Date of birth: 1 May 1982 (age 30)
Place of birth: Metkovic, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia
Playing position: Right wingback/Right winger
Current club: FC Shakhtar Donetsk
Luka Modric may be the creative genius of the Croatian side but it is captain Darijo Srna who provides the emotional drive that is one of the great strengths of the team.
The 30-year-old freescoring fullback -- who has found the net 19 times in 90 matches since his international debut in 2002 -- has assumed the mantle of Zvonimir Boban in being the inspirational leader of the team.
But whereas Boban's status with Croat nationalists arose from his iconic kicking of a Yugoslav policeman who was beating a Dinamo Zagreb fan during a riot at the league match with Red Star Belgrade in 1990, Srna's comes from a tough personal life.
Srna, who will feel like he is playing at his second home after moving to Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk 2003, is of Bosnian extraction but never met his father's parents as both were killed in World War II.
In a gruesome precursor of what was to come half a century later between Serbs, Croats and Bosnian Muslims, his pregnant grandmother was burned to death by Serbian nationalist paramilitaries while his father was taken to safety by his grandfather.
However, the grandfather was to meet his end in a shootout towards the end of the war when he caught in crossfire while working as a waiter at a bar.
Srna's twice-married father Uzeir had a bohemian-like life, training as a baker before trying his hand at engineering and then joining the Yugoslav Army.
But he said life became difficult for the family when hostilities broke out in the Balkans in 1990.
Darijo, born to a Croat mother and Bosnian Muslim father in Metkovic near Dubrovnik, had been offered a contract with Hajduk Split but it was a big risk, given the family's ethnicity and religion.
"It was a difficult time," Uzeir said in a 2008 interview with Britain's Guardian newspaper.
"And your name was so important. But the worst thing was that the coaches came and openly demanded money for Darijo to stay there. Luckily he was so talented that when the youth coaches saw him, they decided he had to stay."
He stayed for four years, winning two Croatian Cups before Shakhtar came calling, and despite offers from more mainstream European clubs, he opted for Donetsk.
He has not lived to regret the decision, collecting many medals along the way, including six league crowns. Srna also captained them to an historic UEFA Cup trophy -- the last before it became the Europa League -- in 2009.
Despite his successful career, Srna has never forgotten the sacrifices his parents made for him nor those less fortunate than himself, in particular his brother Igor, who has Down's Syndrome.
Srna, who is married with a two year old daughter, has a tattoo across his heart reading "Igor". He dedicates all his goals to him and has been known to buy hundreds of tickets for orphans to attend Shakhtar games.
The player, who has another personal tattoo of a deer ("srna" in Croat) on his calf, has risen to the top against the odds but for him it is not his own skill which has made that possible.
"My father and my family mean everything to me," he told the Guardian. "I can't forget how they suffered while they were trying to find money for me during my days at Hajduk.
"I can't forget that. My father had a really, really difficult life and I am very proud he can live peacefully now, without stress.
"I know it's impossible to repay him for everything he has done for me. But, I have bought him a car and given him enough money to live normally now, while he is old. It's the least I can do."
Darijo Srna
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