Luca Modrić is one of the greatest Croatian footballers of our time. He is equally good at both the left and the right foot, thanks to which he is able to close any position in the center of the field. In his youth, he most often played in the position of a left midfielder. Constantly shifting from the flank to the center of someone else's penalty area, he loves to beat with his signature firm blow from the right foot, which constantly takes the goalkeepers of the opponents by surprise. Not without reason, each of the mentors who trained him assured that they had never met a more versatile and mobile midfielder.
Personal life
Luca Modric, whose biography is full of interesting facts and great achievements, hails from the Croatian city of Zadar. He was born on September 9, 1985 in a military family. In those days, Yugoslavia was exhausted from endless wars, so soon after birth the family had to move to Zaton.
After his father returned from the front, Modric began his first steps in football. In the mid-1990s, Yugoslavia had a stalemate economic situation, so unemployment flourished, and sections and academies were paid. Despite all the difficulties, Luke’s father managed to find money so that his son could train in favorable conditions. The football player owes him his career.
Today, Luka Modric, whose height is only 172 cm, is one of the most expensive and sought-after midfielders on the planet. As for his family achievements, at the age of 29 he has a beloved wife, Vanya Bosnich, and two children: Ivan and Emma.
The beginning of a professional career
At 16, the Croat signed his first real contract with the Zagreb Academy Dynamo. He spent a full season for the youth squad, after which the head coach decided to send the midfielder to an internship at the Bosnian club Zrinsky, where Luka could receive regular practice in the Higher League. Modric stayed on loan for one year. After playing 22 matches, he scored 8 goals and became one of the team's top scorers. At the end of the season, he was unanimously recognized as the best player in the championship of Bosnia.
In 2004, Luka Modric was leased to Croatian Inter. In this team, he also spent the full season, scoring 4 goals in 18 matches. Thanks to a successful and stable game, the Croatian middle peasant got the opportunity to participate in the UEFA Cup, and the midfielder himself received the award as the country's main football hope.
Only in 2005, Luka returned to his native Dynamo, immediately extending the contract forward for 10 years. The first full season for Zagreb for the Croats will be a failure. His club at the end of the season for the first time in its history will fly out of the High Division. However, the fall did not last long. Starting next season, the Dynamo coach legendary Branko Ivanovich moved Modric closer to the line of attack, and this unexpected move soon bore fruit. Thanks to the 4-2-3-1 scheme, Luka was able to fully reveal his potential, and Zagreb began to regularly enter the Champions League qualification.
The long-awaited move to England
In the spring of 2008, Luka Modric signed a correspondence agreement with the London Tottenham, so immediately after the end of the season in Croatia, the first thing he went to undergo a medical examination on Foggy Albion. The transfer of the midfielder amounted to 16.5 million pounds, which was the club’s most expensive purchase at that time.
The debut match of Modric for the London team was the confrontation with Norwich. The game ended with the enchanting victory of Tottenham Hotspur, and the Croatian played one full time. It is worth saying that the first season for the “spurs” of Luke began at the position of the opornik, which significantly limited his attacking talents. With the arrival of coach
Harry Redknapp , the Croatian position in the club improved significantly. From that moment on, Modric got the opportunity to play in his favorite playmaker position. The midfielder has become the link between
Roman Pavlyuchenko and
Darren Bent. At the end of the season, Luka was recognized as the best midfielder of the Premier League.
In subsequent years, Modric was one of the team’s main playmakers, having received complete freedom of action from the coach on the field. In just 4 seasons, the Croat took part in 127 matches, scoring 13 goals.
A dream come true
From early childhood, Luke was a loyal fan of Real Madrid. That is why, after a generous offer, without hesitation, he agreed to sign a 5-year contract with the royal club. Madrid had to pay 33 million pounds for the transfer, but this money paid off in the first year.
With his amazing game for Real Madrid, Modric won the title of the best midfielder of the team according to the fans. And although the first matches of the 2012/13 season were not the best for the Croat due to constant injuries, later he became a legend for the royal club and the most irreplaceable football player in the center of the field. Today, his connection with Tony Kroos (since 2014), in fact, has no equal.
Team game
For the past two years, Luca Modric has become the best football player in Croatia, according to coaches, journalists and fans. No wonder for the eighth year in a row he is the leader of the national team of his native country and its main ideologist.
He made his national team debut in 2006 in a friendly match against Argentina, which takes place on a neutral ground in Basel. In total, for 78 games for the national team, he scored 8 goals.
In 2008, he was among the three best midfielders of the European Championship. FIFA representatives participated in the vote.