00:02Luka!
00:04Luka!
00:06Luka!
00:08Luka!
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.
00:17To play World Cup, it's even harder.
00:20And he plays like it's normal.
00:25It's like a dance for him.
00:28The individual star of Russia 2018 did not finish with a winner's medal.
00:34But Luka Modric demonstrated the range of passing and control of tempo
00:38that earned him the nickname The Puppet Master.
00:41Luka Modric carried Croatia almost single-handedly to the World Cup.
00:46The Croatian captain was a deserved winner of the competition's golden ball
00:50for his pivotal role, guiding his side all the way to the World Cup final.
00:57It came as no surprise when, soon afterwards,
01:00he ended Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's ten-year Ballon d'Or duopoly.
01:09It'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.
01:24It wasn't just one of the best.
01:26It was the best of my life and my career.
01:31I have won a lot with Real Madrid.
01:33And with Croatia, I reached the World Cup final.
01:36And also, I won a lot of individual awards, like this one.
01:40So this year is just unforgettable.
01:42I will remember it forever.
01:49This was peak Messi and Ronaldo,
01:51which just goes to show how incredible Modric was at the World Cup
01:55and for Real Madrid.
01:57Four years later, Modric was at it again,
01:59winning the bronze ball for the tournament's third best player,
02:03after leading Croatia to third place.
02:06For me, it's always most important, the team.
02:11And I would change, of course, all my individual trophies
02:15for that trophy and World Cup champion.
02:18He is an unlikely superstar.
02:21Although a standout in Bosnia, then Croatia,
02:24he was an understated footballer,
02:26not the eye-catching creative force he would become.
02:30Modric was a star at Spurs.
02:32They didn't really know how to get the best out of him at first,
02:35often playing him off the left side.
02:37But they eventually moved him inside
02:39and started to see his true potential.
02:41But really, for the Premier League,
02:43he was too much of a craftsman
02:44and too subtle for English football in general.
02:48His profile grew at Tottenham Hotspur,
02:51then transformed following a 2012 move
02:53to Real Madrid.
02:55But not immediately for the better.
02:58During his first season in the Spanish capital,
03:01a marker newspaper poll saw fans single out Modric
03:04as La Liga's worst signing.
03:08Things quickly changed.
03:10I think he's been performing for the last ten years
03:16at his best level.
03:17And for him to take his team to the World Cup final
03:21is quite a big achievement.
03:22I like this kind of story.
03:24And if he wins the Ballon d'Or,
03:26I think it will be everything but deserved.
03:31At Real, Ronaldo's goal-scoring feats hogged the headlines
03:35and Madridistas adored the leadership of Sergio Ramos.
03:39But it was Modric who knitted everything together
03:41and made the team tick as his side hoovered up
03:44multiple UEFA Champions League titles.
03:50I'm happier than ever.
03:51I've always enjoyed playing football.
03:54I love football.
03:56I love what I do.
03:57And especially now, because you never know for how much longer
04:00you can last at this high level.
04:03I'm doing everything in my power to keep myself here
04:06for a few more years.
04:09I make an effort because there's nothing better for me
04:12than being a Real Madrid player.
04:18Boasting the technique, tempo and temperament
04:21of the quintessential modern midfielder,
04:24Luka Modric has earned his place
04:25as one of the very best on football's greatest stage.
04:29Luka Modric!
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