Who were your footballing heroes
as a youngster?
Greg Morter, via Facebook
My heroes were Zvonimir Boban – the
Croatia captain and legendary player
of Milan – and Francesco Totti. I loved
Totti’s style of play, his character, his
stature, and what he represented in
football. I also liked Boban because of
his style, and because of what he went
on to achieve with Croatia, soon after
we became anindependentcountry.
I remember cheeringonCroatia,and
him especially.Hewasmyidol.Did the tough childhood you endured
in a time of crisis for Croatia help you
to remain grounded?
Daniel Herlihy, via Instagram
We went through a very difficult time,
and everything that happened helps
you to keep both feet on the ground
whenever you achieve something, and
not to get toocarriedawayordo silly
things. I’ve gotthesamecharacter –
the values thatmyparentsgaveme.
Theytaughtme
tobemodest;to
respectelders;torespect others. That was me, and after
allthe things that happened, I’ve tried
tostay the same.How scary was life in a war zone?
Susan Jarrow, Peterborough
It was scary, for us and for everyone.
I always say war never brings anyone
good. Unfortunately, it happened in
Croatia and they were scary times –
a lot of sirens when the bombardment
started, and then you had to go and
runinto shelters. My father was in the
army, and you always prayed that he
came back home safely. These things
weren’t easy, but it was how it was. It
happened, and you had to live with it
andkeep moving forward. There were
noother options.During your time at Dinamo Zagreb,
youwere part of the Croatia team
that beat England 3-2 at Wembley
tostop them reaching Euro 2008.
What did that mean to you?
Ivica Grdovic, Zadar
It was an unbelievable feeling to beat
England at Wembley. We had already
qualified for the Euros in the match
before that, against Macedonia, so for
us the last game was only for prestige.
We had already beaten England 2-0 in
Zagreb and wanted to prove we could
beat them again, to show how strong
we were. We played so well and won,
and stopped them qualifying for the
tournament. It was a great feeling to
beat England, who had so many great
players such as Steven Gerrard, Frank
Lampard,DavidBeckham and others.
Tobeatthema second time, especially
t Wembley, was special.
t showed that we had
a good team which was
capable of good things.
Sadly, we were a little
t unlucky at the Euros
wewon all three group
atches and could have
nemore, for sure, if we
dn’tlost on penalties to
keyin the quarter-finals.veall heard that Kevin
gannearly signed you
forNewcastlebuttheir recruitment
chief feltyouweretoo small. What
do you remember about it?
Callum Pattinson, via Instagram
I heard a few rumours at the time that
Newcastle were thinking about taking
me there, like many other teams, butInterview Chris Flanagan
“When they called to say I’d won
the Ballon d’Or, I started shaking.
My wife said, ‘Come on, answer it!’
I said, ‘No, I need to calm down!’”
LUKA MODRIC
YOU ASK
THE
QUESTIOnS
T
wo years ago, Luka
Modric was crowned
the world’s best player –
the first man since 2007
to prise the Ballon d’Or away from
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
He has won the European Cup four
times with Real Madrid, and captained
Croatia to a first ever World Cup final.
But first, the future midfielder had to
overcome a harrowing childhood.
As an innocent youngster herding
goats around the Croatian mountains,
Modric developed a close relationship
with his grandfather, Luka, from whom
he takes his name. In his new book, he
reveals that he was just six years old
when war arrived and his grandfather
(right) was murdered by Serbs roaming
in the area. Young Luka and his family
fled to a refugee camp, while his father
went to join the army.
Despite those dark moments, Modric
emerged to become one of the finest
footballers of his generation. Now, at
the age of 35, he’s ready to reflect on
a career in the game that has brought
happiness and pride to his family.
He’s not done yet, either. Could he
follow Gareth Bale back to Spurs before
his playing days are over? It was one
of the many questions readers posed...6 November 2020 FourFourTwoyp goat
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a
cbi- w
ma
don
had
Turk
WWe’v
Keegeas ydo. pePictures Modric family private album