REAL MADRID
Real Madrid’s Luka Modric showed he can still reach the top level against Rayo Vallecano
The Croatian has seen his minutes drastically reduced this season, although he performed well against Rayo, receiving compliments from Ancelotti.
Luka Modric doesn’t give up; he never has. And now, in the most atypical and complicated season of his career, he is showing no signs of doing so. He has not started many games this season, but when he does, Luka keeps reminding us of his talent. He did so as Real Madrid drew 1-1 with Rayo: while it wasn’t his best match, of all the players on the pitch, he was “the most lucid with the ball”.
They are Ancelotti’s words, who did not hold back on the praise for the Croatian: “He played very well, he tried in every way. He tried to find passes, his position on the field was good”. The numbers back this up: he was the player who created the most chances (three), attempted the most crosses (nine), completed the most dribbles (three, level with Vinicius and Brahim) and the second most successful passes in the final third of the field (14, to Valverde’s 21). He does not give up.
Modric doesn’t want to play ‘based on past merit’
Rayo woke up after the penalty given away by Camavinga. Raúl de Tomás drew level and put his side into a game that saw them struggle. Los Blancos became disconnected in the final period of the first half, and Modric also suffered from the general performance of the team. But it was in the second half when he brought out his talent to flip the form of his team; he took on the responsibility and became the main outlet of dynamism in the middle third.
Hence the numbers: he played cross after cross, both from set pieces and in open play; he made dribbles to break lines; he filtered passes through the defence. Only Nacho (87) and Valverde (74) beat Luka’s 72 touches. Vallecas brought LaLiga back to life and Modric, although he did not have the same success as on other occasions (none of his crosses were decisive), was also looking to be his own defibrillator.
Modric doesn’t want things gifted to him. “My only condition for staying was to be treated as a competitive player, as I have been so far, and not to be kept in the squad based on past merit.” He made these comments back in September in a national team break, turning Croatia into his loudspeaker. “After everything in my career, in which I’m not sure I’ve ever been on the bench for three games in a row, that’s a particularly strange feeling for me.”
Modric is 15th in terms of minutes this season
What was once an anomaly has become an everyday occurrence. Between the derby against Atleti, the match against Girona and the visit to Leipzig, he played 36 minutes. Featuring for 87 minutes - like against Rayo - has not been the norm this season. The injuries of Tchouaméni and Camavinga at the end of 2023 gave him opportunities, but he is down as the 15th most used player in the squad (1,461 minutes played, 1 goal and 6 assists) - only Alaba (injured in December), Fran García, Brahim, Lucas Vázquez, Ceballos and Arda Güler, as well as Militão and Courtois, are below him.
“I am aware that we have a lot of competition in midfield, that these young players are top players,” he said at the time. He was right. He is 38-years-old and will become 39 on September 9: compare that to Valverde (25), Tchouameni (24), Camavinga (20), Bellingham (20) and it becomes clear to see why Ancelotti talks about “energy” so much.
Modric once again enters the final stretch of his contract, but it seems as though the decision will be his and not Madrid’s, but Modric wants to play. He proved it at Vallecas, who saw him leave the field to a standing ovation. Whether it is the last one or not depends on Luka and the opportunities that Ancelotti gives him in the final run towards the end of the campaign.