The legacy that Toni Kroos and Luka Modric will leave in Madrid will be indelible. However, the most commendable thing is that even today, ignoring the passage of time, both continue to be the helm of the team. What they score is played to such an extent that they have no substitutes. During the last years Isco, Ceballos, Valverde, Odegaard or the newcomer Camavinga have tried to displace them from the eleven, but without luck.
In the win against Granada (1-4) they again gave a masterclass of the good midfielder. Kroos was the conductor of the orchestra. He distributed 74 passes, ending the match with an impressive 97.4% delivery success. 44 of them were in the rival field, and two ended in a goal. The first assist went to Asensio, anticipating his diagonal movement and after a good pass. The second, taking advantage of the passivity of the rival defense to give Nacho the goal on a tray. Modric did not want to be left behind and, despite his 36 years, a long run was given to the counterattack to receive a ball alone in front of the goalkeeper. In the hottest zone, he had the cold blood to give the goal to Vinicius.
The pubalgia that made Toni stop for more than a month at the beginning of the season raised certain doubts regarding his physical condition. However, it did not take him too long to catch up with the rest of the team and show that Kroos remains for a while. He has started eight of the nine games in which he has been available, and has completed 90 minutes five times. His retirement from the German team after the last European Championship has helped him a lot. He has been able to recover without matches in the last two weeks and it has been noticed against Granada being the best of the team. Ancelotti celebrates his decision as he is fully aware of the importance he has in this team. “He is the best Kroos I have seen or at least lives up to the best since he arrived in 2014.”Álvaro Benito said in El Carrusel de la SER.
For his part, Modric already warned a few weeks ago: better reaches his form playing all the games. He came from a difficult national team break in which he managed to qualify for the World Cup with Croatia directly after defeating Malta (with goal and assistance included) and Russia. He was not noticed in Los Cármenes, where he made the difference in several sections of the game. It is true that he is not prepared to maintain his best level throughout the game, but, thanks to his maturity and intelligence, he knows what the team needs at all times and is dosed so as not to run out. Ancelotti is also helping him: He has only completed 90 minutes in two games and, at the slightest inconvenience, has preferred to give him rest (He has been absent in four days). His dream is to continue in white and, maintaining this level of play, it will be difficult for the board not to offer him another year (his contract ends in 2022).
According to data from Transfermarkt, between the two they add a whopping 730 games in Madrid. Luka, who arrived in 2012, has 402, in which he has scored 28 goals and has distributed 64 assists. He is the fifth foreigner with the most white matches behind Benzema, Marcelo, Roberto Carlos and Cristiano. Kroos landed in the capital of Spain in 2014 and in these more than seven years he has played 328 games, scoring 23 goals and giving 80 passes on goal. In your case, it is eighth, having between him and Modric Varane and Pepe.
“The level that both have is very high. They are still the best media in the world for me. Here we have to put in that the dynamics of the three in the midfield (Casemiro, Kroos and Modrid) surprises me, that they do things that I do not ask them to do, they do it naturally. They have been in the past, but they are the present and in the future they will also be …“, Ancelotti affirmed after the triumph in Granada.
A string of important games is coming. Sheriff, Sevilla, Inter, Atlético or Real Sociedad are some of the next rivals. Although Kroos and Modric will need help, their presence, taking into account the level they are showing, seems essential to overcome the first round of the Champions League and end the year as LaLiga leaders.