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Goal.com Profile: Luka Modric

Croatia may have eliminated England from the European Championships, but there are no signs to suggest that any of the clubs from the Premier League are holding any grudges over the country’s long line of up and coming young stars.

Goal.com profiles Croatia’s next big thing and Tottenham Hotspur's latest signing, Luka Modrić.

A ₤15.8 million move from Dinamo Zagreb to Tottenham Hotspur in the English Premier League could finally signal his arrival in the world stage. But who exactly is Luka Modrić? We know he's a talented and versatile playmaker, headhunted by some of the biggest clubs in the world and praised by some of the most influential managers in the game - but where did he come from and how did he develop?

Early Years

Luka was born on the 9th of September 1985 in Zadar, Croatia, the country’s fifth largest city located on the Adriatic Sea. He spent his formative years playing for the junior side of his hometown club, NK Zadar. It didn’t take long for his talents to be recognized when at just 16 years of age, he was snapped up by Dinamo Zagreb, one of the biggest and most successful football clubs in Croatia.

Naturally, being a fresh-faced and exuberant teen, he was loaned out to a smaller club to gain experience and playing time after spending just one year in Dinamo’s youth ranks. His professional career officially kicked off in 2003 at HŠK Zrinjski Mostar, an ambitious outfit who play their football out of the Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

After a single season he's already made his mark. Luca made 22 appearances, scored eight goals and was aptly named the Bosnian League Player of the Year at just 18 years of age. Afterwards, he made a return to the Prva HNL (the Croatian first division). He was loaned out again by Dinamo, this time to a club from a neighbouring city, NK Inter Zaprešić.

He was instrumental in helping the modest side finish second in the league in the 2004/05 campaign and although he played a mere 18 games and netted only three times, he was named Croatian Football Hope of the Year due to his sparkling performances.

Taking Flight

It was in 2005 when his career took off. He finally made a permanent return to Dinamo Zagreb where he was rewarded with a whopping 10 year contract, effectively tying him to the capital giants until 2015 (barring a big-money transfer elsewhere.) That same year, he also began his endeavour to make his mark on the international stage as he quickly became a regular fixture in the Croatian U-21 team and within a year, he had made the leap to the senior level, where he debuted and performed wonderfully in the 3-2 win against Argentina in March 2006.

That was enough to convince then-coach Zlatko Kranjčar to include him in the squad for the World Cup in Germany. He made two substitute appearances in that tournament against Japan and Australia, totalling around 30 minutes of game time.

Back at club level, he went from strength to strength as he became an instant hero in the eyes of the fans. His sensational performances helped the club to numerous trophies, including two league titles, one league cup and one super cup. Such was his influence that at age 22, he was already captain of the club.

Worldwide Recognition

Still, he was fairly unrecognized around the globe at a time where the likes of Ronaldinho, Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo were taking the world by storm. That soon changed as Dinamo made regular appearances in Europe’s major club competitions. It was in fact in the 2006/07 Champions League qualifiers where he first grabbed the attention of one of the game’s leading managers, Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger.

But it was Croatia’s superb run in the Euro 2008 qualifiers that really earned him worldwide acclaim. Although he only managed to score once in the 11 of the 12 qualifying games he participated in, it was his impressive displays as a playmaker that left some of Europe’s biggest clubs queuing up to find out more about him.

Spanish heavyweights Barcelona and Real Madrid and continental giants Inter Milan and Bayern Munich were all at one stage heavily scouting and tracking the 22 year old, while England’s usual suspects Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United were also showing great signs of interest. It was Chelsea who allegedly came closest to securing his services in December 2007 but a disagreement in transfer fees between buyer and seller eventually caused any potential move to break down.

Dispirited, the attacking midfielder went through a rocky patch after being denied a once in a lifetime opportunity to move abroad and it seemed as though his suitors and admirers were starting to back away, not just because of his dip in form but undeniably also because of his price tag.

But if anything, it opened the door for some of the big league’s mid-ranked teams to make their move. Kevin Keegan, now at Newcastle United for his second stint, made it no secret that he was, like many others, a Modrić fan and he wanted the starlet at St. James’ Park. It was reported that the player himself was at the Magpies’ training ground not that long ago to tour the facility and also to hold talks about a possible move. It appeared as though Keegan had gotten his man.

The Future Is White

That was until a certain Juande Ramos of Tottenham stepped in and demanded the club board green light the move for Modrić. Immediately after Newcastle failed to put in a substantial bid for the player, Spurs plotted their design to bring the player to White Hart Lane and without so much as a blink of an eye, they swooped in under everyone’s noses to secure his signature.

Voted the Croatian League’s Player of the Year in 2007, the scrawny 1.74 metre tall wonder kid from Zadar exhibits all the typical traits of being a world class playmaker. He is equally adept with both feet and he can play either at the centre of the park, which he does for his country, or to the left of midfield where he normally plays for club. He may lack the physical power the Premier League so often demands but he has tremendous stamina and aggression, an attribute which he uses to great effect for defensive duties.

Despite his slight frame, he can pack a mean punch when it comes to shooting, a weapon which he often utilizes to score goals. And ofcourse, a playmaker wouldn’t be complete without some flair, flamboyance and silky skills as well as the ability to split defences with a single pass of the ball.

The move to Spurs may very well just be a stepping stone to even bigger things. But with the eyes of millions cast upon him week in, week out in the English Premiership, his star status is bound to multiply in the coming years. Don’t be too surprised if one day in the future, he is mentioned in the same breath as some of Croatia’s former greats including Zvonimir Boban, Davor Šuker and Robert Prosinečki, just to name a few.