Modric’s final fling for glory
● Croatia head into their World Cup last-16 match against Denmark spearheaded by evergreen midfielder Luka Modric, a player his teammate Ivan Rakitic has compared to Spain’s Andres Iniesta.
Four years with Iniesta at Barcelona and 11 alongside Modric for Croatia leaves Rakitic in a privileged position to judge two of the finest playmakers of the modern era.
“It seems like both of them are from different planets and they came to play football with us mortals,” Rakitic said.
Iniesta is regularly classed among the greats of the game and as a defining influence on Spain’s success, but Modric’s talents remain relatively unsung. Perhaps, in part, it is because Iniesta’s brilliance has been backed up by achievements on the world stage — he scored the winning goal in the 2010 World Cup final — while Modric has not hit the same heights with Croatia.
Modric owns four Champions League titles from his six years at Real Madrid, and has also won a La Liga and the Copa del Rey. But since making his Croatian debut in March 2006, in a friendly against Argentina, he has twice tasted disappointment in the group stage of the World Cup, either side of a failure to qualify in 2010. At the European Championship, Croatia fell at the first hurdle after the group phase in 2008 and 2016 and did not make it out of their group in 2012.
However, the Danes are vowing to shake off their dull image and cause a surprise. At stake in the match at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, the same venue where the Croats thumped Argentina 3-0 in the group stage, is a quarterfinal against former world champions Spain or tournament hosts Russia.
“I was nine years old. I remember my mum screaming when we scored,” said defender Dejan Lovren, recalling Croatia’s 2-1 win over the Netherlands in 1998 that secured third. “We can beat that, definitely, but we need luck. We have a good opponent in the next round, it will be difficult.”
In addition to scoring a superb long-range strike against Argentina, Modric has been outstanding in Russia, as has fellow midfielder Rakitic. But the old guard has been complemented by a younger generation — such as Ante Rebic, Mateo Kovacic and Marcelo Brozovic — who all play in Europe’s top leagues.
The Danes, meanwhile, are happy to continue flying under the radar despite being on a 17-match unbeaten run. Having scored just two goals in exiting Group C as runners-up, the Danes expect to open up today.
They too are seeking to match their 1998 run when they reached the quarterfinals.
Denmark coach Age Hareide has promised a more entertaining, attacking style against Croatia after their fans jeered in a bore draw against France. — Reuters