After croatia and Scotland, Luka Modric once again became the darling of the media and fans. This time Modric became the focal point of the spotlight because he gave a decisive pass and shot in the game. Outside foot instep, long-range shots, corner assists, Modric's performance in this game gathered the most gimmicky and iconic elements of his career, for a player like Modric, who is not flaunted in both personality and style, most of his energy in the game is used in midfield to receive, control, get rid of and split the ball, as well as in constant dealing with opponents, and only rush to the front line when necessary in the game. A Ballon d'Or winner who is about to turn 36, lead the national team to make history, and is full of club honors, but still strives to do every detail in every game, remain humble, low-key and pragmatic, I have to say that Modric is one of the most respected players of our time.
In 2018, the 33-year-old Modric led the Croatian national team to the final of the World Cup in Russia, and in that year's Golden Ball Awards, Modric was recognized by the judges, breaking messi and C Ronaldo's monopoly on the Ballon d'Or. Not Neymar, not Ibrahimovic, not Mbappe, and many people didn't expect that the person who broke the Merleas duo was not a real offensive player, but Modric did.
In the summer of 2012, Modric, who succeeded in the Premier League, landed at the Bernabeu for 35 million euros. Like Zidane, another midfielder before him, the Initial Years at Real Madrid were not all smooth sailing, and it wasn't until March 2013, when they scored a brilliant long-range shot in the champions League second leg against Manchester United, that Modric's Real Madrid career was on track. The 2013-2014 season also saw a decisive event in the Real Madrid career of the Magic Flute, real Madrid established the Magic Flute in the middle of the season to replace Xavi Alonso as the core of the midfield, Modric, who played more flexibly and handled the ball more skillfully, brought a new look to Real Madrid's attack, and the midfield of Magic Flute Alonso Di Maria brought Real Madrid the hard-won 10th Champions League trophy, and in the final, it was Modric's corner assist that helped Ramos make the famous" 9248 "Miracle.
Modric's contribution to Real Madrid's five-year four Champions League victories need not be repeated, he is the absolute main force of the Real Madrid midfield, but also a very important part of the Real Madrid tactical system, in the eyes of many professionals, the importance of the magic flute in the Real Madrid team at that time is no less important than the number one star C Ronaldo and captain Ramos, compared to Casemiro, who is known for defensive interception and Cross, who is more stable and successful in passing, is good at getting rid of the past and passing forward. And Modric, who loves to use the outer instep, seems to bring real creativity to the Real Madrid midfield.
However, the success of the magic flute is not limited to his own success, and may also represent a certain trend in the development of football skills and tactics in recent years. In fact, compared to the previous Golden Ball-winning midfielders, Zidane, Figo, Rivaldo, Nedved and others, Modric's biggest feature is perhaps that he is more behind, and he expends far more energy in seemingly inconspicuous "basic work" such as defense, reception, and running without the ball than several other Golden Ball midfielders. Even at Real Madrid, before Modric, Real Madrid's midfield center of gravity was more "forward-leaning": Zidane, the absolute core of the Galaxy One Real Madrid midfield, was a fictitious left forward, Guti, who then served as the core of the organization, loved to deliver adventurous straight balls forward, and Florentino's heavy-budgeted Kaka was an attacking striker who played somewhat similar to that of a striker. In the area between centre-backs and attacking midfielders, Real Madrid more define players in this position as auxiliary players who are close to "blue collar" – Makelele, ElGra, Conseca'o, Emerson, Mohamed Diarra, Las Diarra, who are responsible for passing the ball from the backfield to the big stars in the front, but only the forward players can bring real creativity to the team.
But starting from Modric, Real Madrid began to get used to changing the rhythm of the attack in a position closer to the center circle, Modric has a strong ability to get rid of the ball and make the penultimate pass after the front insertion, coupled with the "hugging" of Ramos, Casemiro, Marcelo and others, which makes Real Madrid's midfield greatly improved in terms of creativity and confrontation ability. Correspondingly, the birth of the "BBC" combination, Real Madrid in the offensive line can accommodate C Ronaldo and Bale, two wingers who are good at rapid impact and devote more energy to attacking the goal, Modric can directly deliver shells to the attackers in the area far from the front, and compared to Pirlo and Xavi, the Magic Flute has a heavier task in defense and local confrontation. J Ronaldo is also a good example, the Colombian is best at cruising to the front of the fatal pass or shot, his excellent foot technology and consciousness allowed him to play a single season of 17 goals and 15 assists in the 2014-15 season, but J Ronaldo's weakness is that the role of the role will quickly shrink in the area away from the goal, which makes his tactical adaptability greatly reduced, and ultimately can not achieve long-term success at Real Madrid like the magic flute. In today's popular 433 wave in football, the magic flute with both offense and defense is one of the most versatile and representative midfielders, he does not have outstanding physique and strength, and even does not like to deliver straight balls as often as many midfield organizers, but he is indeed one of the most valuable players on the pitch. By the time the 2018 World Cup magic flute led the Tartan Army to make history, Modric's ability was once again proven.
In fact, looking at the teams of this European Championship, midfielders in the "Magic Flute Area" event can be said to be indispensable: Italy's Barrera and Locatelli were highly acclaimed at this European Championship, Verratti became the mastermind of the Blues attack in the final battle of the group stage; France equipped Kante with two more aggressive partners Pogba and Rabiot, who are expected to make France's midfield stronger than at the World Cup in Russia three years ago Loew's German team sent Kroos and Gundogan, two players known for their passing organization, in the center-back position, intending to take the initiative in midfield through technical superiority, while Portugal's two defenders, Willem Carvalho and Danilo Pereira, were unable to form an effective support for the attack and were clearly at a disadvantage in the midfield match against Germany.
In a way, Modric's success also sets a good example for young juniors: even if you are not good at winning the applause of fans through dazzling dribbling breakthroughs, nor are you a good scorer who is good at making a fuss in the penalty area, in some seemingly unpretentious handling of the ball, you can also receive the highest praise in the football world. The Croatian midfielder, who continued to shine at the end of his career, is enough to be one of the most cherished football memories of our generation.
(Santiago-Wang)