‘For me, he is the best pure midfielder in the history of the game. He understands the game at genius level.’
That was the bold verdict of Croatia national coach Zlatko Dalic on his captain Luka Modric in the match programme ahead of Friday night’s Hampden Nations League clash and, yet, it told us all what we already knew ahead of what may well prove to be the Real Madrid man’s final appearance on Scottish soil.
Sure, Modric, now 39, didn’t quite deliver the same virtuoso performance as on his last appearance at the National Stadium, benefiting from Steve Clarke’s peculiar strategy of letting him do whatever he wanted and paying the penalty as he inspired the Croatians to a 3-1 win in Euro 2020.
In truth, it was rather nice to see that humbling experience avenged, to a degree, by John McGinn’s late intervention.
And, yet, even on one of his quieter nights, with Scotland taking advantage of Croatia going down to 10 men, there remained so much to learn from Modric’s positioning and probing, his technical brilliance.
Five minutes in, he gave signal of his intent, finding Kristijan Jakic with an audacious 20-yard ball played with the outside of his right boot. Shortly afterwards, he nipped in after Scott McTominay had lost possession and sparked the move that ended with Craig Gordon saving from Andrej Kramaric.
Luka Modric couldn’t stop his Croatia side slipping to a 1-0 defeat to Scotland at Hampden
Modric was left frustrated after his went down to 10 men against Steve Clarke’s Scotland
Always in space, always looking for that killer pass and, yet, alert defensively – stopping Ben Doak in his tracks early on, keeping an eye on McTominay.
On 50 minutes, a hush fell as Martin Baturina picked him out. Just like the Euros, he bent his shot with the outside of his boot. This time, mercifully, it curled wide.
Yet, there was a real flash of his magic to come. Midway through the second 45, Modric picked up a loose ball and delivered the most delightful chipped pass to Mario Pasalic.
John Souttar was off-balance, Pasalic had a clear shot at goal, and sent it trundling wide. He should have done better. Modric deserved better.
‘It is a blessing for every coach to have such an amazing player, person and leader in the squad,’ said Dalic. ‘I am sure Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti and Zinedine Zidane would think the same way.’
They surely would. Yet, even us mere mortals know where he’s coming from.
If this was to be us Scots’ last chance to catch Modric in action, what a fine memory of a true legend. Graceful. Classy. And on the end of a doing.
