00:07No Croatian footballer has achieved more in their career than Luka Modric and few
00:13footballers of any nationality have reached Modric's heights and made it
00:18look so effortless. Luka show was that it's easy to play it's believe me it's
00:26really really hard to play football to play World Cup it's even harder and he
00:32plays like it's it's normal it's it's like a dance for him. Modric's club
00:40career is topped by a record equaling six Champions League titles it's
00:45international level he was named the best player at the 2018 World Cup and as an
00:50individual he was voted the best footballer in the world at the height of
00:55the Lionel Messi Cristiano Ronaldo duopoly. It's a great honor and I am very happy
01:05after receiving this great award I've worked hard to be where I am today this
01:11year has been fantastic it wasn't just one of the best it was the best of my life
01:16and my career. I have won a lot with Real Madrid and with Croatia I reached the World Cup final
01:27and also I won a lot of individual awards like this one so this year is just unforgettable
01:34I will remember it forever.
01:42Modric's two decades at the top of world football belie his challenges getting there. In many ways he is the
01:49embodiment of modern Croatia and the breakdown of the former Yugoslavia.
01:57born in 1985 in a hamlet near the coastal town of Zadar on the Adriatic coast
02:03Modric was named after his grandfather who looked after him on the family farm while both his parents worked long
02:10hours at a knitting factory.
02:14By five he was helping Lucca senior tent goats and sheep but at six at the height of the Croatian
02:22war of independence his grandfather was shot and killed by Serbian rebel forces and the family home was torched.
02:30In his autobiography Modric described his terrible memories my heart breaks every time I think of my grandfather dying literally
02:41on his doorstep.
02:44For the next seven years Modric and his family lived in a refugee center in a hotel in the heart
02:51of Zadar.
02:55He would spend his days kicking a football in the old hotel car park, frequently running to safety as his
03:01town came under attack.
03:06Somehow amongst the carnage Modric's footballing ability continued to blossom.
03:14At 12 he trialled with Hajduk Split but they rejected him because of his size.
03:23Dinamo Zagreb eventually took him aged 16 and after a year in the youth team his extraordinary professional career began.
03:34Dinamo loaned 18 year old Modric to Zrinski-Mostar and he ended his 1st season of senior football with the
03:42Bosnian Premier League Player of the Year award.
03:47Then they loaned 19-year-old Modric to Inter Zaspersic
03:52where he earned the Croatian Young Player of the Year award
03:58Fully prepared for the top level
03:59Modric then went on to win a hat-trick of titles with Dinamo
04:03and a pair of Croatian cups for good measure
04:07He left Croatia for the English Premier League
04:10having just received the first of what would become
04:12an absurd 13 Croatian Player of the Year awards
04:19Tottenham Hotspur equaled their transfer record
04:22to bring Modric to London
04:24But it looked a questionable decision
04:26as the willowy schemer took time to adapt
04:29to the frenetic pace and physicality of English football
04:35But to adapt he did
04:36and his reputation grew during four years at White Hart Lane
04:40especially as Spurs began to assert themselves in European competition
04:45catching the eye of Real Madrid in the move that would define his career
04:53At Real, Ronaldo's goal-scoring feats hogged the headlines
04:57and Madridistas adored the leadership of Sergio Ramos
05:01but it was Modric who knitted everything together
05:04and made the team tick
05:08In his second season at the Bernabeu
05:10he won the first of six Champions League titles
05:13and was named the best midfielder in La Liga
05:16His consistency and endurance since
05:19has seen him elevated to the status of legend
05:22the biggest club in the world
05:26As Modric's star ascended at club level
05:29so did results with the national team
05:32Dictating matches from the middle of the pitch
05:34he was a perfect international captain
05:37steering Croatia to second place at Russia 2018
05:40then third place at Qatar 2022
05:44I think everybody in the world knows the value of Luka Modric
05:51He's unbelievable
05:56He's our captain, our leader, our best player
05:59We are proud to have him in the team
06:01and for me it's an honour and privilege
06:03to play with him
06:04to train with him
06:05to work with him
06:10His exploits in Russia earned him the World Cup golden ball
06:13despite France prevailing in the final
06:19He would later add the Ballon d'Or to his collection
06:22becoming the first player in 11 years
06:25to win more votes than either Lionel Messi
06:27or Cristiano Ronaldo
06:32Slightly built
06:33Often underestimated
06:35but supremely skilful
06:37and ferociously competitive
06:39Luka Modric is a leader any country would be proud of
06:42and the kind that makes Croatia such a successful football nation
06:47The win in the world
06:47The win in the world
06:48which does not administer the final
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