Modric was born on September 9, 1985, in the city of Zadar, but grew up with his family in the nearby village of Modrici. It is common in Croatia for villages to take the name of a family, but years later, Modric would make a name for himself far beyond his homeland.
He was named after his grandfather Luka, who was killed as Serbian military troops took their village in December 1991. After that, Modric and his parents moved to Zadar, where they lived as refugees.
"I heard about a little hyperactive boy constantly playing with a football in the corridor of a refugee hotel, even going to sleep with it", said Josip Bajlo, who was then the first-team coach at the First Division club NK Zadar, where Modric began to make a name for himself as a brilliant player.
As soon as Bajlo saw Modric play he signed him up for the club’s football school, where he immediately stood out.
The Real Madrid midfielder recently featured in FIFPro’s team of the year at the gala for The Best and he finished third in this year’s Goal 50 vote, behind only Cristiano Ronaldo and Gianluigi Buffon. He really is that good.
The Croatia captain has helped Los Blancos to three Champions League titles over the past four seasons, since joining from Tottenham in the summer of 2012. Right now, he is probably the world’s best midfielder. However, the road to the top was not always smooth.
Modric helped his team win over Denmark to qualify for the world cup 2018 quarterfinals.
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