Luka Modric: New Tottenham signing is a Johan Cruyff in disguise

Ozren Podnar reports...

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Arsenal's boss Arsene Wenger said on the eve of Euro 2008 that Croatia's Luka Modric would be one of the guys he'd watch with special interest. He should have been pleased with the new Spurs reinforcement's performance...or displeased, as Arsenal's coach, that is.

But, soon after the European Championship was over, the experienced and usually perspicacious Frenchmen dismissed Modric's chances of making an impact in the Premier League.

According to a Times Online reporter, Wenger considers the Croat physically too fragile for the opponents he is about to face in England. He referred to Modric's legs as spindly and his frame as twig-like, likely to be snapped in half by a defender twice his size.

Certainly, the memory of Eduardo da Silva's unfortunate encounter with Birmingham's Martin Taylor must be fresh in Wenger's mind and Modric is even smaller and thinner than Eduardo (who is, by the way, recovering remarkably from the fractured ankle and may yet face England in World Cup qualification on September 10th in Zagreb).

What Wenger might not be aware of is that Modric spent almost one whole season in the Bosnian First Division, aged just 18. The defenders in Bosnia are just as tough as in England, plus they are able to go at their victims with impunity, at least on their home grounds. In Bosnia, the referees dread admonishing, let alone sending off home players due to a total lack of security for their persons. That is one of the reasons the Bosnian teams have the best home-record in Europe, and the away record to match.

Hardened in Bosnian League

Well, Modric was loaned by Dinamo to Zrinjski of Mostar during the 2003/04 season and ended up being voted the best player in the League!

"It was a good thing to spend time in Bosnia, because there I toughened up," claimed Modric on several occasions since becoming a star in Croatia.

"When you get accustomed to the kind of defenders that exist there, then you can call yourself a real player."

The diminutive Croatian also has an innate skill, as testified by one of his early admirers.

"Luka has a so-called peripheral sight and a phenomenal feeling for contact with an opponent. It is amazing how he avoids contacts. People would like to chop him down, but they don't manage to. He always moves away, he has eyes in his back," said Josip Bajlo, a manager at NK Zadar, where Modric made his debut.

After the Bosnian experience, toughened physically and mentally, Zadar-born Modric returned to Dinamo, who loaned him again, this time to neighbouring Inter from the Zagreb suburb of Zapresic. With Modric and Manchester City's Vedran Corluka, Inter became a surprise package of the League, topping the table at the winter break. At the end of 2004 Luca was voted the "greatest hope of Croatian soccer" and the fourth best overall player in the League.

However, dismal Dinamo's results meant they had to return to Maksimir Stadium three months before the season was over. Ironically, they failed to help Dinamo avoid their worst standings in the independent Croatia, while Inter lost the title race to Hajduk Split by two points.

Still, Modric convinced Dinamo's management and stayed on for the 2005/06 season, becoming an immediate hit with the fans. Entrusted with the number ten shirt, he conducted the play as an experienced midfield maestro, setting up numerous plays for the lethal upfront duo of Eduardo da Silva and Ivan Bosnjak. He also scored two great goals against archrivals Hajduk and one against the immediate pursuers Rijeka, helping the Zagreb Lions win the title with eleven points' margin.

Modric even earned himself a debut in the senior national team, getting to play in an emotional 3-2 win for Croatia over Argentina in Basle. Next two seasons were even better for both the player and the club as Dinamo won two consecutive doubles with enormous margins over their rivals. Promoted to captain on his 21st birthday, Luka turned into an all-round player, showing amazing skills coupled with range and stamina. By the start of 2008, he stringed together a couple of dozen extraordinary performances, attracting interest from several big clubs including Chelsea and Barcelona, whose fan he declared himself last winter when the Catalans discovered his uncanny resemblance with their former superstar Johan Cruyff. Not just a physical resemblance, to be sure.

Juande Ramos pointed the finger

The quality of his play dropped just slightly when in January Dinamo announced they would not be selling him until next Christmas. A bit disappointed, he accepted the decision, but secretly hoped the club would offload him before Euro 2008. And they did soon after clinching a third consecutive Croatian title.

His transfer to Tottenham for a reported fee of 21 million euros was made public on April 26th, a day after Modric signed a four year contract.

Former Sevilla coach Juande Ramos insisted on his signing, seemingly after being convinced by Modric's displays in the two qualifiers against England (2-0 in Zagreb and 3-2 in London).

"With Modric we hope to be able to threaten the status of untouchables that Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool have. It is evident that he is an extraordinary player who will raise the whole team's level of play when he adapts to his new surroundings," said Ramos, who had led Sevilla to five trophies in less than three seasons.

With his future finally settled, Modric performed superbly at Euros, scoring the winning goal from the spot against Austria and making the late leading goal for Ivan Klasnic in the quarterfinals against Turkey. However, after Turkey's shocking equalizer in the injury time of extra time, all the Croatian players were so stunned that three of them missed their shots, including Modric.

In view of the dramatic development of that game, none in Croatia really blamed Modric for that miss. Everybody knows that the fledgling leader of the national team deserves to be pampered from time to time.

Fact file

Modric plays either as the central midfielder or the attacking midfielder, "in the hole" behind the strikers. He is also useful wide on the left, although it is a shame not to have such a creative player involved in play at all times.
Name: Luka Modric
Birthdate: 9th September 1985
Birthplace: Zadar (Croatia)
Height/weight: 173 cm, 66 kg
Position: attacking/central midfielder
Club: Tottenham Hotspur
Club career (league games only)
2003/04 Zrinjski Mostar 22 8
2004/05 Inter Zapresic 18 4
1'2005 Dinamo Zagreb 6 0
2005/06 Dinamo Zagreb 32 8
2006/07 Dinamo Zagreb 30 6
2007/08 Dinamo Zagreb 25 13
2008/09 Tottenham Hotspurs
International career
2006-08 Croatia 29 4
Achievements
3 Croatian League titles (2006, 2007 and 2008)
2 Croatian FA Cups (2007 and 2008)
1 Croatian Supercup (2006)
World Cup 2006 1st round
Euro 2008 quarterfinals