Modric revived on Monday night the memories of the great Real Madrid, that team that commanded Europe like no other has commanded (if anything, the Madrid of the first five European Cups), with four Champions in five years, three of them consecutive, from 2015-16 to 2017-18. In the bowels of the Poljud Stadium in Split (Croatia), the Balkan was immortalized with his teammate, Mateo Kovacic, and next to the figurehead of that Madrid: Cristiano Ronaldo.
It was an expected reunion, as the teams of Croatia and Portugal meet this Tuesday (8:45 pm) in a League of Nations duel, which closes the group stage. There is more at stake than meets the eye: France is already qualified for the Final Four of the tournament, but Croatia is at risk of relegation to League B if it finishes last, what is on the table. It is third in a group of four, tied at three points with Sweden, with the particular neutral goal-average (each one won 2-1 at home to the other) and also with a tie in goal difference (-6); It is only placed above because it has scored seven goals, by three of the Scandinavians. The only good news for Modric and company is that Sweden is visiting France today in Saint Denis.
In this situation, the faces of Modric and Cristiano are seen again, who shared six seasons at Real Madrid full of successes: four Champions, one League, one King's Cup, three European Super Cups, three Club World Cups, two Spanish Super Cups … Kovacic only agreed with them in three seasons, those of the three Champions in a row; the now Chelsea player was part of that successful Plan B that enabled Zidane to make massive rotations to end the 2016-17 season with a brilliant Champions League double. Along with him were James, Isco, Morata, Asensio, Lucas, Nacho …
Modric and Cristiano, great memories
The Madrid of Modric, Kovacic and Cristiano overcame three group stages and twelve consecutive knockout rounds to raise three Orejonas. Close memories of a very different time for Real Madrid, which is now experiencing difficulties in Europe: it has been losing for two seasons in the round of 16, against Ajax and Manchester City, and its passage in this edition is very irregular, with only one victory in three games and a blushing loss at home to a COVID-19 handicapped Shakhtar Donetsk. The departure of several troops in the summer of 2018, such as Cristiano or Kovacic, weakened the white squad so much so that now he has lost his pulse in the Old Continent, barely two years after reigning without discussion.
Cristiano and Modric.
At a press conference, Modric commented on the reunion that his partner Kovacic and he had with Cristiano, prior to tonight's clash: “We have great memories together so it was great to talk to him a bit. We remember some things from the past at Real Madrid, normal conversations between two former teammates and good friends. “Modric did not give details, but he does not need to review those great memories, they are all in the newspaper library: During the six years that they were white, Cristiano scored 304 goals (which earned him four Ballons d'Or) and Modric distributed 39 assists (in addition to scoring 13 goals).