August 29, 2009 — Tottenham vs Birmingham City.
Luka fractured his right fibula after a collision with an opponent while challenging for the ball, just as the World Cup qualifiers were approaching.
To encourage him, Mandžo, who was still playing for Dinamo Zagreb at the time, dedicated one of his goals to Luka.
It happened in the final match of the sixth league round, when Dinamo beat Slaven Belupo 6–0. After scoring, Mandžo lifted his shirt to reveal a message written on his undershirt:
“Luka, nema predaje!”
(“Luka, don’t give up!”)
Luka was a technically gifted midfielder who was good at using changes of pace to shake off defenders, and he wasn’t particularly injury-prone. So this injury really frightened everyone. There was a lot of concern for both Luka and Croatia’s chances of qualifying.
And Charlie straight-up declared: “We’ll fight for him! We have to make sure Luka gets to play at the World Cup!”
(only to get booked and suspended in the very next match, followed by an absolute flood of tears over feeling like he’d let down his teammates, his country, and the fans😭💦💦)