The character arc of Luka Modrić
A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record
Born on 9 September 1985 in Zadar and raised in the hamlet of Modrići, on the southern slopes of the Velebit mountain, the eldest child of two knitwear factory workers. Between then and now sit early years in his grandfather's stone house and goats herded at five, a family forced to flee in 1991, a grandfather killed near the house that December, the house burned to the ground, seven years living in a hotel in Zadar as a refugee, a father who joined the army as an aeromechanic, thousands of bombs on the city, and football as the way out. The line below draws the story so far, in order.
Drag along the line to move, pinch or use the buttons to look closer. Tap the line to pluck it, or any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of his life; the sources are at the foot of the page.
Who is Luka Modrić?
Seven years in a hotel, and the ball was the way out.
He was born in Zadar and raised in the hamlet of Modrići, part of a village on the southern slopes of the Velebit mountain, the eldest child of a father and mother who both worked in a knitwear factory. He spent most of his early years in the stone house where his paternal grandfather lived, the man he was named after, on the road above the hamlet, and he was shepherding goats at five years old.
His childhood coincided with the war. In 1991, when it escalated, the family were forced to flee the area. His grandfather Luka was killed near the house that December, and after the family left, the house was burned to the ground. He became a refugee and lived with his family in a hotel in Zadar for seven years, and afterwards in another hotel in the same city. His father joined the army as an aeromechanic.
In those years thousands of bombs fell on Zadar, and football, he has said, was a way to escape the reality of the war. He recalls it as a tough time for his family and as something that shaped him as a person, and has said that he was mostly unaware of the war itself, because he had made friends with a lot of the other children and their parents did not let them see it. That is the whole of his beginning: a boy in a hotel corridor with a ball, in a city being shelled, who did not entirely know what was happening.
The moments
Luka Modrić's timeline.
The 1980s
Born in Zadar
Everyday. Two knitwear factory workers, and a hamlet on a mountain.
The 1990s
Goats at five
Everyday, and it changed his direction. Five years old, minding goats on a mountain road.
The family flees
Setback, and it changed everything. Six years old, and the family left with what they could carry.
His grandfather is killed
Setback, and it changed everything. The man he was named after, killed near the house he grew up in.
Seven years in a hotel
Setback, and it changed everything. A hotel room, for seven years, as a home.
Thousands of bombs
Setback, and it changed everything. A childhood spent in a city under bombardment.
The ball, as a way out
Milestone, and it changed everything. A ball, in a hotel car park, and somewhere else to be.
What to do with those years
Crossroads, decided.
The paths laid out: play, every day, taken, or wait it out. He has said the years shaped him as a person, and football was what he did through all of them.
The other children
Milestone, and it changed his direction. The adults kept it from them, and the children played.
The 2000s
Out of the hotel
Milestone, and it changed everything. Fourteen years old, out of the hotel, and into the game properly.
Zadar is where the hotel was and the mountain village is where the house stood. What it has set moving is visible on any pitch in his country: a boy who was a refugee at six, and whose family lost their home, became the name every Croatian child says first, and that is not an accident of talent alone.
Your turn
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His was a hotel room for seven years and a ball in the corridor. Yours is already further along than you think, and drawing it takes about five minutes.
Luka Modrić: frequently asked questions
What people ask about his line.
What is Luka Modrić's character arc?
Was Luka Modrić a refugee?
What happened to Luka Modrić's grandfather?
Where did Luka Modrić grow up?
What did Luka Modrić's parents do?
Did Luka Modrić know about the war as a child?
Where does this timeline of Luka Modrić's life come from?
More character arcs
Lives that rhyme with his.
Sources
- Luka Modrić, English Wikipedia biography, filed under living people.
- Contemporary reporting on the displacement of families from the Zadar hinterland.