That was a really, really short time.
Luka Modric
- Thread starter Eddy_JukeZ
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik and Imran discuss a horrific month of December and a depressing FOUR defeats in a row - the latest coming against Wolves and Newcastle.
They discuss how much blame is on Ruben Amorim and rank our squad against other Premier League teams.
Do we have any chance of avoiding defeat at Anfield?
I didnt say anything about Spurs
Ok, you will really need to help me with this one. In Bosnia with Zrinjski, on loan in Inter or when he finally got a chance and took midfield of Dinamo Zagreb?
At Dinamo he played as a ACM or a wide player
He did, that was 12 years ago. So what's the point exactly?
The point being what I said. He was a wide player when ge first came on the scene. Reading is advised on a forum, no point arguing with people when you dont even know what they were saying in the first place
Thats obvious, he was a wide player back then. But I'm not sure where are you going with it. No need to be smug.
By the time he went to Dinamo, he was by far the biggest Croatian talent in the last 10 or more years. He was already the best player in the league the year before and he never once played on the wing or as wide player during that time.
For Zrinjski he played CM, for Inter AM. The only reason why he played for a brief period of time (part of his first season) as a wide player for Dinamo is that there was a bigger name at AM in his first year there (Silvio Maric), so he was shunted from his preferred position.
All his biggest games in Europe came when he played centrally and after the first year, he never went back to that position. So, he came to the scene, domestically, as a midfielder, and in the same position, he made his name known to European clubs.
My initial reaction was to the post who claimed like his failings on the wing show some kind of shortcomings compared to Iniesta (I'm not even going into the whole debate who is better, just that initial claim). Even if we say that is partly true looking at his time at Spurs, it is almost like pointing at Scholes and not so great games he had as a winger for England. Modric isn't a wide player.
Someone said he wasnt. Thats where I was going with it. Thats was all
Not true but ok
Which part and we will finish there.
He's better than Xavi imo
The part where he didnt play outwide of course
And to think he didn't play in Real vs Juve 2nd leg in 2015. Could have helped Real to reach another CL final. Would be 5 finals in a row. 
Only, of course, I just said that he did, why and for how long.
Everything fine, we beat this one to death I think.
Yeh I think so too. Modric is more mobile, has better shot, and with similar passing vision.
So you're emphasizing his first season at Spurs when he played on the wing but conveniently forgetting that next 3 seasons he played in double pivot next to Palacios and later Parker without DM behind them.
At Real Madrid he played in double pivot under Mourinho. Under Ancelotti he played RCM in 3 man midfield, double pivot when they were playing 4-4-2 and CDM at times. Under Zidane he played RCM only.
That's what I call productive. Total midfielder.
So you're emphasizing his first season at Spurs when he played on the wing but conveniently forgetting that next 3 seasons he played in double pivot next to Palacios and later Parker without DM behind them.
At Real Madrid he played in double pivot under Mourinho. Under Ancelotti he played RCM in 3 man midfield, double pivot when they were playing 4-4-2 and CDM at times. Under Zidane he played RCM only.
That's what I call productive. Total midfielder.
I'm talking about what hes currently doing. I talked about him playing next to Alonso and taking over, before being moved into a 3 man midfield with Casemiro in there to be more solid, just as Busquets is there for Barcelona.
Ok I'll quote 'Iniesta took some time to finally produce in the final third, but managed several seasons where he assisted and scored over 10 goals. His most productive being 19 combined.
Modric has never been over 8. He's usually come up with 6.'
Maybe you are bad at writing, when you say he managed to assist and score over 10 goals several seasons, you are saying he managed to get at least 10 goals and 10 assists in several seasons. Yet he hasn't scored 10 goals in a season not even once.
If what you meant is that he got over 10 goals/assists combined in a season, that is hardly a great achievement for a player who plays in Barcelona in an offensive role.
Modic in Madrid plays a lot deeper as an organizer, and still has managed tomdo that in 3 of the 6 seasons in Madrid.
In Tottenham he managed to do that in 3 of the 4 seasons he was there.
And in Dynamo Zagreb, where he played in a more offensive rola (like Iniesta) he managed to get 17 goals and 14 assists in a season.
So please, explain your point...
How many 'organisers' do Madrid have? Casemiero sits deep. We all know Kroos plays deep. Modric also apparently has turned into some Busquets type organising DLP now. I'm surprised that team won anything given everyone is apparently sat in their own half.
Great player. 4th or 5th best midfielder I've seen.
Great player. 4th or 5th best midfielder I've seen.
You never seen us play? We attack entirely through the wings. Also Kroos doesn't play deep for us, usually it's Modric who plays deeper, with Casemiro. Modric is often the deepest of the 3 in fact
Casemiro usually plays deeper without the ball but he’s often the most advanced midfielder during the build up since he’s not good enough on the ball
He won the UCL playing in midfield with Khediera and DiMaria
EDIT: Granted this was just the final but the point stands.
Also Xabi Alonso played ahead of Khediera, but even he that season was making quite a few errors, it was his time to leave.
EDIT: Granted this was just the final but the point stands.
Also Xabi Alonso played ahead of Khediera, but even he that season was making quite a few errors, it was his time to leave.
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Not really, that was just one match due to Alonso's suspension, Khedira was a bench player.
Khedira was a bench player that season. Alonso was suspended in the final.
And Di Maria has his best ever season that season. He was Real's 3rd most important player that year.
Football Manager had him as a LCM/CM back in the day 
Woah that is actually a possibility and how weird would that be!
Top 3 Ballon d'Or candidates:
1) Ronaldo
2) Salah
3) Modric/Messi?
For 6 months
Modric was the player I wanted us to replace Scholes with when he retired first time around, slightly different to the way Scholesy played but still had the ability to control a game at a good level and would would have given us more legs in midfield with his stamina and was better defensively too. Him and Carrick would have been perfect!
Till this day he is still my favourite CM in the world. Even at his age I would love him at United for 2-3 seasons! Even though Mourinho signed him for Real, I do not see him wanting to leave them anytime soon
Till this day he is still my favourite CM in the world. Even at his age I would love him at United for 2-3 seasons! Even though Mourinho signed him for Real, I do not see him wanting to leave them anytime soon
He played as a right midfielder even this season in a few games.
This. At times we've even used Casemiro to drive forward with the ball as teams tend to leave him free when he doesn't have the ball. And he's really good on the ball when he has time
Modric is the glue of our midfield
Also injured for half the season. Lucky for us as Khedira was a starter before the injury
Not really, he had a great season overall. Was our second best player and arguably the most important
In makeshift lineups
I wonder how long he can keep up this level. Xavi, Iniesta and Schweinsteiger at his age had definitely declined more than Modric seems to have. As a CM you have to cover great distances each game and most of them tend to become extremely injury prone at a certain stage. Of course there are players like Scholes or Pirlo who played on the highest level with 35+ but they played much deeper than him at his age (and also had less exhausting play styles. All the feints, dribbles and quick turns are pretty tiring).
Actually it is crazy that he's already 33. Feels like yesterday he turned up.
Actually it is crazy that he's already 33. Feels like yesterday he turned up.
Outside of the first year in Dinamo (left wing) and in Spurs (left winger in 4-4-2 and strangely some games even right wing in 4-2-3-1) he never played regularly or was considered as a wide player. This sort of games and makeshift lineups as giorno said knows to happen throughout most teams in a season.
And it was also only because Redknapp at first thought he was ineffective without the ball that he sometimes ended up wide during that first season.
If we are talking about and comparing Iniesta with Modric (which was initially topic) more interesting would be to spot the difference between Iniesta role and where he operated for the most of his career and during Guardiola years with Xavi and Busquets until 2013/14 when he suddenly went much deeper and come a bit closer to how Modric operates for Madrid. It is the main reasons, why the numbers in terms of goals and assists look so favourable to Iniesta and not just to say both of them play as one of 2 CMs next to a DM, so look at the difference. Well, that along with Iniesta amazing ability in the final third, while Modric playmaking, transition and carrying the ball is superior from further behind.
Just for the record, I do rate Iniesta slightly higher overall while Xavi being in the league of his own. Great system or not, the man was a genius.
Sorry for the monologue, went to answer your post and then also through some of my thoughts reading this thread yesterday.
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Iniesta is 1 year older then Modric.
Last 4 seasons he played 105 league games, had 8 assists and scored 2 goals in that period. Talk about being productive..
Letting him leave the PL was probably one of Fergies regrets.
Nah, Messi still has 2 trophies to his name and pretty impressive season overall. As it stands (unless Messi can turn things around in this WC) most likely scenario will be:
1) Ronaldo
2) Messi
3) Salah
Modric will probably end in top 5 like last year.
I did. Look up
Are you not a natural English speaker?
Very weird to complain about someone else's English when you come up with gems such as "tomdo" and "rola"
When someone says Iniesta scored and assisted over 10 goals they mean combined.
Also there is a quote feature on this website why don't you use that?
Modric has finally won me over as a true top class player. Not sure there is anyone better in his position at the moment. Although he is a little 'smoother' technically, he reminds me in some ways of Keane - he is rarely flashy but everything he does is just excellent.
That's not to say I necessarily would put him in the same class as Xavi and Iniesta in their prime, but maybe I do now, or if not it's very close.
That's not to say I necessarily would put him in the same class as Xavi and Iniesta in their prime, but maybe I do now, or if not it's very close.