REAL MADRID STAR HELPS DRAG CROATIA INTO SEMIS
have all the requisites for that. We have a great team and a great coach.”
Modric, a former Tottenham Hotspur player, will know all about the challenges that England bring, especially from set-pieces.
“We’ve played two times 120 minutes in six days and, of course, this will leave a mark on you,” he said. “We expect a very difficult, tight and demanding match against England. Every match at this World Cup is such.
“We watched their win over Sweden and we saw how good they are from dead balls. We’ll have to focus more on defending from set pieces. We’ll have to improve that element of our game.”
The 32-year-old Modric was born in Zadar, the oldest continuously inhabited Croatian city and situated on the Adriatic Sea. His potential was spotted as a 16-year-old by Dinamo Zagreb, where he made his debut in 2003.
After five seasons he was signed by Tottenham, equalling the then club record fee of £16.5-million. Spurs coach Juande Ramos had a poor stay in the dug-out at White Hart Lane, but Modric was the one gift he left behind for the club.
After a slow start in North London, not helped by a knee injury, he began to shine after the appointment of manager Harry Redknapp.
"He's a hell of a player and a manager's dream,” Redknapp said at the time. “He trains like a demon and never complains, will work with and without the ball on the field and can beat a defender with a trick or with a pass.”
After four seasons with Spurs, they reluctantly sold Modric to Real Madrid for £30 million in 2012, in hindsight a steal of a deal given the prices in today’s market.
He has been a regular ever since at Real, appearing 257 times for the club in all competitions.
His goals tally may be low at just 13, but he has provided many assists for the likes of Ronaldo and Karim Benzema and has four UEFA Champions League winners’ medals with the side.
The World Cup quarter-final win over Russia on Saturday was his 111th national team cap with 14 goals for his country.