Luka Modric is the footballer's footballer who makes Real Madrid tick... Liverpool never had a chance of smothering his silk and steel Get the 20 Premier League managers together and tell them they can have one Real Madrid player for next season. It’s a secret ballot so there’s no pressure to go with sentimental choices (Bale to Spurs, Ronaldo to United). Who would be the most selected player? Here’s a hunch – it would be Luka Modric. When he’s fit Bale is one of the best five players in the world. Ronaldo, at 33, is scoring 50 goals a season. Sergio Ramos is a brilliant leader and defender - but Modric is the footballer’s footballer. Flawless, consistent, unassuming and complete. His statistics from the Champions League final were 94 per cent pass accuracy and 100 per cent tackles won, but he’s a player who can’t be done justice by numbers. Watch him play. How often is it Modric breaking up the opposition’s possession? How often is Modric the connecting pass between defence and attack? Paul Pogba put him in the same company as Andres Iniesta, David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne when asked by Canal Plus recently which central midfieders were better than him. Modric has the silk of those three but he also has the steel; there was never any chance Liverpool were going to smoother Real Madrid the way they had De Bruyne and Silva's City in the earlier rounds. That combination of touch and toughness was in evidence at the Real Madrid open day last week when the club opened up training ahead of the Champions League final. It was a rare opportunity to watch Modric at work and the first thing that jumps out are the Roberto Carlos size calves. Little wonder it's rare to ever see him knocked over in battle. The second most striking thing is the technique. As Zinedine Zidane pinged crosses in from the left wing, players were running on to them and volleying them at Kiko Casilla. The training drill produced some spectacular goals but the pick of the bunch was from Modric – taking flight with perfect timing, kicking his left foot forward, and then with his right rocketing a volley in off the underside of the bar. Modric has the talent to not just wear the No 10 on his back, but to play that position. At Real Madrid there is rarely room for a classic No 10 in the team. Zidane favours 4-4-2 or 4-3-3, and Carlo Ancelotti before him had the same preferences. Modric has adapted. In 2014 he played on the right of a middle three that included Xabi Alonso and Angel Di Maria. In 2016 he was joined by Casemiro and Toni Kroos. Last season Isco joined them to make a midfield diamond, but again Modric offered the perpetual motion up and down the right and gave Isco the glory at the tip of the diamond. This year he was there again, protecting his right back and linking with Isco ahead of him. On Sunday he emerged from the Bernabeu at around midday as the players boarded the bus to begin the marathon round of civic receptions and public European Cup presentations. The tie was loose around the neck, the sunglasses were on, and that slightly disheveled look that he always has had only been exaggerated the by Kiev all-nighter he and his team-mates had been on. He still stopped for the club television reporter, taking off his glasses and doing his best to deal with the daylight and same questions he had been asked since the final whistle had sounded at the Olimpiyskiy Stadium the night before. Why does the team keep on winning this tournament, was the line of questioning. ‘We have quality but we also have desire, hunger and character,’ to keep coming out on top,’ came back the reply. It’s true for Madrid, but even more so for the man who makes them tick. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...ler-makes-Real-Madrid-tick.html#ixzz5Guu3HMXt
You'd get >80% of Croatian football fans triggered with saying he's wonderful person. But I don't care what they think, he's the most important midfield player Real Madrid ever had and I appreciate every minute of playing time he gives us. I truly hope he'll last few more seasons before completely passing the torch to Mateo.
Can you please share why he's so "hated" in Croatia? Is it the Mamič/false testimony thing ? I am from Slovenia and people here (at least in my circle) absolutely adore him. All my friends have multiple jerseys with his name on. You know, ex Yu and stuff .
Yeah, his "I cannot remember" testimony and Lovren's cheat sheet made them hated in the Croatia. They weren't exactly loved before for staying silent in NT (despite being really influential) while fans of all clubs were trying to change Croatian Football Federation leadership, but those testimonies made them hated. That is all I know. I've stopped following Croatian football a long time ago - both because of the low quality and because of corruption - and this is what I got to know from Croatian press, boards and even comments under articles about Real Madrid (there is no "fight" like in cases of other playeres, there is mostly hate). Personally, I don't care about either Croatian club football, Croatian national team and even less about Croatian football fans; so I just enjoy Luka's magic in Real Madrid.
Yes truly a good person to bad so many people in Croatia hate him these days. Brainwashed idiots who believe everything they read in the papers. As much Luka loves Croatia I believe this is his last tournament for the national team.
I don't know about 80 percent but 50 percent for sure. Suker for example is ten times worse human being then Luka. I can go on and on about all the bad stories I know about Suker. It's really sad that national team was once so loved in Croatia now half the population either don't care or hate the national team.
Igual que Aytekin al PSG, Modric manda a Messi.... AL CARRERRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/nIhXB0FN8X— Alfredo Duro (@alfredoduro1) June 21, 2018
Interesting its hard to argue with zidane and hes probably my favourite midfielder to watch but if im honest he was really inconsistent and went missing for larges chucks of a season. I think modric was more consistently good.
Only as a player? It's debatable. As a player, for Real Madrid, i rate Modric higher. Player for both the club and national, Zidane. If we consider the coaching stint, again Zidane.
As a player for the club, Modric comes for me in the first place. Zidane of course was a magnificent player, but Redondo comes second best for me. Players like Modric and Redondo are heavily underrated.
Zidane was out of this world, an alien. He made football look so easy, hypnotized you with his play. A poet of a midfielder. In terms of titles, Modric is above him with the CL triumphs. But Zidane in a Madrid shirt created emotions that Modric for all his brilliance can't replicate. That goal against Leverkusen puts him in the Madrid GOAT midfielder spot and like Michael Jordan, there is nothing anyone can do to surpass him.