00:01Luka!
00:03Luka!
00:05Luka!
00:07Luka!
00:08Luka!
00:08Luka!
00:09Luka showed us that it's easy to play.
00:13Believe me, it's really, really hard to play football.
00:16To play World Cup, it's even harder.
00:19And he plays like it's normal.
00:24It's like a dance for him.
00:27The individual star of Russia 2018 did not finish with a winner's medal.
00:33But Luka Modric demonstrated the range of passing and control of tempo
00:37that earned him the nickname The Puppet Master.
00:41Luka Modric carried Croatia almost single-handedly to the World Cup.
00:45The Croatian captain was a deserved winner of the competition's golden ball
00:49for his pivotal role, guiding his side all the way to the World Cup final.
00:56It came as no surprise when, soon afterwards,
01:00he ended Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's ten-year Ballon d'Or duopoly.
01:08It's a great honour, and I am very happy after receiving this great award.
01:14I've worked hard to be where I am today.
01:20This year has been fantastic.
01:23It wasn't just one of the best.
01:25It was the best of my life and my career.
01:30I have won a lot with Real Madrid.
01:32And with Croatia, I reached the World Cup final.
01:35And also, I won a lot of individual awards, like this one.
01:39So this year is just unforgettable.
01:41I will remember it forever.
01:48This was peak Messi and Ronaldo, which just goes to show how incredible Modric was
01:53at the World Cup and for Real Madrid.
01:56Four years later, Modric was at it again, winning the bronze ball
02:00for the tournament's third-best player after leading Croatia to third place.
02:05For me, it's always most important, the team.
02:10And I would change, of course, all my individual trophies for that trophy
02:15and World Cup champion.
02:17He is an unlikely superstar.
02:20Although a standout in Bosnia, then Croatia,
02:23he was an understated footballer,
02:26not the eye-catching creative force he would become.
02:29Modric was a star at Spurs.
02:31They didn't really know how to get the best out of him at first,
02:34often playing him off the left side.
02:36But they eventually moved him inside
02:38and started to see his true potential.
02:40But really, for the Premier League,
02:42he was too much of a craftsman
02:43and too subtle for English football in general.
02:47His profile grew at Tottenham Hotspur,
02:50then transformed following a 2012 move to Real Madrid.
02:54But not immediately for the better.
02:57During his first season in the Spanish capital,
03:00a marker newspaper poll saw fans single out Modric
03:03as La Liga's worst signing.
03:07Things quickly changed.
03:10I think he's been performing for the last ten years at his best level.
03:16And for him to take his team to the World Cup final is quite a big achievement.
03:22I like these kind of stories.
03:23And if he wins the Ballon d'Or, I think it will be everything but deserved.
03:31At Real, Ronaldo's goal-scoring feats hogged the headlines
03:34and Madridistas adored the leadership of Sergio Ramos.
03:38But it was Modric who knitted everything together and made the team tick
03:42as his side hoovered up multiple UEFA Champions League titles.
03:49I'm happier than ever.
03:51I've always enjoyed playing football.
03:54I love football.
03:55I love what I do.
03:56And especially now, because you never know for how much longer you can last at this high level.
04:02I'm doing everything in my power to keep myself here for a few more years.
04:08I make an effort because there's nothing better for me than being a Real Madrid player.
04:17Boasting the technique, tempo and temperament of the quintessential modern midfielder,
04:22Luka Modric has earned his place as one of the very best on football's greatest stage.
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