Luka Modric is a football great, but he divides opinion in Croatia

Modric's evidence at the trial of controversial Zdravko Mamic has left him unpopular with some.
AFP/Getty Images
Dan Kilpatrick @Dan_KP12 October 2018

Luka Modric was a deflection, a disputed penalty and a dose of luck away from immortality on July 15, when Croatia were unlucky losers in the World Cup Final, but many in his homeland regard him as a pariah.

The Real Madrid star’s performances in Russia earned him the accolade of Fifa’s Best Men’s Player for 2018, but Croatia, a new country united by reaching the World Cup semi-finals in 1998, is divided over the captain of this year’s runners-up.

“Luka is beloved by regular fans,” Juraj Vrdoljak, a columnist for Telesport in Croatia, says ahead of tonight’s Uefa Nations League match against England. “He is the greatest player Croatia have ever had — and Russia helped him seal that status — but a substantial amount of fans believe he should not represent them or Croatia in front of the world.”

The issue largely stems from Modric’s association with Zdravko Mamic — Croatian football’s leading powerbroker, who was given a six-and-a-half-year jail sentence for embezzlement and tax evasion in June.

Modric viewed as one of the world's best after special 2018.
EPA

As part of the high-profile case, Mamic was accused of inserting crooked clauses into the contracts of Dinamo Zagreb players, among them Modric and Liverpool’s Dejan Lovren, and the former Tottenham midfielder testified in June 2017. Live on Croatian TV, Modric repeatedly claimed he “couldn’t remember” basic details of his contract, which seemed to contradict previous statements he had made.

In March, just three months before the start of the World Cup, Modric was charged with perjury, which could have carried a prison sentence of up to five years. The case against him was rejected this month.

On the morning after his trial appearance, a message was daubed on the front of the Hotel Iz in Zadar, where Modric’s family lived as refugees during the civil war in the 1990s. It read, ominously: “Luka, you will remember this one day.”

Supporters have boycotted the national team and antipathy towards Modric was evident in Russia, with one fan’s efforts going viral after he printed the slogan “Ne sjecam se” (“I don’t remember”) on his Croatia shirt, in reference to Modric’s testimony.

Meanwhile, fans with loyalty to Dinamo’s fierce rivals, Hajduk Split, marched through Russian streets singing ‘Luka Modric, you little piece of s**t’.

The midfielder led his country to the World Cup final.
AP

Former Croatia coach Slaven Bilic said: “A lot of people, some who have nothing to do with football, have had their say. Of the fans, some are supportive and others critical, but none have really slaughtered him. I know him very well and Croatia is a small country. If you are a Croatian football supporter, you know Luka Modric better than the English know David Beckham.

“Those that know Modric cannot connect him with doing anything negative, that is just not his character. I totally believe him and I’m 100 per cent certain that he did nothing wrong deliberately.”

In part, Modric is a lightning rod for dissatisfaction at widespread and deep-rooted corruption in Croatian football. “Football is a means of escapism in Croatia and as much as [most] people are disappointed with the casual corruption in everyday life, they see Modric merely as a footballer who brought them joy at one point,” added Vrdoljak. “But the people who are heavily involved with everyday issues, as fans or journalists, see his case as a tough one to put aside.”

Corruption and cronyism, personified by Mamic, has left Croatian football on its knees, despite their once-in-a- generation run in Russia. Vrdoljak says the dishonesty goes right to the heart of the government establishment, which uses the power of football to quell dissatisfaction in society.

It was seen as convenient that post- World Cup, Modric’s trial was moved to Zagreb, where Mamic has friends in high places.

“The mainstream media here is hugely dependent on both casual fans and people in the FA, some of whom stand trial for serious crimes,” said Vrdoljak “Therefore, there is a strong feeling that a big chunk of media avoids pointing out these things around Modric, opting to ride the wave and polish his image even further. A lot of media tends to support the narrative of him being ‘only a footballer’.”

For some in Croatia, and many around the world, Modric is a hero, who could finally disrupt the game’s most exclusive club by ending the Lionel Messi-Cristiano Ronaldo duopoly on the Ballon d’Or this year. But, for a section of Croatian football followers, he is the ultimate insider.

“The only way Modric could win over his critics is to do what he should have already done in the past: use his God-like status to address the need for huge changes inside Croatian football,” added Vrdoljak. “If he does that, he will truly become immortal in everyone’s eyes.”

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