Misfortune and dismissal cursed the long early stretches of Luka Modric as his family persevered through horrible enduring when the Balkan war ejected in 1991 and his town became broken by Serbian soldiers.
When Modric's granddad was killed while rearing his goats, the family moved to close Zadar, where they resided as exiles.
The youthful Modric was habitually taking a chance with his life by playing football with his companions on the roads.
Outfitted with insignificant physicality and a body that could be pushed away by a solid breeze, he would need to compensate for his insufficiencies with his most valuable gift – ball control.
Indeed, even from early on, spectators would wonder about his smooth and exact touch. It was something not typically seen from such an amateur, enamouring the minds of many.
Zagreb had the chance and option to facilitate to sign Luka and proceeded to go through the accompanying season with the club's childhood side. The club accepted that for Modrić to arrive at his maximum capacity, he would not just need to proceed in his improvement, but intellectually too.
Furthermore, in the mid-year of 2003, the club settled on the choice to loan him out to the Bosnian League. At that point, the league was generally viewed as the most fierce and dangerous in the world.
Instead of faltering, Modrić flourished, fostering his inventive greatness and taking advantage of a psychological strength that he didn't know existed. He was named the player of the year and had left the entirety of his cynics quiet.
Tottenham dominated the race for the Croatian in 2008, paying a then club record-equalling £16.5m for his services.
At first, he struggled to adjust to the speed of the Premier League amid fears his height would neutralise him.
He would later become extraordinary and was even compared to other players to play for the team. His performance earned him a move to Real Madrid. There, he turned into the best player on the planet as his ability was a generational one.
Simple statistics won't ever disclose to you the full story of exactly how great this generational player really is. He is the quieted modeller consistently in the perfect spot at the perfect time, even though if he isn't conveying assists, he is clearly giving the assists for the assists.
Luka Modric is the child of a goat herder. He was an offspring of war, an exile, whose granddad was killed. He is a kid who wore wooden shinpads, playing on the roads with fears of projectiles and bombs and consistently had a great ball at his feet.
His journey took him from Zadar to Madrid, turning him into the best player on the planet. He is conclusive evidence that magicians can come in all shapes, sizes and from any place on the planet.
