Zagreb: Luka Modric, Croatia’s star midfielder and the driving force behind the country’s recent football success, will make his final international appearance for the team at Euro 2024.
Modric, who turned 39 in September, signed a new contract with Real Madrid after winning his sixth Real Madrid title on Saturday.
“Luka has long earned the status of the best Croatian football player in history.
“With his sixth European Championship title, he goes down in football history as one of the greatest players of this football era,” said Marijan Kustic, president of the Croatian Football Association (HNS).
Modric led Croatia to the 2018 World Cup final in Russia and third place at the 2022 tournament in Qatar.
The centre-back also played a key role in Croatia’s Nations League final defeat to Spain last year.
For Euro 2024, Modric will return to Germany, where he played in his first major tournament with the national team at the 2006 World Cup, just a few months after his Croatian debut.
He played 174 games for Croatia and scored 24 goals.
Modric remains loved for his humility amid his growing success.
The ardent defender grew up as a refugee in Zadar, on the Dalmatian coast, during the independence war of the 1990s.
After the war, Modrić left Zadar and played for Dinamo Zagreb in 2000, before joining Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur in 2008.
In 2012, Modric signed a contract with Real Madrid and has remained there ever since.
- ‘Unexpected’-
Modric’s image was soon tarnished in 2018 when he was accused of fraud in the multi-million euro corruption trial of powerful former Dinamo Zagreb boss Zdrawko Mamic.
But the furore about the event evaporated after the World Cup final placed second, and the prosecutor dropped the case due to lack of evidence.
Although France lost 4-2 in the World Cup final in Russia, more than 500,000 people gave Modric and his team a hero’s home when they returned to Zagreb.
In 2018, Modric won the Ballon d’Or, football’s most coveted award, for Croatia’s World Cup success and Real Madrid’s third Champions League trophy.
Professionals praise Modric for his physical fitness as well as the endless energy he brings to the pitch despite his age.
“He can’t wait to play for Croatia and be our leader,” coach Zlatko Dalic told reporters at the end of May.
“Modric plays for the national team because he is still needed, because he cannot be replaced and because he is worried,” Croatian daily List Vecernji said.
The newspaper called Modric’s imminent appearance on the pitch at Euro 2024 as one of “football’s most anticipated moments”.
The article states that Croatian fans will “witness the curtain fall on one of the most fascinating football careers in the national team”.
Croatia will face Spain in their Group B opener on June 15 before playing Balkan rivals Albania and European champions Italy.
Modric has not officially commented on his future with the national team, known as the “Fire Men” (Vatreni in Croatia).
