📍Zadar, Croatia
1992 – 2002“Luka Modrić was born in September 1985 in Zadar, on the Dalmatian coast of Croatia, and spent his early years in Modrići, a hamlet of stone houses in the rocky foothills of the Velebit mountains, near Zaton Obrovački, where his grandfather, also called Luka, lived. His father, Stipe, was an aircraft mechanic and his mother, Radojka, worked in a knitwear factory, and Luka spent much of his time with his grandfather, sleeping at his house, playing and going out into the hills with him, and looking after the family's goats. In December 1991, during the Croatian War of Independence, his grandfather was shot dead by Serb paramilitaries near his home, and the family house was burned. Six-year-old Luka and his family fled, first to a refugee camp in Makarska and then, in April 1992, to Zadar, where they were housed in the Hotel Kolovare, which had become a centre for refugees. Zadar was under frequent shellfire, and the boys often ran to shelters on the way to training. In the hotel, Luka played football constantly in the corridors and car park, even going to sleep with his ball. A coach at NK Zadar, Josip Bajlo, heard about the hyperactive little boy and signed him up for the club's football school. He was small and thin, and Hajduk Split turned him down, but his talent was undeniable. In 2002 he joined Dinamo Zagreb, and he later starred at Tottenham and Real Madrid, winning six Champions Leagues. In 2018 he captained Croatia to the World Cup final and won the Ballon d'Or. He has said that the war made him stronger, and that he holds no hatred.”
🗺️ Approximate location today
📍 Street view today