MODRIC IS THE MAN
When Croatian defender Dejan Lovren on Wednesday said Luka Modric is the best midfielder in the World Cup here, he only stated the obvious. Lovren also offered something original by saying that the midfield maestro should be given the Ballon d’Or if Croatia won the tournament on Sunday.
Even if the Balkan country lose to France in the final, Modric’s importance to his team in particular and football in general will remain undiminished. Creative midfielders are the heartbeat of successful teams at the World Cup and it is high time one from the tribe got the Ballon d’Or.
It is a pity Andrea Pirlo, Xavi and Andres Iniesta never got one, though each of them has won the greatest prize for a team. And, it was Iniesta who clinched the World Cup for Spain with a last- gasp winner in the final. There was nothing more beautiful in football than the intricate moves orchestrated by Xavi and Iniesta when they were in their pomp. Zinedine Zidane used to be the oneman ballet troupe before the Spanish duo. As a free scoring midfielder, the French genius got individual honours he richly deserved. But creative players with fewer goals always get short shrift from the Ballon d’Or.
When Croatia thrashed Argentina 3- 0 in the group stage, the difference between the two teams was one man: Modric. In addition to being the midfield boss, he also scored an exquisite goal to rattle Argentina. Not having a midfielder who is at least half as good as the Croatian with wispy hair derailed Argentina’s campaign in Russia. At 32, Modric is no spring chicken but Croatia’s trust in him to pull strings from midfield shows no sign of eroding.
A multiple Champions League winner with Real Madrid, Modric has been an unsung hero in club football as he had to play second fiddle to Cristiano Ronaldo, a larger- than- life figure. The Croatian is unfortunate that he is a contemporary of the transcendental duo of Ronaldo and Lionel Messi but his coruscating brilliance definitely deserves the highest individual honour.
If Modric inspires Croatia to an unlikely victory over France on Sunday, the football journalists who select the Ballon d’Or winner can crown him on the Luzhniki pitch because most of them are here. Fifa might select Modric for the Golden Ball awarded to the best player of the World Cup only if Croatia lose.
The football governing body embarrassed Messi by picking the Argentine for the award after his dire performance in the 2014 final. Maybe Fifa thinks it is a consolation prize.
Modric wasn’t his usual self against England in the first half of the semi- final. As a result, his team were anonymous, too. He got his mojo back in the second half to propel Croatia to a famous win. Modric was surely not as brilliant as he had been against Argentina but he frustrated England by controlling the proceedings in midfield. Even a 50 per cent Modric was too hot to handle for the English.
Modric carries the hopes of a small nation in the World Cup final as one of the biggest stars of the tournament in Russia.