We are about to get into the nitty gritty of the World Cup, with the knockout stages starting today.

For me, the player of the tournament so far has been Croatian midfielder Luka Modric.

In fairness, the whole Croatian midfield has been superb. Mateo Kovacic and Marcelo Brozovic have been used by Zlatko Dalic. They’ve both provided assists and look extremely comfortable on the ball.

Ivan Rakitic sits in beside Modric and he too has performed superbly well at this tournament in Russia. The duo overran the Argentine midfield and were instrumental in Croatia’s 3-0 win over Lionel Messi and Co.

Yet my eye always goes drawn back to Modric.

He’s a wonderfully creative talent.

The thirty-two year old is so elegant on the ball and sprays the ball about with such grace. The midfielder is fully composed and never seems phased, even when he’s got someone behind him determined to kick his ankles. He’s got a passing success rate of over 87% in Russia.

Luka’s goal against Argentina was absolutely superb.

He took the ball with a great first touch (of course he did), shaped to take a shot with his right foot, before stepping over the ball and then shifting it back to his right. The move bamboozled his opponent enough to give Modric enough time to touch the ball to right before striking it sweetly from outside the area. It was like an arrow or a guided missile as it flew past Willy Caballero. It swerved back from the outside and smashed into the back of the net. It was sublime!

His opening goal of the competition was a nicely composed penalty kick against Nigeria.

The difference between the two strikes sums Modric up as a footballer.

He’s modest and relaxed, seems to do things effortlessly and then he also has this majestic side that gives his team an upper-hand when it matters the most!

Luka Modric doesn’t always get the plaudits that a Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo or a Neymar might receive but the Croat doesn’t need them. He gives his all for his teammates and his nation.

The great thing is that those that play and watch Modric in a regular basis understand that they’re watching a footballing genius.

Croatian legend Robert Prosinecki stated that the Real man is the best Croat footballer ever:

“There is no way of looking at this in which [Modric] doesn’t deserve the title as the best [Croatian] in history,”

“He has three Champions League titles and in all three of them he was one of Real Madrid’s most important players.”

Rakitic was quick to agree:

“Not only that Luka is the best player, but he is a great person, a leader and we are following him.”

Let’s hope that there’s even more to come from the Croatian magician and that he end’s the tournament as one the stars!

Posted on June 30th, 2018 by scott
Filed under: Article, World Cup