A tale of triumph: The career evolution of Luka Modric
Biography
Luka Modric changed several clubs before becoming a favorite of football fans. There were failures and misunderstandings in his career that almost cost him success in the profession, but the player left dark stripes behind, managing to maintain a reputation as a successful and reliable athlete and a team member who sets the pace of the game.
Childhood and youth
Luka was born in the Croatian city of Zadar in the family of a seamstress and a mechanic. In the early 90s, the Yugoslav wars broke out, and his mother, Luka and his sister Yasmina had to leave their home and settle in a refugee camp in a tourist backwater, while his father paid his debt to the motherland. The grandfather of the future football star, who was shot for participating in a partisan detachment, became a victim of the fighting.
After the return of the head of the family from the army, it became possible to realize sports talents: the boy showed his abilities in football already in childhood. My parents decided not to spare any money. Despite financial difficulties, his father cut out part of a modest salary to pay for his son's classes at the sports academy.
The footballer recalled in an interview that the first shields were made by coach Tomislav Basic himself, who immediately saw bright abilities in the child. Luka is not the only ball-chasing athlete in his family. Australian footballer Mark Viduka, also a Croat by nationality, is Modric's cousin.
Club career
The first contract in the sports biography of a novice football player appeared in 2002. At the age of 16, the young man signed a cooperation agreement with Dinamo Zagreb. The athlete played a season in the youth team, and then was loaned to the Zrinski team, which is part of the Bosnian Premier League. It was here that the young man demonstrated his versatile style of play and took the main place on the podium of the athletes of Bosnia.
Then, for a season, the player was loaned to Inter Zagreb, where he proved himself brilliantly. With his help, the Croatian club replenished the piggy bank with silver won in the national championship. But soon the Dynamo hometown club returned a talented young football player who had already won the title of "hope of Croatia".
A 10-year contract was signed with Dynamo. Luka immediately joined the main squad. His position on the field is a playmaker, sometimes he served as a left attacking midfielder. The athlete gave the club 6 years, during which time Dynamo won a number of trophies, including winning the national championship and getting a ticket to the UEFA Cup. Modric became the champion of Croatia and was named player of the year.
Noting the merits of the Croat, several English football teams wanted to see him in their ranks at once. Modric was wanted by Newcastle and Manchester City, but he chose Tottenham London. The transfer amount was £16.5 million.
At first, Luka was put in an unusual position of an extreme midfielder. The game was not given to the young football player, fans began to talk about the fact that the purchase was in vain. Once, fans even called Modric "lightweight", accusing him of not wanting to play, whereas he simply could not — he suffered a knee injury.
The situation changed dramatically when new coach Harry Redknapp arrived, who returned Modric to his place. The Croat's game was immediately transformed, the goals came one after the other. For the first time, he hit the gates of Spartak Moscow. The talent of the packer was shown in all its glory in the Real Madrid team, where Luca got to at the end of the summer of 2012 and where he put on a T-shirt with the number 10. A year later, Modric's game captivated fans, the footballer turned into one of the main stars of the team. Of course, it was not possible to get around Cristiano Ronaldo, but the Croat brilliantly assisted in attacks, worked selflessly in defense and delighted the fans with magnificent goals.
And Modric showed how many spectacular feints that broke the stormy ovation. With each season, the player's statistics improved, especially he impressed with the accuracy of passes and the number of rebounds.
The footballer has acquired all sorts of nicknames. The Spaniards called him a Diamond Bow, and even a Pony — for his lightness and small stature: at 172 cm, the football player weighed 66 kg. The newspapers were full of laudatory articles saying that the Croat had filled Real Madrid's game with Balkan freshness.
The footballer owes another nickname to the Dutch striker Johan Cruyff, who ended his career, who was reputed to be a fan of Modric. Luka's playing style was compared to the style of the legendary Dutchman, so they called him "Croatian Cruyff". Moreover, funny comparisons of football players with each other roamed the Web. Fans of the ball game see Luka's resemblance to Johan. Indeed, men are similar in both hairstyle and facial features.
Luca became the main contender for the title of the best football player of 2017 according to France Football. The list also included Harry Kane, N'Golo Kante, Kylian Mbappe, Sergio Ramos, Gianluigi Buffon. However, in the end, Cristiano Ronaldo got the Golden Ball. In the same year, Modric was ranked in the top twenty of the top 100 players in the FIFA rankings. In 2018, the salary of the Real Madrid midfielder amounted to € 10.5 million.
At the end of the 2017/2018 season, Modric was recognized as the best Croatian footballer of the year. During the winter and spring, Real Madrid left the field with victories, and in May, together with their countryman club, Atletico became the best cup team in the world. Despite breaking the barrier at the age of 34, the footballer did not slow down the pace of development, but on the contrary, in 2019 he announced that he would show the game that he demonstrated in the best years of his career. This was confirmed by the Golden Foot award in the fall.
In January 2020, Modric scored the 100th goal of his career, and in the spring of next year he extended his contract with Real Madrid. Six months later, the athlete played his 400th game for the club. A memorable gift for him was a uniform with the appropriate number.
Luca's assists in the 2022 Champions League matches against Chelsea were particularly noted. As a result of well-coordinated teamwork, Madrid won against the British with a total score of 5:4.
However, coach Carlo Ancelotti decided not to release Modric and Karim Benzema in the starting line-up for the match of the 35th round of the Primera with Atletico, which took place in May 2022, explaining that the players were tired and needed to recover. In the same month, Luca extended his expiring contract with Real Madrid.
The Croatian national team In 2006, Modric was called upon to defend the honor of the country. For the first time in the Croatian national team, the footballer played with Argentina, and scored the first goal against Italy. A reliable game ensured him a permanent place in the national team.
At Euro 2008, Luka set a record by scoring the fastest goal in the history of European competitions. The Austrian gate was damaged. The Croats then defeated not only Austria, but also Germany. There were 2 people in the national team: Luka Modric was called the brain of the team, and Ivan Rakitic was called the soul and heart.
At Euro 2012, the athlete demonstrated his skills in all the games of the group stage, but this did not help the team to reach the playoffs. At the World Cup in Russia in 2018, the player acted in a new capacity — the captain of the team. The national team got to the final, where they lost to France, but Modric nevertheless became the best player of the tournament and received the well-deserved Golden Ball. The team failed to repeat its success at Euro 2020, they lost to the Spanish national team in the first match of the playoffs.
In November, Luka, as part of the Croatian national team, went to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar as captain. Commenting on the team's entry into the 1/4 finals, he noted the difficult game against Japan, as the players "put pressure on very well and know what to do on the field." In the semifinals, the Croats lost to Argentina with a score of 0 : 3, which allowed them to fight only for 3rd place.
Modric, commenting on the defeat to the Argentines, considered: This was due to the fact that the referee did not first assign a corner kick to the Croats, but then assigned a "non-existent" penalty to the opponents, which turned the course of the game.
Scandal
In the spring of 2018, Luka became involved in a high-profile scandal concerning an anti-corruption investigation in the Croatian football sector. The case against the former head of Dinamo Zagreb, Zdravko Mamic, was considered. The man was accused of embezzling funds from the sale of the Bow to Tottenham.
The football star was also under investigation. The prosecutor's office believed that Modric had given false testimony, telling about the details of the transfer. If the football player's guilt was confirmed, he could go to prison. But the charges against the player were dropped.
Personal life
Luka got married at the age of 25. His agent Vanya Bosnich became the chosen one. For 4 years, the young people had a business relationship, and it all ended with a wedding in 2010.
Modric is the father of three children. Just a month after the wedding, an heir was born in the family, whom the happy parents named Ivan. 3 years later, his wife gave the footballer a daughter, Emu. And in 2017, another addition happened: Luka and Vanya had a daughter, Sofia.
Luka Modric is a homely man, unlike his colleagues in the shop, he does not like noisy parties and social events. It is impossible to catch a football player in a nightclub, but on weekends, together with his wife and children, it is quite possible to see, for example, at the zoo.
The athlete maintains pages on social networks, where, in addition to pictures from the "battlefields", he also publishes family photos.
Now Modric's technique is still at its best. He remains a valuable asset to the Real Madrid team.
In January 2023, information appeared about the possible transfer of a football player to Al-Nasr from Saudi Arabia. However, the midfielder refused to sign an agreement with a new club.
In the spring, Luka received a call-up to the Croatian national team again. This time he helped the team get to Euro 2024. In June, Modric signed a new contract with Real Madrid for a year.
Another record was set by the athlete in October. He played the 1000th anniversary match of his career and the 170th as a national team player. During the same period, Luka took 10th place in the voting for the Golden Ball.The year 2024 began for Modric with a victory in court against the Spanish tax police. The midfielder successfully challenged the fact of violations of the law in 2012-2014. As a result, the fine of 1.2 million euros imposed on the footballer in 2018, as well as the punishment of 8 months in prison, were suspended. Luka also received 3.5 million euros in compensation.
Awards
2005/06, 2006/07, 2007/08 — Croatian Champion (Dinamo Zagreb)
2006/07, 2007/08 — Croatian Cup Winner (Dinamo Zagreb)
2006 — Croatian Super Cup Winner (Dinamo Zagreb)
2016/17, 2019/20, 2021/22 — Spanish Champion (Real Madrid) 2013/14 — Spanish Cup Winner (Real Madrid")
2012, 2017, 2019/20, 2021/22 — The winner of the Spanish Super Cup (Real Madrid")
2013/14, 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18 — Winner of the UEFA Champions League (Real Madrid)
2014, 2016, 2017 — Winner of the UEFA Super Cup (Real Madrid") 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018 — Winner of the Club World Cup (Real Madrid)
2018 — Vice-World Champion (Croatia national team)
2007, 2008, 2011, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 — The best football player in Croatia
2018 — Winner of the Golden Ball
Interesting facts
*The footballer collected all the interesting moments of his sports and personal life in his autobiography, which he wrote together with journalist Robert Matteoni.
*Modric is friends with Vedran Chorluka, who was even best man at his wedding.
*Only after appearing at Real Madrid, Luka did not perform very well. His poor start earned him the title of worst newcomer according to the Marca newspaper, and the prize was the "Golden Toilet Bowl". Back then, the fans did not know that Modric would be able to cope with the label.
Source: 24smi
Comments