Luka Modric

Some Lesser Known Facts About Luka Modric

•  Does Luka Modric smoke?: Yes 

• Does Luka Modric drink alcohol?: Yes

• He was born into a family of refugees. His family fled from Serbian aggressors during the Bosnian War and had to experience horrific incidents in his hometown, Zadar during the War. 

• His grandfather was executed by Croatian Serb rebels in December 1991. They also burned his house to the ground.

• In his childhood, he used to play basketball. He also played as a goalkeeper in Handball in his school team. 

• Luka used to have a poster of Zvonimir Boban (Croatian Footballer) on his bedroom wall in his childhood.

• He developed the interest in football at a very early age. Though, due to his small and petite physique, he faced rejections from many youth clubs. 

• Luka trained in NK Zadar and participated in representative camps. The head of the youth academy, Tomislav Bašić, saw the talent in him and arranged his move to Dinamo Zagreb in 2005. 

• He signed a 10-year contract with Dinamo Zagreb during the 2005-2006 season. He built a house for his family from the first paycheck he received.

• In an interview, he revealed that he got a Cross and chain from his parents when he was 18 years old. He regards this as his most prized possession.

• He represented Croatia in under-17, under-19 and under-21 tournaments.

• Luka made two appearances for Croatia at the 2006 FIFA World Cup as a substitute against Japan and Australia. He scored his first goal for Croatia in a friendly with Italy on 16 August 2006 in Livorno.

• On 26 April 2008, he signed for the English Premier League Club,  Tottenham Hotspur. On 18 December 2008, Luka scored his first goal for his new club in a 2–2 draw against Spartak Moscow. 

• On 8 June 2008, Modrić scored Croatia’s first goal of Euro 2008 against Austria in the fourth minute of the game.

• He was heavily linked with a move to Chelsea in 2011 but the deal did not go through.

• On 27 August 2012, Luka signed for Real Madrid. He made his debut two days later against Barcelona in the second leg final of the 2012 Supercopa de España at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.

• He represented Croatia in major International tournaments like Euro 2012, 2014 FIFA World Cup, and Euro 2016.

• In 2018, he won his fourth and third successive Champions League Trophy with Real Madrid. 

• In May 2018, Modric was named in the Croatian team for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. He scored a spectacular 25-yard goal against Argentina in the Group Stage, handing his team a 3-0 victory. He took his team to the final of the tournament but were beaten by France, who lifted the trophy for the second time. He won the Golden Ball Award (Award is given to the best performing player of the tournament).