Luka Modric: Player Bio, Childhood And Career

Luka Modric is the epitome of finesse, skill and unparalleled vision on a football pitch. The Croatian has risen from relative obscurity to become one of the most revered players of his generation. A true footballing icon with a multitude of honours and a remarkable legacy.

Humble Beginnings

Hailing from the small town of Zadar in Croatia, Modric’s fascination with football began at the age of seven. Growing up he showed immense promise and dedication whilst refining his skills on the streets – eventually joining his primary school’s sporting academy.

His commitment and talent soon caught the eye of Dinamo Zagreb scouts who invited him to join their youth academy in 2003. However, wouldn’t initially feature for the Croatian side and into his late teens was instead sent out on loan.

Rise To Prominence

Modric initially became a loanee for Bosnian side Zrinjski Mostar and performed well. He played 25 times across the 2003/04 season and netted eight times. He was even named Bosnian Premier League Player of the Year at the age of 18.

The following campaign he was again loaned, this time to Croatian side Inter Zaprešić and also claimed the ‘Croatian Football Hope of the Year’ award at the close of 2004. It was then at age 19 that Modric returned to Dinamo Zagreb in 2005 and proceeded to sign a remarkable ten-year contract!

Style Of Play

The Croat quickly developed as an intricate playmaker and recognised as a technically gifted talent. Modric was regularly deployed in the creative playmaker role and set the tempo of a game by controlling possession from central areas.

To this day he is widely respected by football critics, managers and fellow players for his quick-thinking, composure and ability to evade tackles under pressure.

Modric is credited with popularising the “pre-assist,” a passing element found in build-up play that creates space and time for others to deliver the ball goal-bound. The Croatian is also highly effective at taking set pieces, corners or free kicks into dangerous areas – with a lethal long range shot in his arsenal too.

Croatian International Debut

Modric made his international debut on March 1st 2006 in a friendly against Argentina that ended in a 3-2 win for the Croats. The midfielder has claimed a total of 164 caps for his country so far, the most of any player in Croatia’s history, scoring 23 goals and providing 25 assists.

Club Success

Modric played his final game for Dinamo Zagreb in 2008, having featured 130 times for the club and scoring a respectable 32 goals. During the 2007/2008 season (which proved to be his last) he enjoyed his best campaign for the Croatian side, scoring 17 times from a midfield role and providing 11 assists in all competitions. Modric’s exceptional performances inevitably grabbed the attention of scouts from a host of top European clubs and at the end of the season he transferred to English Premier League giants Tottenham Hotspur.

Becoming A Premier League Star

Modrić signed for Tottenham Hotspur in the spring of 2008. He became the first of manager Juande Ramos’ signings. The Croat signed a six-year contract at White Hart Lane and a transfer fee of £16.5 million, which equaled the club’s record spend, set by Darren Bent’s move from Charlton Athletic in 2007. Modric was handed the number 14 shirt which he later recalled he’d chosen to wear in honour of Johan Cruyff.

At Spurs he refined his role as a key playmaker, able to orchestrate the team’s attacking moves with technical brilliance. Modric failed to win a trophy during his time in London and yet left the club a bonafide Premier League star, racking up a total of 127 appearances and lighting up the English game with world-class midfield play.

Moving To Los Blancos

In August 2012, Real Madrid announced they had agreed a deal with Tottenham to sign Modric on a five-year contract for a transfer fee of £30 million. Two days later, the Croatian made his debut against Barcelona in the second leg of the 2012 Supercopa de España final which Los Blancos won 2-1.

Across eleven seasons at the Bernabeu so far, Modric has made nearly 500 appearances, providing 77 assists and scoring 37 times. In 2022/23 he even enjoyed his joint best scoring campaign by finding the back of the net six times in all competitions.

Whilst donning the famous white jersey, he streamlined a classy style required to play for the legendary Spanish side and became an integral part of Real Madrid’s success. Modric’s contributions were instrumental in the team’s numerous domestic honours including three La Liga titles, five Spanish cups and five Champions League triumphs. He was a linchpin of the side that went on to secure a record-breaking trio of consecutive European cups between 2016 and 2018.

Named The World’s Best

The Croatian established himself as one of the planet’s elite midfielders, having played on the biggest international stages across a seventeen-year career to date. Modric showcased his leadership qualities during Croatia’s historic run to the 2018 FIFA World Cup final – eventually losing the showpiece against France to the brilliance of Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappe.

His display at the tournament earned him FIFA’s Golden Ball – an award which acknowledged him as the best player throughout the entire competition. Modric’s performances over the course of 2018 also saw him named in the FIFA FIFPro World XI and UEFA Team of the Year. Perhaps his crowning achievement was winning FIFA’s Ballon D’or and becoming the first Croatian to win the accolade since its inception in 1956.

Legacy

Modrić is widely regarded as one of the greatest well-rounded midfielders of all time. He breaks the mold of many traditional playmakers, focusing on defensive and attacking duties at the same time.

Former Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane included the Croatian in his best active world XI and in 2016 even predicted that Modrić would win Ballon d’Or. José Mourinho once said he wanted Modric at Real Madrid because of his big game mentality, tactical awareness and “that artistic sense.”

In the mid-2010’s, Carlo Ancelotti also praised the Croat’s versatility, labelling him “one of the best midfielders in the world right now, because he can play in more than one position.”

His intelligence and skill has often seen Modric compared to the likes of Paul Scholes, Xavi and Andrea Pirlo. In his younger days, the Croatian was also likened to Dutch legend Johan Cruyff. Slaven Bilić claims Modric “is a player who makes others better, they all benefit from him being in the team. It looks like he was born with the ball at his feet.”

The Future

The 2022/23 season delivered mixed fortunes for Modric. Real Madrid finished second in La Liga behind eventual winners Barcelona and exited the Champions League at the semi-final stage following a heavy defeat on aggregate to Manchester City.  Los Blancos did however secure the Copa Del Rey, beating Osasuna 2-1 in Seville to lift their twentieth Spanish cup title.

In March 2023, Modric was part of Croatia’s Euro 2024 qualifying match line-up against Wales and in the process became the oldest ever player to feature for his country. He was aged 37, six months and 16 days – a record previously held by Dražen Ladić’s since 1999.

Modric has no intention of retiring from international football despite pleas from Real Madrid to do so and seems destined to continue playing club football for the foreseeable future.

Luka Modric Career Stats – To Date