Two Balkan football legends will grace the pitch at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will provide the last opportunity for fans to see some big names at the greatest sporting event on the planet.
As far as the Balkans are concerned, two Balkan football legends of the game will each captain their countries for the last few times at the tournament this summer, assuming injuries don’t get in the way.
We are, of course, talking about Croatia skipper Luka Modrić and Bosnia and Herzegovina captain Edin Džeko.
Modrić and Džeko are both 40 years old and have both sacrificed so much for the goal of representing their respective countries on the biggest stage, even at their very advanced age, in terms of top-level athletes.
This piece honours the careers of two Balkan football legends, who were born in the former Yugoslavia.
Both were very young when the war broke out, which made Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina independent.
Two Balkan Football Legends: Modrić’s Career Of A Legend
Modrić joined the youth side of his local club, NK Zadar, in the year 2000.
He then moved on to the academy of Dinamo Zagreb, the biggest club in Croatia by far, in 2001.
Modric went on loan to Zrinski Mostar, a club in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in 2003 and, when returning to the Croatian capital, he was sent on to another loan spell, this time at fellow Croatian side Inter Zaprešić.
His talent was so apparent that the midfielder became a star at a young age at Dinamo. He played for their first team for three successful seasons after having returned from that second move away from the club.
Modrić made his debut for Croatia’s national team in early 2006, making the team in every major international competition since the 2006 World Cup, and they only failed to qualify for the 2010 tournament in that 20-year time span. He has played 196 games for his country so far.
The Croatian number 10 moved to Tottenham Hotspur in 2008, before embarking on what would become a 13-year legendary career at Real Madrid in 2012.
In 2025, he left Madrid to join AC Milan, thus realising a childhood dream of his at age 40.
Two Balkan Football Legends: Džeko’s Rise To Legendary Status
Džeko is a goalscorer, a true poacher, the type that any team need.
He is more well-travelled than Modrić, and doesn’t have the trophies the Croatian does, but he is given the same level of godlike adoration in his home country.
Bosnia and Herzegovina are just starting to build their golden generation with many youngsters, for whom Džeko is a leader and, in some ways, almost like a father figure. He is still crucial to the team, having scored for them in each of the past 20 calendar years!
The “Bosnian Diamant”, as he is known, debuted for his country in 2007 and has appeared 148 times for them, starring so far only at the 2014 World Cup.
He started his career at the Sarajevo-based FK Zeljeznicar in 2003, before moving on to the Czech side Teplice, then VfL Wolfsburg, Manchester City, AS Roma, Inter Milan, Fenerbahçe, Fiorentina, and, since January of this year, Schalke 04.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Napoli Title Charge: Can Gli Azzurri Chase Down Inter Milan To Retain Scudetto?
Two Balkan Football Legends: A Goodbye That Is Fast Approaching
Modrić and Džeko have their Balkan heritage, their legendary careers, and their endless love for the game in common, making them two Balkan football legends that anyone recognises.
As different as those careers have been, they still were two boys from the same impoverished area of the world, each having made a giant name for himself in football.
The 2026 World Cup offers them both a chance at an even greater legacy and to firmly place themselves as two Balkan football legends. It is up to Modrić and Džeko, along with their teams, to make the best of it and to round out their careers in style.
Main Photo
Credit: IMAGO / Icon Sportswire
Recording Date: 31.03.2026
