79 Facts About Luka Modric

Luka Modric is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for La Liga club Real Madrid and captains the Croatia national team.

Luka Modric plays mainly as a central midfielder, but can play as an attacking midfielder or as a defensive midfielder.

Luka Modric is widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time, and as the greatest Croatian footballer ever.

Luka Modric continued his development in Zagreb, before spells on loan to Zrinjski Mostar and Inter Zapresic.

Luka Modric made his debut for Dinamo in 2005 and won three consecutive league titles and domestic cups, being named the Prva HNL Player of the Year in 2007.

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Luka Modric has won twenty-one major trophies at Real Madrid, including five UEFA Champions League titles, three La Liga titles, one Copa del Rey and four FIFA Club World Cup titles.

Luka Modric won the La Liga Award for "Best Midfielder" in 2016 for the second time, and the UEFA Club Football Award for "Best Midfielder" in 2017 and 2018.

In 2018, Luka Modric became the first Croatian player to win the UEFA Men's Player of the Year Award, and by winning The Best FIFA Men's Player and Ballon d'Or awards, he became the first player other than Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo to claim the awards in more than a decade.

Luka Modric made his international debut for Croatia against Argentina in March 2006, and scored his first international goal in a friendly match against Italy.

Luka Modric has anchored Croatia's "second Golden Generation", participating in every major tournament Croatia has qualified for, including the UEFA European Championship in 2008,2012,2016, and 2020, as well as the FIFA World Cup in 2006,2014, and 2018.

Luka Modric was born on 9 September 1985 and was raised in the hamlet of Modrici, which is a part of Zaton Obrovacki, a village situated on the southern slopes of the mountain Velebit, north of the city of Zadar in SR Croatia, then a republic within SFR Yugoslavia.

Luka Modric is the oldest child of Stipe Modric from Modrici and Radojka Dopud from Krusevo near Obrovac, both of whom initially worked in a knitwear factory.

Modric's grandfather Luka was executed by Serb rebels who were part of the police of SAO Krajina in December 1991 near his house in Modrici, and after the family fled, the house was burned to the ground.

Luka Modric became a refugee and lived with his family in the Hotel Kolovare for seven years; he later moved to the Hotel Iz, both in Zadar.

Luka Modric's father joined the Croatian Army as an aeromechanic.

Luka Modric recalls it as a tough time for his family and something which shaped him as a person.

Luka Modric said he was mostly unaware of the war because he befriended many other children and their parents did not let it affect their childhood.

Luka Modric was under tutelage of coach Domagoj Basic and the head of the youth academy, Tomislav Basic.

Luka Modric later said, "Someone who can play in the Bosnian Premier League can play anywhere, " referring to its physical nature.

Luka Modric spent one season there, helping the team to achieve second position in the Prva HNL and a place in the preliminary round of the UEFA Cup.

Luka Modric won the Croatian Football Hope of the Year award in 2004.

Luka Modric secured a place in Dinamo's first team, contributing 7 goals in 31 matches to help win the league.

Luka Modric was the main provider for striker Eduardo, which helped Modric win the Prva HNL Player of the Year award.

Luka Modric was courted by Barcelona, Arsenal and Chelsea, but opted to wait leaving the club.

Luka Modric agreed to transfer terms with Tottenham Hotspur on 26 April 2008.

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Luka Modric was the first of many summer signings for manager Juande Ramos, and was the Premier League's first summer transfer.

Luka Modric got number 14 jersey, later recalling that he wore it in honour of Johan Cruyff.

Luka Modric suffered from a knee injury early in his tenure and was labelled as a light-weight for the Premier League by sections of the media, as well as Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.

Luka Modric spent his early days at a position of number 10, before being shifted to the left wing to play alongside Wilson Palacios.

Luka Modric scored his first Premier League goals against Newcastle United in an away defeat on 21 December, a home win in the third round of the FA Cup against Wigan Athletic on 2 January 2009, and in an away defeat against Manchester United on 25 April 2009.

The following day, it was confirmed Luka Modric had sustained a fracture to his right fibula and was expected to be out for six weeks.

Luka Modric again scored in a home win against Everton on 28 February 2010, and in an away defeat against Burnley on 9 May On 30 May 2010, Modric signed a new six-year contract that ran until 2016.

Luka Modric helped Tottenham reach their first involvement in the UEFA Champions League.

Luka Modric said his "head was not in the right place" as he continued to force a move to Chelsea.

On 14 January 2012, Luka Modric scored the only goal in a home draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Luka Modric mostly played out-of-position for his first few months at the club.

Luka Modric started in Real Madrid's home match against rivals Barcelona on 2 March 2013.

Luka Modric played as a starter in both Champions League semi-final matches against Borussia Dortmund.

Luka Modric was included in UEFA's Team of the Week for both legs of the semi-final.

Luka Modric was included in the UEFA Champions League Team of the Season and received the LFP award for the "Best Midfielder" of the Spanish first league of that season.

Luka Modric returned in early March 2015, starting in seven matches and proving his form.

Luka Modric's influence was recognised and he was selected by professional players in the FIFA FIFPro World XI.

Luka Modric was included in both Champions League, and La Liga's team of the season.

Luka Modric was for the second time included in the FIFA FIFPro World XI.

On 18 October 2016, Luka Modric signed a new contract with Real Madrid, keeping him at the club until 2020.

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Luka Modric was included in Champions League team of the season and became the first Croatian to win the Champions League three times.

Luka Modric received the UEFA Club Football award for Best Midfielder of the Champions League season.

Luka Modric later received the UEFA Club Football Award for Best Midfielder of the Champions League season for the second consecutive time.

Furthermore, besides becoming the first Croatian player to win these awards, Luka Modric was the first player to win both the World Cup Golden Ball and the UEFA Men's Player of the Year Award in the same year since Ronaldo in 1998, and the World Cup Golden Ball and the Best FIFA Men's Player of the Year Award after Romario in 1994.

Luka Modric was included in the FIFA FIFPro World XI for the fourth time, and won the IFFHS World's Best Playmaker award.

Luka Modric dedicated the Ballon d'Or to "all the players who probably deserved to win it and didn't" in the past decade, including Xavi, Andres Iniesta, and Wesley Sneijder among others.

Arrival of new manager Julen Lopetegui in August 2018 saw Luka Modric given a steady return to the first team as a substitute due to his lack of pre-season training after the 2018 World Cup.

Luka Modric began his international career at youth level, playing for the Croatian under-15, under-17, under-18, under-19 and under-21 teams.

Luka Modric debuted in March 2001 for the under-15 team coached by Martin Novoselac, but nevertheless his talent and psychological maturity, he did not become a regular starter and leading player until physically strengthened and debuted for under-18.

Luka Modric made two appearances at the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals as a substitute in the group fixtures against Japan and Australia.

Luka Modric's performances ensured a regular place in the international side and he gave a successful showing in Croatia's UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying campaign, which included home and away victories against England.

Luka Modric continued to impress at the tournament and was named UEFA Man of the Match in Croatia's next match when they defeated one of the pre-tournament favourites and eventual finalists Germany.

On 3 March 2015, Luka Modric captained Croatia for the first time, in an away draw against Azerbaijan.

Croatia's 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign, Luka Modric became the new team captain, following Darijo Srna's retirement.

In Croatia's opening win against Nigeria, Luka Modric successfully executed a penalty kick and was named Man of the Match.

Luka Modric's goal made him Croatia's oldest ever goalscorer at the European Championships, while simultaneously holding the record for the youngest goalscorer that he set in 2008.

Luka Modric's passing was neat and his contribution was outstanding.

Diminutive and technically gifted midfielder, Luka Modric is typically deployed as a creative playmaker and sets the tempo of the match by controlling possession from the middle of the pitch.

Luka Modric has been widely applauded by many footballing pundits, managers, and fellow players for his swift passing and long range shots, both often in the style of the trivela technique, as well as his composure and ability to evade tackles under pressure.

Luka Modric is noted for his tactical intelligence and versatility in both attack and defense, as well as his vision, interpretation of space, and work rate.

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Luka Modric is effective at taking set pieces, particularly corners or wide free kicks.

Luka Modric has been integral to the success of both Real Madrid and the Croatia national team, having won numerous individual honours for his contributions to club and country.

Luka Modric's playstyle has earned him several nicknames as dubbed by the media and fandom, including “the midfield Maestro”, “the magician”, "the puppet master" among others.

Luka Modric has been compared to an orchestra conductor for his capacity to control his team's gameplan or dictate the tempo of the match.

Luka Modric's average passing accuracy during the season was between 91.

Luka Modric is widely regarded as one of the best and most well-rounded and effective midfielders of all time.

Luka Modric has been consistently praised by some of the sport's most experienced managers, including Johan Cruyff, Alex Ferguson, Pep Guardiola, and Sven-Goran Eriksson among others.

Luka Modric is unanimously considered the greatest Croatian footballer of all time by his fellow countrymen including those who were once considered as such like Robert Prosinecki and Davor Suker.

Luka Modric married Vanja Bosnic in May 2010 in the Croatian capital Zagreb in a private ceremony after four years of dating, and a year later in church.

Luka Modric is a cousin of Australian footballer Mark Viduka, and the godfather of Mateo Kovacic's son Ivan.

In late 2019, Luka Modric released his autobiography Moja igra, co-written by prominent Croatian sports journalist Robert Matteoni.

Luka Modric, representing Croatia, will star alongside Thiago Silva, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Andre Blake, Hassan Maatouk and Brian Kaltak.

Luka Modric annexed most of his Tottenham transfer fee to Mamic because he was the broker of the move and gave Luka Modric financial backing early on in his career.

Luka Modric was charged with perjury for stating that he annexed his fee at an earlier date than he allegedly had.