IT'S been a week hence, and yet Croatia's Luka Modric still looms large in our memory. We, who love drama and underlings have found our idol in him. He deserves the accolades, by the way.
To those who were not hooked on the 2018 World Cup, Modric was that diminutive player of team Croatia who showed what team play really is.
Team Croatia grabbed our collective attention in the 2018 World Cup as no one even had the team in their peripheral vision.
Playing under the radar against the superstars of world soccer, Modric, however, made a name for himself founded on great respect by the soccer players and officials themselves. He's been known for his deft passes to his teammates thus gaining control of the play. We didn't know him since he was not what stars usually look like. But the respect among his peers is very clear; earning him nicknames like Midfield Master, Puppet Master, and Midfield Magician.
"A trophy cabinet of four Champions League titles in five years with Real Madrid has seen the Croatia captain receive plaudits – but despite being a fixture in their recent Champions League success, Modric always seemed to be overshadowed by another superstar," reads Sports Illustrated article on him after Croatia lost to France.
Indeed, there are people worth emulating beyond the superstars that we are used to idolize. And sometimes, these overshadowed persons are the ones who can teach us more about life and how to live it.
It's been a week since Croatia lost and France won the 2018 World Cup, but here's to hoping that in this span of time, we have internalized who Modric is and the life lessons we can pick from his humble beginnings to his equally humble but impressive role in sports and in life. The virtues of hard work and perseverance, of team work and leadership, and most of all humility and rising up from the difficult life fate threw at you.