Obviously England fans are very sad, but it must be said that they had a successful World Cup and are still very young and very promising. The Three Lions young players should not be sad because they only lost to quality, experienced Croatian players, led by superstar and school team Luka Modrić.

Most football fans know Modrić’s top performance at Real Madrid club with 4 Champion League titles, including three consecutive championships in recent years. However, the journey that brought Croatia to the 2018 World Cup final, the first World Cup final in this country’s history, was equally impressive.

Born in Zadar, Croatia, on September 9, 1985, Modrić’s childhood was one of tension and conflict not unlike the Croatian War for Independence in 1991. As the war escalated , his family was forced to flee and his father joined the army.

In December 1991, when he was just 6 years old, Modrić’s family was deeply shocked when his grandfather and six other elderly civilians were executed by rebels. Their home was burned to cinders and they were forced to live as refugees for seven years at Hotel Kolovare. He then moved to Hotel Iž, which was always surrounded by the sound of grenades exploding and glass breaking.

Luka Modrić when he was a child player

It was the most difficult time in Modrić’s life and football was his only way out of the terrible conflict that engulfed Croatia in the early and mid-90s.

“The number of glasses he broke was more than the number broken by bombs. He constantly played football in the hotel lobby ,” a Hotel Kolovare spokesman once said.

Modrić’s journey to becoming a superstar was also not smooth. He was refused a contract by Croatian club HNK Hajuk Split because they thought he was too young and not muscular enough to play professional football. But Modrić quickly proved to this club that they had made a huge mistake.

Modrić started his career with a contract with Dinamo Zagreb, the opponent of HNK Hajuk Split and won the Croatian First League championship three times and the Croatian Cup twice. He then moved to Tottenham Hootspur, where he became integral to the north London club’s resurgence. He played 159 matches for Tottenham.

“He is an excellent player, a player that every coach would like to own. He trains like crazy and never complains, he is ready to move without the ball and when he has the ball he He will beat the defender with a technical pass or a dangerous pass. He is capable of playing for any team in the top 4 ,” shared Harry Redknapp, former coach of Tottenham Hotspur. .

In 2012, Modrić signed a contract with Real Madrid where he quickly established himself and took a starting position under Carlo Ancelotti. In recent years, under the management of Zinedine Zidane, Modrić and Real Madrid have won the Champion League three times in a row.

Entering the 2018 World Cup as the team’s brightest star, Modrić was given the captaincy by the coach. At the age of 32, this will likely be the last World Cup of his career, Modrić has burned out. He scored two goals in the group stage and kept the rhythm of coordinating the ball in the midfield to help Croatia win, surpassing Leonel Messi’s Argentina with a 3-0 victory.

In the three subsequent knockout matches, Croatia all had to go to extra time, but this superstar who was once considered unfit still ran and played football tirelessly. According to statistics, Modrić is the player who ran the most in this year’s World Cup with 63 km. 

Luka Modrić in the national team shirt (Getty Photo)

Hopefully, after personal successes and club titles, Modrić will continue to shine to help Croatia defeat France in the final tonight. However, whether they win the 2018 World Cup or not, what Modrić and the Croatia team can do will still be a huge inspiration for developing football countries and other young players. In the world.