Luka ModricExiting the World Cup stage, and possibly international football, ultimately proves that he has not reached his ideal form, nor has he reached the perfect 10 points, a number that he has painstakingly created over the years. The ending, however, is dramatic—and brutal. When Croatia deemed Josco Guardiol’s late equalizer against Portugal enough to defy the inevitable, VAR turned it into a sensation with its usual plot twist. Modric looked calm in the chaos around him, his face showing a clear resignation to his fate, and he was slowly enveloped in a warm embrace. cristiano ronaldo. It’s a cathartic moment. Among the two middle-aged men, Ronaldo Now deeper into the competition, Modric’s fifth bid for the top prize will remain elusive. “I have played with Luka for many years. We are almost the same age. He is a football legend; he remains a football legend because he has always played so well and has such great qualities. It is unbelievable,” Ronaldo later let the world know how he felt. The 40-year-old Croatian, often hailed as the greatest player to come out of the proud little central European country, capped off his World Cup career with a silver and bronze medal as well as Ballon d’Or and Bronze Ball trophies. An athlete’s eternal desire to complete an endeavor is often accompanied by its presumed value and reassuring imperative, but judging Modric through this lens is anything but a traditional valediction. Because pity was never necessary to generate passion in his game, because his football was always imbued with a life-affirming essence. That’s what makes him unique, perhaps providing a more human concept of a sports hero. If Davor Suker, the remarkable goalscoring machine who helped newly independent Croatia to a third-place finish at the 1998 World Cup, represented a symbol of hope and happiness, then Modric continued that tradition, becoming the bridge between the country’s stunning arrival and its new identity as a 21st-century football powerhouse. Modric himself is a child of Croatia’s independence struggle, his early years making him a refugee who moved from one place to another in order to survive. Fortunately, instead of taking up arms, he found peace in the chaos of football. His football has since been about restoring order to chaos, which has helped him rise above mediocrity. In his delightfully captivating presence, in those gorgeous outside-the-boot flicks or crosses, the beauty is like an object beyond elegance, like Roger Federer’s backhand – evoking the mystery of how to turn defense into offense, and turn offense into winning shots before your opponent can get a hold of them. Like all No. 10 players, he is a classic dreamer on the ball. Tottenham gave him the platform to announce his arrival, while it was at Real Madrid that he truly found the theatrical stage to realize his dream, combining his approach with a determined rhetorical fantasy. It’s never a stereotype, but a symphony of pure joy. His rise to prominence at the heart of the Spanish club coincides with Croatia’s most successful period in international football, finishing second at the 2018 World Cup and third in Qatar four years later. In his final dance on the world stage, he may fall down like an aging king, but until then, the audience is in for a thrill. Football will feel a bit empty right now, but Modric’s legacy will be lasting.
