Top-level footballers may lead a celebrity lifestyle, with every nook and cranny of their daily lives exposed to the public, but certain aspects of their careers nonetheless remain concealed beneath the bumper wages and eye-catching boot designs. From the detail behind their humble beginnings to their taste in music or art, footballers still embed humanity and personality that we sometimes fail to acknowledge.
Luka Modric has had an especially intriguing life so far which has led to the 31-year-old now living his dream by playing at the heart of the Real Madrid midfield. The Croatian is a renowned name in his home nation and few players embody the rags-to-riches tale more than the former-Tottenham man. In homage to Modric’s shirt number for Real Madrid, here are 19 facts you did not know about the Croatian international…
#1 He was born in the village of ‘Modrici’
Plural for ‘Modric’, this is indeed the village where one of Croatia’s finest talents grew up and first put on a pair of boots. The house where Modric lived as a child lays along a stretch of narrow, winding road leading up to the Velebit mountain range.
The area which is isolated and secluded is embedded in dark history. Just over twenty years ago, the area was renowned for some vulgar war crimes and it’s thought that landmines can still be found there today.
#2 He was caught up in the ‘Croatian War of Independence’
Obviously, Modric was far too young to ever actually play a role in the conflict, but he has horrifying memories of the war nonetheless. In 1991, when Modric was just six-years-old, the area in which he was born was captured by local Croatian Serb rebels and his grandfather was murdered by them in cold blood when attending to the cattle.
It was a horrific experience for a child to be subjected to and the Modric family had to consequently flee the area and stay as refugees in a large hotel in Zadar. It was experiences like these which gave the former Spurs man the confidence and steel mentality he needed to flourish at the pinnacle of football later in life.
#3 Carlo was his favourite
During his tenure at the Santiago Bernabeu, Modric has worked under the stewardship of four different managers; Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Rafael Benitez and, currently, Zinedine Zidane. Despite recently praising the Frenchman for his work at the club, the Croatian admitted in an interview with the BBC last year that Ancelotti remains the best manager he has played under.
“We had a great relationship, we still have a good one; that's why I would pick him,” claimed Modric when outlining that the Italian was his favourite of the four. Together, the pair won the UEFA Champions League and Copa Del Rey with Real Madrid before Ancelotti was dismissed in 2015.
#4 It’s all about the two F’s – Football and Family
He may ply his trade for one of the biggest outfits in world football, but Modric certainly hasn’t forgotten his humble beginnings. “I only ever try to do the best I can on the football pitch. I’m not a model or something. I am a football player,” these the words of a player who’s got his feet rooted to the ground.
The only thing which surpasses football in Luka’s mind is his family.
He has two children, Ivano and Ema, and married Vanja Bosnic in Zagreb in 2010 following four years of dating. He’s not detached from his family. “Not a day goes by when I don’t speak to my parents and my two sisters back home and I only ever try to do the best I can on the football pitch.”
#5 Great Pals with Corluka
It’s a testament to their friendship that Vedran Corluka was Modric’s best man at his aforementioned marriage to Bosnic seven years ago. The pair played with each other at White Hart Lane from 2008 to 2012, whilst also sharing the dressing room for the Croatian national side.
The two of them have spent years in each other’s company in the game over the years and Corluka is full of praise for his Croatian counterpart, claiming last year “he’s one of the best midfielders in Europe. He’s playing in Real Madrid as their second player or third player with Bale and Ronaldo.”
#6 Anchor, Middle-Man or Number Ten
Everyone can recognise that Modric is a stellar talent but fewer may know the depth of his abilities and the versatility he withholds. Gerard Houllier once claimed, “not only is he a very hard worker, he has a good brain and provides some calmness and composure to the midfield.”
These are the traits which rendered Modric capable of playing in a holding role earlier in his career with the likes of Dinamo Zagreb and more recently at Real Madrid.
Houllier continued, “He was not only winning the ball, he was passing well. We thought he was very influential.” The Frenchman is here outlining that Modric is too capable in a playmaker role and this was the position where he was most influential whilst at Tottenham.
#7 He had a strong relationship with coach Tomislav Basic
The pair’s relationship isn’t limited to the football field; Basic and Modric share the unfortunate link of having both experienced the horrific events in Zadar during the Croatian War. They first came together during Modric’s early playing days with local side NK Zadar.
It was from here that Basic developed the reputation of a second father figure to Modric, providing support when he was initially rejected by Hadjuk Split.
Later Basic helped secure Modric’s move to Dinamo Zagreb when he was just 15-years-old and as the diminutive midfielder signed a ten-year contract with the club. Basic sadly passed away in February 2014 but Modric paid homage to his former coach following Real Madrid’s UEFA Champions League triumph in Lisbon that same year.
"I hugged my son Ivano next to the Champions League trophy and thought about the happiness I'm living – the happiness that was conceived in Zadar."
#8 He was named in FARE’s ‘Euro 2016 Refugee XI’
Modric is of course not alone in having flourished through adversity and difficulty to become one of the greatest midfielders in world football.
Last year, the anti-discrimination football network known as ‘FARE’ put together a line-up of players who were formerly refugees to celebrate ‘World Refugee Day’. The team also included the likes of brothers Granit and Taulant Xhaka, Christian Benteke and Xherdan Shaqiri.
#9 He idolised Ronaldo from a young age
It is not for current team-mate CR7 that Modric has a particular soft spot, but rather the Brazilian namesake. The Croatian claimed that growing up, his “first pair of shin pads had a picture of Ronaldo on them.”
“They were these Nike ones and I loved them. I loved Ronaldo. The real Ronaldo! And I wore those shinpads for years. From when I was a little kid right up to when I started playing professionally in the Bosnian League. Ronaldo had lots of scars before I eventually gave them to someone as a present.”
Perhaps it’s from the Brazilian Ronaldo that Modric learned how to sharpen the attacking prowess he now possesses.
#10 It was a rough start at the Santiago Bernabeu
When Luka Modric made the multi-million-pound transition from North London to the Spanish capital, a lot was expected from the Croatian. Unfortunately, the prognosticated success did not come to fruition as soon as the Blancos would have hoped.
In December 2012, Modric was officially named as Real Madrid’s biggest flop signing for that season and a small portion of fans wanted the Croatian to be shown the exit door. His game time was limited as a result of missing pre-season training due to negotiations regarding his transfer taking up time and the fact that Xabi Alonso and Sami Khedira had established themselves at the heart of Los Blancos’ midfield.
#11 His physique nearly let him down
"There was this boy who used to kick the ball around the hotel parking lot all day,” were the words of NK Zadar chairman Josip Bajlo when commenting on Modric in his early days. "He was skinny and really small for his age, but you could see right away that he had that something special in him.”
Since then Modric has only grown to 5’9” but there’s an advantage to such a small frame, the Croatian possesses the agility and low centre of gravity aiding him in eluding opponents.
Bajlo continued, “However, none of us could have dreamed that one day he would grow to become the player he is now."
It just goes to show once again that a player cannot be judged merely on their physique.
#12 There’s proof that he’s Croatia’s finest
In the last decade, Modric has won Croatian Player of the Year on five occasions in 2007, 2008, 2011, 2014 and 2016 as well as having secured the Croatian Union’s ‘Football Oscar’ or best player of the year in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016. This means that across the last ten years, Modric has failed to win an award recognising him as Croatia’s best talent in just three.
He has come a long way since winning the 2004 ‘Croatian Football Hope of the Year’ award and there are few players who’ve maintained such a high level of consistency across their respective careers.
#13 Croatia are unbeaten when Modric has scored
Modric has scored on eleven occasions for his nation and they’ve won ten of the eleven matches he’s scored in, drawing the other 2-2 with Ukraine. On top of that, Croatia have kept clean sheets in eight of the eleven games and have scored three or more goals in five of them.
Modric certainly makes a difference on match day and it shows that even after scoring a goal, he maintains complacency at the heart of midfield to help lead the side to victory.
#14 Upper Middle-Class Upbringing
Despite the turbulent political circumstances he was born into, Luka Modric’s family growing up were fairly affluent in comparison to others. His father Stipe Modric worked as an aeromechanic and joined the Croatian Army when the family were forced to flee the area, whilst his mother Rodojka worked as a textile worker.
Resultantly, his family were fairly well financially set-up by the time he grew into his teen years, despite false claims suggesting they wer so poor they could not afford shin pads for Luka.
On the contrary, in 1992, his family were able to play for Modric to enrol in a sporting academy. Had they not been able to fund this, who knows whether or not Modric would’ve been able to ascend the footballing hierarchy as he did.
#15 It all went sour at White Hart Lane
Things may have cooled down now with Modric loving life in the Spanish capital and Tottenham enjoying a good run in England’s top flight, but the process of the Croatian leaving the North London club were more awkward than both parties would’ve liked.
In the summer of 2012, Modric made it clear that he desired a move to Real Madrid but Tottenham were perhaps understandably, reluctant to let their star man depart. The club was adamant that Madrid must pay £40 million to secure his services and, with Tottenham indirectly blocking the move, Modric refused to train one Friday, meaning Andre Villas-Boas and company had to fine him two-weeks’ wages which amounted to £80,000.
Modric would eventually make the switch for £30 million but bitterness consumed the Tottenham faithful.
#16 Born in Croatia but made in Bosnia
After being rejected by Hajduk Split at a young age for lacking the required physical attributes, Modric was eventually shown faith by Dinamo Zagreb and he signed a ten-year contract with the club. He was however then loaned out to Inter Zapresic in Bosnia the following year, which is when his career really took flight.
An 18-year-old Modric was thrown into what is still considered the most physical league on the continent. The rough-and-tumble dynamic of the Bosnian top-flight moulded Modric into the versatile individual he is today and he himself stated, "Someone who can play in the Bosnian league can play anywhere".
Modric went on to win the Bosnian League Player of the Year Award at the end of the term, scoring 4 goals in 18 appearances.
#17 Barcelona passed up the chance to sign him
Before Tottenham eventually secured his services, Luka Modric was the subject of interest from a host of clubs across the continent including Spurs’ bitter rivals Arsenal and Manchester United.
Barcelona also claimed interest and former scout of the Catalan club, Bojan Krkic Senior, revealed, “We brought him to Barcelona to get to know him. We met him for coffee. He left a very good impression. He was speaking fluent English and came across as very intelligent.
It was, however, not meant to be. “He was a player with a winning mentality, but the club weren’t thinking so far ahead in the future, only in the short to medium term.” So it was a surprising refusal to invest in youth which let Barcelona down in the end; how they must regret such a decision today.
#18 Holidaying with Ostric
Upon reading this low-down of facts about Luka Modric, it’s clear he hasn’t lead the most straightforward life; conflict has often followed his each and every move. That said, he’s managed to secure an ounce of normality in the relationships he’s made and one, in particular, has lasted the test of time.
Corluka may have been his best man but Marko Ostric will forever remain Modric’s closest long-term companion. The two met as young Croatian refugees shortly after arriving in Zadar. It was football which brought the pair together and Ostric has crafted a career in the game for himself, having plied his trade for the likes of Medimurje Cakovec in his home nation. The pair are still great friends today and often go on holidays together; given the gigantic wage gap between them, let’s hope that Modric is the one paying.
#19 Zidane’s main man and the king of consistency
Ultimately then, Luka Modric seems to have seen it all and nobody could knock him for wanting to lead a Galacticos lifestyle now; only he doesn’t want that. The Croatian talent’s skill is matched only by his modesty and, for that, he instils all those around him with great admiration.
Zidane has himself claimed, "We know that Luka is fundamental for us. He handles game situations very well and off the pitch, he is a spectacle because of his professionalism."
CR7 may be pivotal for goal return, Sergio Ramos indispensable in defence, but Luka Modric is the work-horse at the heart of Real Madrid. Perhaps if there were any justice in football, we’d begin to acknowledge that just a little more.
