Modric is now the main man
London
Manchester City travel to Hoffenheim tonight desperately needing a win to kickstart a Champions League campaign that began with a shock 2-1 defeat to Lyon for the competition favourites.
There should therefore be no shortage of motivation for Pep Guardiola’s men, but one member of the City squad will be especially keen to make a big impression back on German soil.
Leroy Sane was one of the stars of City’s romp to a record 100 Premier League points and the League Cup last season. The 22-year-old was crowned Young Player-of-the-Year in England after his 14 goals and 19 assists in all competitions.
However, that still wasn’t enough to earn him a place in Germany’s World Cup squad as Sane was surprisingly cut from Joachim Loew’s 23.
Sane may have had the last laugh as the defending champions crashed out in the group stages – the first time in 80 years Germany had fallen at the first hurdle.
The pace, direct running and eye for a quick shot at goal possessed by the former Schalke winger were all traits missing from a laboured and predictable Germany in Russia.
Yet, there was no time for Sane to feel vindicated as on his return to club duty he was similarly shunned by Guardiola, sparking doubts over his attitude.
“Sometimes you have the feeling with Leroy’s body language that it is all the same whether we win or lose. He has to improve his body language,” said Germany’s vice-captain Toni Kroos even as Sane was recalled to Loew’s squad for last month’s Nations League opener against world champions France.
“He was fantastic for City last year but Pep has the same problem at the moment – he’s trying to get the best out of him.”
If Guardiola was looking for a reaction, he has got what he desired.
After being dropped for City’s first four Premier League games of the season, Sane scored just two minutes into his return against Fulham and has created a goal in all three of his appearances since.
That included Bernardo Silva’s consolation against Lyon as Sane came off the bench to transform a pedestrian first-half performance that put City under pressure.
“Leroy has played really well the last few games,” said Guardiola after Saturday’s 2-0 win over Brighton in which Sane created Raheem Sterling’s opening goal.
“Our profession is so demanding, we have to do our best every single day. I want all of my players to be focused.”
Guardiola is notoriously demanding of his players’ professionalism. But having racked up titles in charge of Barcelona, Bayern Munich and now City, the Catalan coach knows which players are worth persisting with.
“We never – even in this period when he didn’t play – doubted Leroy’s quality,” added Guardiola after Sane’s instant impact against Fulham.
With his club manager’s faith restored, Sane heads back to Germany with a perfect chance to show his compatriots, least of all Loew, what they were missing in a rare summer of sorrow at international level. –
Tonight: Group E: AEK Athens (Gre) v Benfica (Por); Bayern Munich (Ger) v Ajax (Ned). Group F: Hoffenheim (Ger) v Manchester City (Eng); Lyon (Fra) v Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukr). Group G: Roma (Ita) v Viktoria Plzen (Cze); CSKA Moscow (Rus) v Real Madrid (Esp). Group H: Juventus (Ita) v Young Boys (Sui); Manchester United (Eng) v Valencia (Esp).
Tomorrow: Group A: Borussia Dortmund (Ger) v Monaco (FRA); Atletico Madrid (Esp) v Club Brugge (Bel). Group B: PSV Eindhoven (Ned) v Inter (Ita); Tottenham Hotspur (Eng) v Barcelona (Esp). Group C: Napoli (Ita) v Liverpool (Eng); Paris Saint-Germain (Fra) v Red Star Belgrade (Srb). Group D: Lokomotiv Moscow (Rus) v Schalke (Ger); FC Porto (Por) v Galatasaray (Tur)
– Luka Modric (above) returns to the Luzhniki Stadium tonight, the scene of Croatia’s World Cup final defeat to France, not only as Fifa’s best men’s player but the star of Real Madrid too.
For the first time in his six seasons at Madrid, Modric will line up for a Champions League tie without Cristiano Ronaldo, who was sold, or Gareth Bale, who is injured.
There will be no Kaka, Angel di Maria or James Rodriguez either, all of whom Modric has rubbed shoulders with. At 33, he has outlasted them all.
Together, that quintet cost Madrid almost €400 million, and each considerably more than Modric, whose fee of £33 million from Tottenham in 2012 would not even have got Richarlison out of Watford last summer.
But in this current squad, Modric stands out. In part, because of his brilliance, which has never been in doubt, but also because of Real Madrid too. The Galacticos are, just about, all gone.
Bale is the last, and he would have been playing against CSKA Moscow, had it not been for a thigh injury picked up on Saturday.
After him, Madrid’s most expensive starters are likely to be Karim Benzema and Toni Kroos – both signed for around €30m.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in Europe, Barcelona will be fielding Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele against Tottenham. Manchester United will have Paul Pogba, and Paris Saint-Germain superstars Neymar and Kylian Mbappe. All of them surpassed the €100m mark.
Alvaro Odriozola, the 22-yearold rightback, could make his Champions League debut tonight in the absence of Marcelo and Sergio Ramos. He was signed from Real Sociedad for €35m in the summer.
Dani Ceballos, bought as a 20-year-old for €17m from Real Betis, came on for Bale against city rivals Atletico Madrid last weekend.
And Marco Asensio, perhaps the policy’s poster boy, was brought in for a just under four million euros as an 18-year-old from Real Mallorca.
All three of them Spanish, not signed for the present, but the future. –
Madrid We are searching for young players that will become the next great players.