Humble heroes shining
How Kane, Modric came from nowhere to take world by storm
THEY are two of the world’s biggest stars, who got their lucky break in Europe’s most unfashionable leagues.
England’s League One and the Bosnia and Herzegovina Premier League are hardly renowned as fields of dreams, but Harry Kane and Luka Modric’s journeys to world soccer’s summit serve as great lessons for all – especially Australians.
Tottenham’s cold- blooded sharpshooter Kane is the World Cup’s golden boot leader ( six goals), while Real Madrid’s Modric was Russia’s Minister of Distribution – putting on a string of passing and playmaking clinics.
Both were rejected by big clubs – “chubby” Kane by Arsenal and Spurs first time round and “minuscule” Modric by Hajduk Split – before they were picked up by Tottenham and Dinamo Zagreb respectively.
Talented yes, but even their “breakthrough” clubs had reservations and both were loaned out.
While the lower entry barrier of Croatia has meant that most of their squad got early exposure, England’s 23- man squad has represented 93 clubs in 46 different loan spells – headlined by Kane.
Third- tier Leyton Orient handed Kane his senior unveiling, followed by spells at Championship sides Millwall and Leicester City, accumulating 65 games ( and 16 goals) by age 20, when he broke into Spurs’ first- team squad. From there he had to wait another season to hit the first XI.
“When Tottenham sent me out on loan for two years, there were so many moments when I questioned whether I’d ever get the chance to score even one goal in the Premier League,’’ Kane wrote in Players’ Tribune. “I also learned a lot of great lessons during those years. I remember going to Millwall in 2012, and we were in a relegation dogfight.
“You start to realise that some people aren’t just playing for the sport. It’s for their family’s livelihood, you know? My experience at Millwall made me realise that I just couldn’t be a kid any more.”
Modric was loaned to Bosnia, regarded at the time as perhaps the most brutal league in Europe – politically charged, with tension emanating from the terraces on to the pitch. But his refugee upbringing prepared him for the challenge.
“Someone who can play in the Bosnian league can play anywhere,” Modric said.
He didn’t just play, he won player of the year, at the age of 18, as games for Zrinjski Mostar supplemented by a loan at Croatian top- tier side Inter Zapresic ( along with ex Spurs and Croatia teammate Vedran Corluka) rounded out his apprenticeship.
Dinamo unleashed him just shy of his 20th birthday, with 40 games’ experience, with the added hard edge enabling him to make a sudden impact.