Luka Modric: Real’s number 10 and the brains behind the best team in the world

Luka Modric is the brain of Real Madrid’s team. He’s been at Real since 2012. His transfer from Tottenham was met with mixed reviews. Some thought he would be a waste of money. After all Real had Ozil the best no. 10 in the world at the time. Modric could not put up his goal or assist numbers. Real also had the best deep-lying playmaker in Xabi Alonso. Where would he even play, the critics asked? He was hardly the ideal fit in Mourinho’s 4-2-3-1. Khedira, Alonso, and Ozil were all starters. Modric couldn’t play out wide so he was seen initially as expensive bench player. A now infamous from Sport even ran an infamous headline saying that Modric was signed to save face from embarassment. Well unfortunately for Sport and his critics Luka Modric turned out to be a bargain.

His first season was challenging. He was a bench player for the first half of the season. However with injuries and rotations he played more in the second-half of the season. However the turning point was a famous night at Old Tradford. Real were down 1-0 that night and needed a spark to avoid an early exit. Mourinho’s gamble was to send Modric on. Modric immediately improved the movement of that Madrid side. In the 67th minute he struck a powerful shit past a desperate De Gea to level the tie at 2-2. United had lost momentum and eventually Real won the game 2-1. He had delivered in Madrid’s favorite competition the Champions League. He was trusted to be a starter in big games, and started the champions league semi-final vs. Dortmund where Real nearly overcame the 4-1 deficit to go to the final. Real didn’t win a trophy and Mou was gone. But Mourinho had left Real with the best parting gift: Luka Modric. It was Mourinho who wanted him and thought he would give Real a different element than just a counter-attack. Sadly for Mou he was gone before he could reap the benefits.

Carlo Ancelotti came in and his 4-3-3 included Modric as the main man in. Midfield. No longer a bench player Modric proud even a remarkable form, helping Real win the Copa Del Rey and the Champions League double. His performances against Dortmund, Bayern, and Atletico in the Champions League were exceptional. The patience he had to keep possession instead of trying to force it was vital to getting Real to end the drought. The CL final he recycled possession throughout the game and played deep to cover for Isco and Di Maria late on. His brilliant corner was headed on Sergio Ramos to level the final at 1-1. He was Real’s most consistent performer all season, and he was arguably the best midfielder in the world. In the next season Real won the UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup but failed to win a major trophy. Modric suffered bad injuries that season which ruled him out of crucial CL and League games. When he was fit the midfield of James, Kroos, and himself were brilliant. When Isco played as well, the team was almost unstoppable. But without him the midfield lost the player who would do the dirty work. The tracking back deep, recycling of possession, keeping the ball, and not holding on the ball too much. He sacrificed personal stats for the good of the team, allowing James, Isco, and Kroos to shine. However the failure to win a major trophy cost Ancelotti his job. Rafa Benitez came in and Luka maintained his form but James and Kroos did not. Rafa was fired after a disasterous start. Zidane took over and made a concerted effort to build the team differently.

Zidane’s 4-3-3 used a defensive midfielder, Casemiro was the player needed to give Real balance. This love freed Modric out of doing the dirty work. He could create more, the team benefited from it. Real faced another early exit from the CL when they lost the first leg 2-0 to Wolfsvirg in the Quarter-finals. Ronaldo scored twice early on to level the scores at 2-2. With the tie hanging at a knife-edge it was Modric who was the driving force in the second-half. He won the free-kick that led to Ronaldo’s winning strike. His fantastic performances against City allowed Real to never feel threatened and to advance to the final. Although he didn’t have his greatest performance against Atletico in the final, his intelligence and maintains possession were vital to holding Atleyico at bay, Real won their second CL in 3 years with Modric being a vital cog in the team. In 2016-17 Modric produced his finest season helping Real 4 titles, UEFA Super Cup, Club World Cup, La Liga, and another Champions League. His performance in the Camp Nii was remarkable as he played deep and created chances. His free-kick led to the Sergio Ramos goal that saved a vital point at the Camp Nou. His firm at the end of the season was tremendous. His performances against Napoli, Bayern were great. But the performances against Atletico in the CL semi-final was legendary. Atletico could not take the ball off him in the first leg as Real rolled to a 3-0 win. After a bad start Real were down 2-0 to Atletoco and had the risk of being overrun in midfield. Modric demanded the ball and told his teammates “let me have the ball they won’t score again if I have it”. They didn’t he maintained possession masterfully, and Reqp scored the away goal they needed. Modric was right Atletico didn’t score anymore, Real lost 2-1 but thanks to Modric’s leadership were in another CL final. In the final against Juventus, Modric produced his finest half of his career. His second-half against Juventus was a joy to watch. He toyed with Juve’s midfield. They couldn’t take the ball off him, he assisted on Robaldo’s second goal. He drove forward at will, free of his defensive duties due to Zidane’s tactical adjustments. Casemiro and Isco gave Modric the keys to the midfield, and he drove that car through the Juve side en route to a Real 4-1 win. It was one of the finest nights in Real’s history, it was the finest midfield performance in many years. It was Modric who led this rout, it was Modric who made Real into a a winning team in Europe over and over again. It’s no coincidence that the only seasoning the last 4 years that Real didn’t win the CL was the one where he was injured and missed the semi-finals.

Luka Modric is now the team’s no. 10. There isn’t a player on this team who deserves Thwy number more. Modric can’t be measured by goals and assists. He can’t be measured by his words, he’s a quiet guy. He can be measured through his ability and importance on the pitch. Zidane built his team around Modric, not Ronaldo. The Caseniro move was to get the best out of Modric, so is his resting of Modric in big games. So was his adding Isco to the midfield, Zidane knows that the midfield is the engine of the team. Modric is the brain of Real but he makes the engine go. Real’s dynasty would be a dream if Luka Modric didn’t have keys to Real’s luxury car.

The myth of the salary cap: Why it doesn’t create parity and why European soccer should avoid it all costs

The greatness of European soccer lies in its ability to reward teams that do well, and punish teams that fail. Success brings trophies, Champions League qualification, more revenue and increases the clun’s profile. Failure brings the loss of good players, relegation, and financial restrictions. European soccer is the free market at its finest. Rewarding history, success, and punishing poorly run organizations, no matter the size. That’s what makes the Champions League the most prestigious annual competition on the planet. Yet UEFA wants to change their successufl model for the myth of “parity”, to balance out the competition.  To make things more even, to put forces that would allow smaller or less well-run clubs to compete. In other words to go against the MAIN reason why European club football is successful in the first place! Because of the big teams, star-laden teams, dynasties. Real Madrid, Manchester United, Barcelona, Juventus, Bayern Munich are the teams that people want to see deep in a CL run. Not just because they have great histories and fanbases, but they are usually the best run and have the best players in the world. Diminishing the talent on those teams by mandating a salary cap will only cause those teams to become worse but it would not prevent them from winning the Champions League. How can I prove this? Because prior to 1995 Bosman ruling which allowed players to move freely after the expiration of their contract, teams kept their players longer. Smaller clubs were able to compete much better domestically and abroad. Yet did this prevent dynasties? Nope it didn’t. Let me show you.

Dynasties pre-Bosman (1955-1995): Real Madrid 5 European Cups (1955-1960) Benfica 2 European Cups (1961-1962) Inter Milan 2 European Cups (1964-1965) Ajax 3 European Cups (1971-1974) Bayern Munich 3 European Cups (1974-1976) Nottingham Forest 2 European Cups (1979-1980) Liverpool 4 European Cups (1977-1984) AC Milan 2 European Cups (1989-1990) 8 dynasties in 40 years. 1 every 5 years.

Dynasties post-Bosman (1995-2017): Real Madrid 3 Champions Leagues (1998-2002) Barcelona 2 Champions Leagues (2009-2011) Real Madrid 3 Champions Leagues (2014-2017) 3 dynasties in 22 years, 1 dynasty in about 7 years

The model of maintaining of players at certain clubs did little to stop dynasties, in fact it increased dominance as the players stood together and didn’t go off to other clubs. The Bosman ruling actually made it HARDER for clubs to become dynasties, as players chased more lucrative contracts abroad. Ajax in 1995 had won the CL and reached the final in 1996, if the Bosman ruling never happened there is a chance they would have a dynasty of their own. However the young Ajax team left for money and helped other clubs win silverware.. The Bosman helped end Real’s dynasty as well, as players were getting well-paid throughout the world, Makelele felt undervalued and left to go to Chelsea. If the Bosman ruling didn’t happen it is doubtful that he would leave, and that Chelsea would pay him such high wages. Real lost their engine and went on a 12-year drought until they won the 10th Champions League despite spending enormous suns of money in that time. Now you can say that maybe the European Cup was easier to win back then, but I would say that is disputed by the number of new winners per era.

Bosman era (1955-1995): 20 different teams won the European Cup/CL: Real Madrid, Inter Milan, AC Milan, Juventus, Barcelona, Benfica, Nottingham Forest, Manchester United, Liverpool, Aston Villa, Ajax, Feyernood, PSV Eindhoven, Steaua Burcharest, Red Star Belgrade, Bayern Munch, Hamburg, Celtic, Marseille, FC Porto. 1 different winner every 2 years. (20 in 40 years)

Post-Bosman era (1995-2017): 11 different teams  Juventus, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Liverpool, Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, Barcelona, FC Porto, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Chelsea. 1 different winner every 2 years. (11 in 22)

There is NO difference the amount of different winners between the pre and post Bosman eras. It is exactly 1 in 2 in both cases. If PSG and Manchester City get over the hump it could increase further. Same with Atletico Madrid, or Monaco. There is a chance of there being the same parity as there was in the past. Except provincial clubs like Forest won’t win 2 CL’s in a row. The challenge from Eastern Europe won’t come from Steaua or Red Star who by the way don’t even have the same names they used to for different reasons. Instead Russian teams like Zenit and CSKA are likelier bets for a shock CL triumph, even Shakhtar Dontesk could pose a threat. The game has changed but the parity in European soccer has remained about the same. Big clubs usually win, some shocks happen but not often. The only difference is that big clubs trade the CL between each other instead of hoarding it for years at a time. (With the exception of Real and Barca, but they are outliers) So why does UEFA want a salary cap? To copy the successful NFL model of parity? Let’s check out that model for a second.

Since the NFL put together a restrictive hard-cap in the early-1990’s you would think that this prevented dynasties right? After all it was a lot harder to keep teams together, as the best players from the best teams take a lot of the cap. Then the players who can be difference makers leave in free-agency to worse teams, thus evening out the system. Plus the punitive draft-system where the best drafts last really hurts the winning team, and hurts the losing team. Well it’s supposed to at least, but does it really do that? Let’s take a look.

Super Bowl Champions since 1993: Redskins, Cowboys, 49ers, Packers, Broncos, Rams, Ravens, Patriots, Buccanerrs, Steelers, Colts, Saints, Seahawks. 13 teams in 24 yearrs.

Wow that is a lot of parity right? 13 winners in 24 years is a good return. Not so fast. Let’s compare that to the Champions League since 1993.

Champions League since 1992-93: Marseille, AC Milan, Ajax, Juventus, Borrussia Dortmund, Real Madrid, Manchester United, FC Porto, Liverpool, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Chelsea. 12 teams in 24 years

What do you know? The “parity” league and the inequality league have almost the same number of different winners. 13 to 12, and if I made the list since 1991 the numbers would be exactly 13 each. Both the NFL and the CL produce a different winner every 2 years. But let’s go into another topic, the NFL surely doesn’t have the same team dominate the division each year right? I mean there’s no Bayern, Juve, or Lyon like runs in the AFC North is there. Let’s find out.

Division winners since realignment: 2002 season

AFC East: Patriots 15 wins, Jets 1 win, Dolphins 1 win, Bills 0 wins

AFC North: Steelers: 8 wins, Ravens: 5 wins, Bengals: 4 wins, Browns: 0 wins

AFC South: Colts: 9 wins Texans: 5 wins Titans: 2 wins Jaguars: 1 wins

AFC West: Broncos: 6 wins Chargers and Chiefs: 5 wins each Raiders: 1 win

NFC East: Eagles: 7 wins Cowboys: 5 wins Giants: 3 wins Redskins: 2 wins

NFC North: Packers: 9 wins Bears and Vikings: 4 wins each Lions: 0 wins

NFC South: Panthers and Saints: 5 wins each Falcons: 4 wins, Bucs: 3 wins

NFC West: Seahawks 8 wins, 49ers, Rams and Cardinals: 3 wins each

These division stats are proof that the NFL is not so parity driven, there are 3 division where a team has won at least half of the division titles since 2002. The Patriots have only lost the division twice in 15 seasons. The Colts and Packers have won 9 out of 17, while the Seahawks and Steelers won 8 out of 17. It is no surprise that these franchises won a combined 8 Super Bowls since 2002, more than half of the Super Bowls have been one of these four teams. Parity didn’t make Green Bay weak because Favre and Rodgers kept them at a high level no matter what. Same with the Colts who had Peyton Manning for 9 years, they won 7 division titles in that span. As for the Patriots Brady dominated the league having a different cast, they won at least 9 games every year since 2002. Parity hasn’t stopped these organisations from dominating. 8 of the 9 teams who won most division titles won a Super Bowl, the only exception are the Panthers who made two per Bowl appearances. (There have only been 3 teams not 1st on the division title list that have won Super Bowls: Ravens, Giants, and Bucs. So this dominance doesn’t allow for that many surprises, occasional wild-card runs aside. There has only been 3 non-division winners to win the Super Bowl since 2002: 05′ Steelers, 07′ Giants, 10′ Packers. As for the teams in the bottom they don’t seem to get better. The bottom teams in each division even combined have won the division less times than the Colts, 8 times. So parity doesn’t help the Browns, Jags, Raiders, Bills get any better. The NFL is rather overrated in its parity and European soccer’s top 5 leagues are more balanced than the divsions,

Since 2002-93 the winners of each domestic league:

EPL: Manchester United: 6 wins Chelsea: 5 wins, Manchester City: 4 wins Leicester City amd Arsenal: 1 win each

La Liga: Barcelona: 10 wins, Real Madrid: 5 wins, Atletico and Valencia: 1 win each

Bundesliga: Bayern Munich: 12 wins, Borrussia Dortmund: 2 wins, Werder Bremen, Sttugart, and Wolfsburg: 1 win each

Serie A: Juventus: 9 wins Inter Milan: 5 wins AC Milan: 2 wins 1 title was revoked by the Italian Federation and not awarded thus the imbalance due to Juve’s involvement in the match-fixing scandal in 2006.

Ligue 1: Lyon and PSG 6 wins each, Marseille, Monaco, Bordeaux, Lille, Montepellier 1 win each

3 of these major 5 leagues has a team win more than 50 percent of the league titles, despite the game in Europe designed for this to happen. In the EPL and France the league titles are very even with Manchester United and Chelsea, PSG and Lyon having won the bulk of the league titles. Even in La Liga and Bundesliga where parity is rarely seen, they have had more league winners than the AFC East and North had division winners. In the case of the Bundesliga they had 5 separate teams take the league despite Bayern’s ability to poach the best talent. As for the CL winners you don’ need to be atop the list of league winners to do it. In fact Liverpool didn’t win the league at all and yet they have won one. AC Milan despite only winning 2 league titles have won 2 CL’s since 2003. Chelsea who won  the league less than United have won the same number of CL’s as United. Real won 4 CL’s since 2003 despite not winning as many league’s as Barca. While Barca dominated the CL and won 4 since 2003, Bayern and United’s domestic success couldn’t be translated as well in Europe winning a CL apiece. Juve despite dominating the domestic scene haven’t won a CL< Inter having won one in 2010 being the last Italians won. In France neither Lyon or PSG won a CL or even reached a final. Monaco had the best success reaching 2 semi-finals since 2003 including a final in 2004, despite winning the league one time since. As for inequality killing fairy-tale stories, that’s not the case. Sttugart won the league for the first time in 15 years when they won the league in 2007 after languishing in mediocrity for many years.  Wolfsburg won a shock league title in 2009 after only a few years in the top flight. Lyon a club that was unknown and languished in the second-tier of French football in the 1990’s, rose to win 7 straight Ligue 1itles, a feat not even super-rich PSG c ould match.  Montepellier won the most unlikely of league titles after battling against relegation the year prior. Manchester City and Atletico were in the second-division in the beginning of the 2000’s and both won heroic league titles in 2012 and 2014, knocking off traditional rivals United and Madrid off their perch. Leicester overcame 5,000-1 odds to win the league, plus they barely stayed up the year before and were only promoted 2 years prior to winning the league. European soccer despite its inequality delivers a lot of shocks and the favorites can’t dominate for as long. The money is beginning to be spread out more evenly especially in Germany and England. if any sort of cap is needed, then do a soft cap and penalize clubs with a luxurey tax for spending more than a set amount. That way talent won’t flee the big clubs right away creating more mediocrity across the board, but less brilliance. The NFL already has that problem. UEFA please don’t allow your sport to follow suit. Also know this, if you pass this you are giving big clubs  the excuse they need to form a European Super League and there’s no turning back when that gets started, The clubs will make more off it, the top players will as well. the agents will too, the only losers will be UEFA and smaller clubs. Never forget in the sport of dominance the big brands matter, stop trying to maek this sport equal, it isn’t and that’s what makes it awesome.