The path to the Golden Ball

The last ten years, the most prestigious football award "Golden Ball" has been roaming from the hands of Cristiano Ronaldo to the hands of Lionel Messi and backwards. But suddenly Luca Modric became the best player in Europe in 2018. Today, Real's charismatic midfielder is worth 750 million euros - for this amount the club president is ready to let him go anywhere before the expiration of the contract.

Future football star Luka Modric was born in Croatia in 1985, in a village with a population of barely one hundred inhabitants. Not promising future became even less promising with the start of the war for independence. The head of the family was forced to go into the army, and the five-year-old boy with his mother moved to Zadar. It was then that the future idol of millions met with football. Almost half the father’s salary went to study at the sports academy, but the boy turned out to be extraordinarily talented, and as the future showed, the parents' investments were not in vain. Today, soccer player Luka Modric is one of the most demanded and expensive on the planet.

Luka Modric one of the most popular football player, photo © lukamodric10

However, not everyone saw the potential in a young athlete. He was, appreciated by the first coach, but later he had to fight for recognition. Not being seen by prestigious clubs in childhood, the seemingly weak and hopeless 17-year-old Luka Modric suddenly turned out to be the best player in the championship of Bosnia. Then the Zagreb club Dynamo immediately signed contract with this dark horse. This fact was surprising in itself, but even more struck the term of the contract - Luka was “bought” for 10 years.

The footballer joined the team, and in the coming years the club, along with him, won many trophies, won the national championship and earned a ticket to the UEFA Cup games. Even then, the name of the Croatian footballer Luka Modric attracted the attention of the press - in 2007 the athlete became the champion of Croatia and proudly bore the title of football player of the year.

Croatian team in Nizhny Novgorod at the World Cup 2018, photo © lukamodric10

In the next season Modric entered triumphantly. Many clubs fought for him, but the football player gave preference to London's Tottenham. However, the player’s abilities in this club were not destined to open up - they put him in an unusual position, and then the quality of the game was affected by injury ... But in 2012, Modric put on a Real's shirt and then finally showed the world a top-class game. “Diamond Luka” was worn on the hands, and analysts assured that the Croat finally brought the Balkan freshness to the "cream" game.

In the Croatian national team Luka Modric played for the first time in 2006. Two years later, in this team, he scored the fastest goal recorded in the history of Euro matches. After another ten years, at the World Cup 2018, Luka Modric played, already being the captain of the Croatian national team. A series of competitions led the Croats to the final match, where they still lost the gold to France, taking silver in the world championship. As a result, Luka Modric was still recognized as the best player of the year, and the Golden Ball in 2018 first went to his homeland - Croatia.

Luka Modric was recognized as the best football player of the year at the World Cup 2018, photo © lukamodric10

Now Luka Modric is playing for Real Madrid. His contract with the club will expire next year, but already today the best clubs of the planet pour in his address tempting offers. Inter and Juventus are looking at the Croat, Real is counting on it, but the player himself seems to have no plans to reciprocate to anyone, and will put an end to his career within a year. “My dream is to hang up the boots in a club that brought me world fame”,  the athlete tells reporters not for the first time.

In 2018, in addition to the “Golden Ball”, Luka Modric collected an entire arsenal of awards - a trophy for the best soccer player of the planet according to UEFA and FIFA, the prize for the best midfielder from IFFHS, the title of the best midfielder of the Champions League and the World Club Championship.

Luka Modric collected an entire arsenal of awards, photo © lukamodric10

“Everyone around doubted me. I didn’t have any special physical data, my weight was not enough for a football player, and I didn’t look like a winner ... I was convinced that with such “baggage” I won’t succeed either in life or even in sports. But the main thing is that I never doubted myself. It was thanks to my belief in my own strength that I managed to find myself in the best football club in the world”, says Luka Modric, the best football player of 2018, the best player of the World Championship, winner of many other titles and idol of hundreds of thousands of fans.

It remains for us to take an example from a person of such willpower and talent, and hope that Luka will continue his career and score more than a dozen of phenomenal goals.

Victoria Romanova, Russia, Moscow

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