Alen Halilović was sixteen years old when Croatia began to view him as the project of an exceptional star.
On June 10, 2013, he wore the national team jersey for the first time, becoming the youngest player in Croatian history to feature with the senior squad, at the age of 16 years, 11 months, and 23 days.
At that time, the talk was not merely about a rising talent, but about a player expected to write a new chapter in the history of Croatian football.
With his enchanting left foot and impressive skills at Dinamo Zagreb, Halilović caught the eye early on, to the extent that some saw in him a talent surpassing what previous stars of Croatian football had offered.
Luka Modrić and Ivan Rakitić had already reached great heights, but Halilović seemed to carry something different; hence, some dubbed him the "Croatian Messi."
It was not just the nickname that raised expectations, as Barcelona itself moved to sign him in 2014, paying five million euros to secure the services of the player who was preparing to begin his journey toward stardom at "La Masia."
At Barcelona, everything seemed set for the birth of a new star, as Halilović started with the reserve team under Eusebio Sacristán, and it was supposed to be the first step toward the first team.
He also found in his compatriot Ivan Rakitić someone close to him within the club, guiding him and helping him adapt to the atmosphere of the big team, but the path that seemed short toward glory began to grow increasingly complicated.
Halilović waited a long time before getting his chance with the first team, and when it came, it was only a brief glimpse of the dream.
He played for 28 minutes against Elche in the Copa del Rey during the 2014-2015 season, coming on as a substitute for Adama Traoré, in a match that ended in a 4-0 victory for Barcelona.
That was his sole appearance wearing the first team's shirt, leading him to leave the club later after failing to get the space he had been waiting for.
Thereafter began a long journey between clubs in search of the place that would restore his brilliance. He moved to Sporting Gijón on loan, offering some good glimpses, but he could not establish himself in the starting lineup.
Then Hamburg arrived in an attempt to revive his talent, before he moved to Las Palmas, but his career continued to move from one station to another without settling down.
According to the newspaper AS, as the years passed, the gap between the Halilović that Croatia dreamed of and the Halilović who appeared on the pitch seemed to widen more and more.
The Milan experience came next, followed by a loan to Standard Liège, which the player later described as a difficult experience, before finding himself in England with Birmingham and Reading.
Amidst injuries, lack of playing time, and changing clubs, the player from whom everyone expected so much struggled merely to get a new opportunity.
He tried to return to his roots by playing in Croatia with Rijeka, before finding some stability in the Netherlands wearing the Fortuna Sittard shirt.
There, Halilović managed to regain part of his form, especially during his first two seasons, delivering a performance that reminded people of the talent that made Barcelona pay millions for him, but physical problems returned in his final season, and his appearances declined once again.
Today, Halilović is 30 years old, but he stands in a completely different place than the one everyone imagined for him more than a decade ago. He has become a free agent following the end of his stint with Fortuna Sittard, and is searching anew for a club that will give him a chance to rebuild his career.
From being the youngest player in Croatian history to the "Croatian Messi," and from the Barcelona academy to a long journey across Spain, Germany, Italy, England, the Netherlands, and Croatia, Halilović's story seems like a tale of a talent that arrived ahead of its time and then lost its way.
And according to the newspaper, the story is not over yet; the doors that closed on him in the past still leave him room for a last attempt, and perhaps for a return one day to the shirt with which the tale began.
