Modrić had endured a childhood that few people could imagine.
When war broke out in Croatia, his family was forced to flee their home and seek shelter in refugee hotels in Zadar.
Amid everything happening around him, football became his escape from the harsh reality.
As Modrić himself would later explain:
“Football was definitely a way of escaping from everything that was happening around us.”
Despite his difficult childhood, his talent caught the attention of local club NK Zadar.
But there was a problem.
Modrić was considered too small and physically weak to become a professional footballer.
When Hajduk Split, the club he had supported since childhood, rejected him following a trial, Luka was emotionally devastated.
He began to doubt whether he really had a future in football.
But there was one man who saw something in him that others could not.
His name was Tomislav Bašić.
Bašić was part of NK Zadar’s youth academy and had followed Modrić’s development from an early age.
While others doubted him because of his stature and physical strength, Bašić believed he had everything it took to become an extraordinary footballer.
He took him under his wing, helped him regain his self-confidence and arranged additional training sessions to improve his physical condition.
And when Modrić needed a new opportunity, Bašić made sure he got one.
Thanks to his connections, he helped arrange Luka Modrić’s move to Dinamo Zagreb, giving the teenager another chance to prove his worth.
Modrić managed to break into Dinamo’s first team before moving to Tottenham and later to Real Madrid.
He went on to become one of the finest midfielders of his generation, won the Champions League multiple times and captained Croatia all the way to the 2018 World Cup final.
But there was one person Luka never forgot.
The man who had believed in him when almost everyone else had deemed him unsuitable for elite football.
Sadly, Tomislav Bašić passed away in February 2014.
Just three months later, Modrić helped Real Madrid win the Champions League against Atlético Madrid.
And amid the celebrations following that triumph, his thoughts turned to the man who had changed his life.
“Without him, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”
Four years later, Modrić won the 2018 Ballon d’Or.
After years of being told that he was not tall or strong enough, he was officially crowned the best footballer in the world.
And when asked which coach had made the biggest impact on him, Modrić once again spoke about Tomislav Bašić.
“He saw something in me that nobody else saw.”
“He believed I could become one of the best footballers in the world.”
“He was the man who set everything in motion.”
Sometimes, all it takes is one person to believe in you when the whole world doubts you.
Tomislav Bašić saw a future world champion in a small, slender boy. And time proved him right. ❤️
