LUKA MODRIĆ The footballer for whom the entire sports world regrets that Croatia did not win the Nations League

It is difficult to write on the given topic of football as a business when, after the occasion, i.e., the end of the Nations League final between Croatia and Spain, emotions take over reason. Here, I do not mean Croatian sorrow over the defeat and Spanish joy over the victory. The entire match, as well as the final four, was marked by one man – Luka Modrić. Spain ultimately deservedly won in the penalty shootout (because in that football lottery, victory is always deserved). Sports justice has once again prevailed, but if there were some high sports appellate court, it would have to award the winner’s trophy and gold medal to Luka Modrić.

Calvary in Split, Zagreb, and Madrid

I share this thesis with the entire neutral global sports public who cheered for the kid from the Zadar hinterland who conquered the world that Rotterdam evening. And how! He started training as a refugee in Zadar. He did not pass the trial at Hajduk because he was deemed physically too weak. Then Zdravko Mamić picked him up for Dinamo in one of his financial acrobatics that cost him only 48,000 kuna in compensation to NK Zadar. And in Dinamo, he went through a calvary – first, they sent him on loan and hardening – first to Mostar and then to Zaprešić – and when he finally established himself in Zagreb, won three championships, and entered the national team, he moved to London’s Tottenham with a contract worth 12 million euros for six years, while Dinamo received 21 million euros.

The third calvary took place four years later in Madrid, where he moved in a new big deal. Fans initially declared his transfer to Real the biggest flop of the year. But everything changed afterward. Modrić won 25 trophies with Real in 11 years – five Champions Leagues, five Spanish and world club championships, four European and Spanish Super Cups, and two Copa del Rey.

In the meantime, ‘incidentally’, he won medals at two World Cups and now in the Nations League, and he was declared – among other things – the best player of the World Cup in Russia 2018 and the best footballer in the world that season. By the way, only one footballer as captain has led his national team to three medals at World Cups – Cafu won silver with Brazil in 1998, gold in 2002, and bronze in 2006. Two captain’s medals belong to Diego Maradona with Argentina (gold in 1986 and silver in 1990), Djalma Santos with Brazil (gold in 1958 and 1962), and among Europeans, only Giuseppe Meazza with Italy (gold in 1934 and 1938), Fritz Walter with Germany (gold in 1954 and bronze in 1958), and – Luka Modrić with Croatia (silver in 2018 and bronze in 2022). Chosen company!

Dalić in Modrić’s shadow

The Croatian captain overshadowed the entire conclusion of the Nations League in the Netherlands. Coach Zlatko Dalić also remained in the shadow, who actually quietly arranged ‘Luka’s’ team. Because Modrić was in the national team even before Dalić, but the results were not even close to brilliant. In any case, the two of them are the key people in the success of Croatian national football.

And the results that stand out from the domestic football swamp have not only a sports but also a financial effect. Russian silver brought the Croatian Football Federation about 24 million euros, Qatari bronze about 23 million euros. The latest silver, it is estimated (because it has not yet been officially announced), will weigh at least nine million euros.

If the HNS were a company, with last year’s revenue of 67 million euros, it would be in 268th position among the largest. However, the HNS is an association and does not have to provide detailed financial reports like companies. Therefore, after the Qatari bronze, when asked about how that money is distributed, it was only said to Lider that ‘it is not customary to go into such details when it comes to finances’. And the surplus between income and expenses last year amounted to a record 13 million euros, but, well, it is not polite to ask…

But eppur si muove. The camp for national football teams has been a kind of permanent gift since Ćira’s bronze in France. For a while, the favorite was Sveti Ivan Zelina. Šmidhen near Samobor was also mentioned, in Tuheljske Toplice in 2008, the then president of the HNS Vlatko Marković ceremoniously unveiled a ‘plaque’ for the future HNS football camp, and two years later, the HNS even mentioned seeking a financial deposit from UEFA for that project in Tuhlja.

Then the favorite became the camp at Svetice. The HNS even established a subsidiary company Svetice sport d.o.o., but both the project and the company ended up in liquidation. After the Russian silver, the focus shifted from the eastern part of Zagreb to the southwestern part of the city, to Blato, but that location was also forgotten, along with the then head of the HNS Davor Šuker. After Qatar, a new decision was made – the camp will be built in Velika Gorica. However, it is still uncertain how that will end.

HDZ’s football machinery

It is easier, in fact, to distribute the earned money hand over fist through bonuses and reward trips to the circle of ‘deserving’ individuals, and actually to the HDZ’s voting and employment machinery that controls the golden football hen. (After all, the current president of the HNS Marijan Kustić is a proven HDZ cadre, as are most members of the Executive Board.) All of them are very interested in Modrić continuing to play for the national team because they calculate that with him, they will get a longer paid vacation at the European Championship in Germany next year. The captain’s stay in the national team has become the most important national issue. And to the brilliant fans in Rotterdam, it seemed more important that Luka stays than that Spain is defeated.

In any case, Modrić says he has decided, but he has not announced the decision by Tuesday morning. So we will have to wait a little longer to hear what the footballer who has been both a competitor and teammate of Messi and Ronaldo for years has thought, but in one thing he stood out from them: I do not remember him ever being booed anywhere. He received standing ovations not only from his fans but also from opposing fans, who stood up in his honor even when their teams were losing.

This modest athlete, great leader, confused judicial witness, and impeccable footballer is only missing one national trophy. In a survey this Monday, 33 percent of respondents expressed the belief that the captain played his last match for the national team, 44 percent think he will still play, and 22 percent do not know but would like him to stay a little longer. The Croatian football public hopes that the European Championship in Germany 2024 will be a new opportunity for our football Benjamin Button.