Lovro Majer: Croatia’s ‘normal guy’ who dashed the Luka Modrić comparisons and started paving his own path
Lovro Majer, who walked out with Modrić on his penultimate game for Dinamo Zagreb as a player escort at the age of ten, is playing with his idol 16 years later.
This article is the latest piece of xG Files’ ‘EuroFiles’ series for the upcoming European Championship, profiling 24 players from the qualified nations with expert opinions from journalists, writers, editors, and media guides from each respective nation, which you can find here.
Growing up, everyone in Zagreb knew Lovro Majer was special. Not just the silky left foot, ball-striking and sharp passing incision, but a moment with a certain Luka Modrić that would later have people talking and, at the time, wondering.
In Modrić’s penultimate game for Dinamo Zagreb, a side that won the cup and league at a canter before departing for Tottenham Hotspur, 10-year-old Majer walked out with Modrić. Being the payer escort for Modrić—who was at the time the best player in the Croatian Football League—comes with serious attention and appreciation.
“From the very first beginning, you could see that he’s one of those guys that will succeed, because [of] the way he was handling the ball,” said Ižak Ante Sučić.
“Like we say here in Croatia, he touches the ball on the other side that others cant.”
Though with the technical promise that led to inevitable often unavoidable comparisons to the aforementioned Modrić, there were physical and tactical drawbacks that ultimately led to Majer leaving Dinamo Zagreb and pursuing a career elsewhere.
Born in the late 90s, Majer’s first foray into football would be in the golden generation of ‘No.10s.’ Clearelry had an adoration for the position, as he would grow up wanting to be one, in his teens the need for the mercurial No.10 would fade with modern systems shuffling out wide or operating deeper in midfield.
“He needed to adapt his game.” Sučić added, “Even though there were some concerns if he was going to succeed or not, he did eventually, growing after a few seasons with Lokomotiva [Zagreb].
The ‘concern’ was never whether Majer was solely a ‘10; it was whether someone with such a slight frame could play anywhere else. Nevertheless, Dinamo’s sister club, Lokomotiva, was willing to wager the bet.
During Majer’s two seasons at Lokomotiva, he emerged as one of the league’s top young players, contributing 34 goals in 62 games and being named league Young Footballer for the 2017-18 season. A total-free role negated physical and tactical demands.
Against Dinamo, in the derby, in the battle of the ‘No.10s’ with the equally talented Dani Olmo on the other side, Majer’s brace claimed a momentous first win after 28 tries — sparking a return from Dinamo to bring back their prodigal son.
Taking the renowned number 10 shirt reignited the Modrić comparisons. An ankle injury curtailed an entire first season and seeped into the following, with a return restricted to a secondary role as Olmo established himself as the league’s best player.
Olmo’s departure to Leipzig in January 2020, but it would be six months later when Majer truly grasped his role as Dinamo’s attacking fulcrum.
During that summer, as he does every summer, he headed back to his parent's home in Island Ugljan, with a population of around 1000, and trained—twice a day with his personal team—away from the spotlight in Zagreb.
“Every chance that he gets, he does there [Ugljan],” said Sučić. “He’s not really a Zagreb. He’s not one of those guys who is going to push himself into the media.”
Before the 2020-21 season started, Dinamo batted away loan and transfer bids with then manager Zoran Mamić reiterating his desire for Majer to be central to the team’s ambitions. A mid-season renewal would quiet outside noise but with nearly 3,500 instrumental minutes Dinamo secured the league and cup double aswell as a Europa League quarter-final run — losing to eventual winners Villarreal.
A move abroad was expected. Any league outside of Europe’s majors (Bundesliga, Premier League, Ligue 1, LaLiga, Serie A) is a stepping stone to that.
So, a transfer to Rennes wasnt sneered at but given Majer’s admiration for the Premier League and offers from England, Italy, France and Belgium, it wasnt what was predicted when he first came through.
“Since he was 17 years old, everybody was saying he had [a] hairstyle like Robert Prosinečki, he was dribbling like Zvonimir Boban or he would be the next Luka Modrić and all those things come up a lot,” said Sučić.
Though being hammered with comparisons Majer has been stringent in focusing on his path than forcing someone else.
Majer’s father, Egon, represented Croatia in taekwondo and wanted his son to pursue a similar path, but it wasnt competing with football.
At Rennes, he would cap a promising season with a place in L'Équipe’s Ligue 1 team. But he would follow up with a season falling into an on-and-off situation under Bruno Génésio, leading to transfer availability in the second season of a five-year deal.
“Croatian coach Niko Kovac was pivotal in bringing him to Wolfsburg,” Anthony Zoric, contributor for Croatian Sports, told me.
The past year at Wolfsburg has seen Majer develop a versatile edge, even as the second-highest-ever transfer (€35M) behind Julian Draxler.
Playing across the frontline under Kovac and then Ralph Hasenhüttl when the former was sacked, bringing that expanded use to the national team.
“Croatia don't really prove quick players. It's probably our bad side, but Majer has presented a solution on the right,” said Sučić.
Croatia's midfield department has an ever-growing depth, but Modrić, Mateo Kovačić, and Marcelo Brozović have been irreplaceable staples of the nation’s relative success. Majer has happened to manoeuvre a palace in head coach Zlatko Dalić’s side without sacrificing his main qualities. Drifting inside from the right, if it's not one of the midfield trio delivering the incisive ball, it is usually Majer for the Vatreni.
In Euro 2024 qualifying alone, Majer (16.2%) had the highest percentage of open-play involvements that ended in a shot among Croatia’s midfielders.
As many in the current squad will know, being blessed with the burden of the ‘next Luka Modrić’ tag as talented No.8/10 from Croatia is what you make it. Nikola Vlašić and Kovačić in the past. So will Martin Baturina and Luka Sučić will find out.
For Majer, it was about his own path, and that is admirable.
“Just a normal guy enjoying football and is respected on every side of Croatia, which is something rarely seen.”