Luka’s long and tragic journey

NATIONAL HERO MODRIC BASKS IN GLORY

Luka Modric’s journey from Croatian war child to the world’s best footballer was celebrated on Monday when the Real Madrid midfielder hoisted the Ballon d’Or.

A national hero in his home country and now crowned the best player on the planet, Modric was rewarded for his key role in Croatia’s historic run to the World Cup final and his club Real Madrid’s third straight Champions League trophy.

“It’s a unique feeling. I’m happy, proud and honoured,” said Modric, who also won the Fifa Player of the Year award in September.

The star-studded Paris ceremony could hardly be further removed from Modric’s early years as a child refugee, fleeing the burned-out shell of a remote Croatian cottage where he spent part of his childhood.

Hidden in the folds of Velebit mountain, with the nearest neighbours several kilometres away, trees now grow inside the roofless ruin and a sign warns: “Mines – Keep Out!”

The player’s grandfather, also named Luka, lived in the house, on a mountain road winding through the family hamlet.

His grandfather was killed by Serb forces, the house was burned and the family fled to the coastal town of Zadar, some 40km away.

It was there that Modric, born in 1985, began his footballing odyssey, drawing attention for the first time to his budding abilities.

“I heard about a little hyperactive boy constantly playing with a football in the corridor of a refugee hotel, even going to sleep with it,” said Josip Bajlo, then coach at the First Division club NK Zadar.

As soon as Bajlo saw Modric play he signed him up for the club’s football school, where he immediately stood out.

Modric left Zadar, where he remains a legend, for Dinamo Zagreb in 2000 and then joined English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur in 2008. After a bidding war he was snapped up by Real Madrid in 2012.

Modric brilliantly inspired Croatia to their first World Cup final last summer.

Despite the 4-2 defeat by France, more than 500 000 people gave captain Modric and his team a heroes’ welcome on their return to Zagreb. – AFP

Picture: Reuters FAMILY AFFAIR. Ballon d’Or winner Luka Modric (centre), his wife Vanja, his son Ivano and his daughter Ema kiss the trophy the Croatian lifted in Paris on Monday night.