Široki Brijeg. He made his first Swiss Super League appearance on 15 April 2006 in Basel's away match against Neuchâtel Xamax. Although these two matches were the only ones he played during his first professional season with Basel, he went on to establish himself as a regular contributor in his second season, scoring 11 goals in 33 Super League appearances. Also making nine UEFA cup appearances during this time, he was named the best young player of the 2006–07 Super League season along with receiving the Swiss Goal of the Year award for an impressive goal he scored against St. Gallen on 22 October 2006.

Schalke 04

After an impressive showing as a teenager, Rakitić was again sought by large European clubs. Subject to such, he was eventually signed by German side Schalke 04 on 22 June 2007, for €5 million. Rakitić made his debut for Schalke on 21 July 2007 in the Premiere Ligapokal fixture against Karlsruher SC and eventually appeared in the remaining two matches as Schalke finished as league runners-up. On 5 August 2007, Rakitić scored his first competitive goal for his new club in their 0–9 away win over Eintracht Trier in the first round of the DFB-Pokal. On 10 August 2007, the new Bundesliga season was commenced with a clash between champions VfB Stuttgart and Schalke. Rakitić came on as a…

Rakitić's first international experience came at youth level with the Switzerland under-17, under-19 and under-21 national teams, but decided to accept the call-up by Croatia national team coach Slaven Bilić and play for the nation's senior team. He made his full international debut for Croatia on 8 September 2007 in their UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier against Estonia in Zagreb, highly praised by the fans as he was entering the game as a substitute. In Croatia's following qualifier, a 0–6 away win over Andorra on 12 September 2007, he scored his first international goal for Croatia in only his second appearance for the team. He finished the year 2007 with five senior international caps to his name, four of which were in the successful Euro 2008 qualifying campaign.

Euro 2008

In early May 2008, he joined Croatia's squad for the Euro 2008 tournament in Austria and Switzerland, where he was the second-youngest player in the tournament. He made his first appearance at the tournament as a starter against Germany, and eventually provided a shot which ricocheted off the post and allowed teammate Ivica Olić to score the second goal in their 2–1 victory. He formed a praised trio of Croatian attacking midfielders with his teammates Luka Modrić and Niko Kranjčar. Though playing a strong role against Turkey in the quarter-finals of the tournament, Rakitić went on to miss one of the three unsuccessful penalties in the shootout, thus leading to a victory for Turkey. Rakitić continued…

A talented, intelligent, and hard-working midfielder, Rakitić was known in the media as a well-rounded playmaker, with good stamina and defensive skills, as well as excellent technique, close control, vision, passing, and an ability to read the game, which enabled him to dictate play in midfield and create chances for teammates after winning back possession, despite his lack of pace. As such, he was capable of both breaking down opposing plays and subsequently transitioning the ball forward to start attacks; he was also capable of scoring goals himself, courtesy of his striking ability from distance, as well as his ability to find and exploit spaces with his movement off the ball and make attacking runs into the box. A versatile player, he was able to play in several midfield positions, and was deployed as a winger on either side of the pitch, as a central midfielder, as an attacking midfielder, as a defensive midfielder, in a box-to-box role, or even as a deep-lying playmaker. In 2019, in an interview with BeIN Sports, manager José Mourinho described Rakitić as "one of the most underrated players in the world." He later added: "He is fantastic on all levels; he defends, he compensates for [Lionel] Messi, he runs and he's sensible with the ball at his feet."

Rakitić was born in Rheinfelden in the Swiss canton of Aargau to Croat parents. His father Luka Rakitić is a Šokac from Sikirevci in Croatia, while his mother Kata (née Papić) is a Bosnian Croat from Ponijevo near Žepče. He grew up in Möhlin, canton of Aargau. He has a brother, Dejan, and a sister, Nikol. Rakitić has a tattoo bearing his brother's name on his right arm. Rakitić spent his childhood and early career in Switzerland. His father and older brother were also footballers. At age 16, his potential was noticed by top European scouts, and went for trials with clubs such as Arsenal, but he and his family decided to stay at Basel to allow him to play more regularly in a smaller league instead.