Luka Modric is Croatia’s inspiration, despite everything

Luka Modric pulled his jersey up over his face as he walked towards the touchline. The red and white clad Croatian fans recognized the painful significance of the moment and rose to applaud the midfielder, arguably their country’s best player. Modric being substituted in the 81st minute, with his team down by three goals, marked the end of Modric’s World Cup era.

“We just wanted to be back in the final, but unfortunately we’re not,” he said.

The second most famous 37-year-old player in the World Cup is going home. He is the same age as his former Real Madrid teammate Cristiano Ronaldo, both nearing the twilight of their trophy-filled careers.

Modric was the inspiration again as a nation with a population of roughly 4 million reached the semi-finals for the second consecutive World Cup, but he could do nothing to stop Lionel Messi, who scored the opener from the penalty spot and then produced a piece of magic to set up the second of Julián Álvarez’s two goals.

Modric is also among the best midfielders. Five times winner of the Champions League with Real Madrid and the highest individual prize in football: the Ballon d’Or, in 2018.

“Well, maybe this is the end of the generation at the World Cup. A couple of them are at an age where it will be difficult to play in the World Cup in 2026. We’ll wait and see. I think many players will end up at Euro 2024,” said Croatia coach Zlatko Dalić.

In one of his projects off the field, in 2020 he invested 6 million euros in Sportening, a social network that connects fans from all over the world. Other investors in the project include Sacha Dragic, founder and CEO of Romanian gaming company Superbet, and COO of Peter Thiel’s investment fund Clarium Capital Ralph Ho.

Sportening was founded by Croatian entrepreneur Ivan Klaric as an advanced messaging app with AI-powered content for sports fans.

“We built Sportening to connect fans and offer them a unique and personalized social media experience, far from the noise of the main platforms. We also wanted to put power back in the hands of the fans. Building a network where fans own the fandom is key to the future of sports,” Klaric said.

deportes@eleconomista.mx