Luka Modrić made his debut for Croatia in 2006, against an Argentina side featuring a certain Lionel Messi.
Twenty years later, both players remain fundamental cogs for their national teams at the FIFA World Cup.
Modrić marked his 200th cap on Tuesday night in Toronto with his 12th World Cup win — a 1-0 result over Panama. It wasn't the prettiest of victories he has seen with the Vatreni, but it was special nonetheless.
In front of 30,000-plus red-and-white checkerboard-clad Croatian supporters, the game was almost a celebration of Modrić himself. The 40-year-old drifted around the pitch to involve himself everywhere, leading his team in passes completed while slotting effortlessly into the attack or dipping between the centre-backs to allow others to get forward. When he left the game in the 81st minute, an otherwise nervous crowd exploded into chants of "Lu-ka, Lu-ka."
Once the whistle blew and the win was secure, every Croatian player (except Modrić) donned a black t-shirt emblazoned with Modrić's face, and the caption "200: INFINITE LEGACY." They paraded their captain around the field, as legions of Croatian fans serenaded him.
The Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area is home to well over 100,000 people with Croatian heritage, so it's no surprise Modrić was met with such a thunderous reception in the city. To the Croatian players, this game in Toronto was almost a home match — not discounting the raucous support for Panama, of course.
Few players in global football match Modrić's mythical status in his own country. No Croatian athlete comes close to his level, and that much is clear in how adored he is by crowds.
Now, Modrić will remember Toronto as the backdrop for a special moment in his career.
He's not the only icon of global football who has touched down in Canada during the World Cup, of course.
Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, returning after a premature retirement from international football, offered up a classic show of his ball-playing prowess last Saturday in Toronto.
The most memorable, however, might be in Vancouver, where Egyptian phenom Mo Salah led his country to its first ever World Cup win.
Salah, who provided a goal and assist at BC Place against New Zealand, was in Canada when he notched one of the final elusive feats his illustrious career needed.
In fact, he was seen out in the streets of Vancouver later that night, celebrating with the Egyptian fans.
Years from now, when stories are told about the legends of this generation — of Modrić, of Neuer, and of Salah — these moments in Canada won't be the first coming to mind.
They will come to mind, though. And they're moments that we'll remember when we recall the World Cup in Canada.
The stories of some of the game's greatest stars now run undeniably through Canada.
