Luke Modric debuted with the selection of Croatia on March 1, 2006. He was 19 years old. He started with 14 on his back. The rival was Argentina. It was a friendly at the Saint Jakobs stadium in Basel. It was a freezing night, with accumulated snow on the edges of the field. Dressed in an albiceleste there was a boy as young and as puny as he was. He looked 19 and was 18 years old. She was Lionel Messi.
The night of Modric’s premiere with the checkered shirt, Leo scored his first goal with the national team in his sixth international cap. The first of the 95 that he has added, the last four in Qatar. Modric and Messi played, and Walter Samuel and Pablo Aimar also played, the assistants of Lionel Scaloni that that night, as now, he was on the bench. Then substitute.
After 16 years, Messi (35) and Modric (37) wear the 10 that represents leadership in a team. They are more than legends, with an amazing track record: Messi has won seven Ballon d’Ors and four Champions League awards, among other awards. Modric broke into the Ballon d’Or in 2018, in addition to five Champions.
Neither of them has been world champion. Runners-up only. Messi played and lost the 2014 in Brazil against Germany (0-1); Modric fell in 2018 against France (2-4). Both were distinguished, however, as the MVP of the competition.
The great protagonist
Messi is being the great protagonist of the tournament. He has played the 480 minutes that Argentina has played with four goals and two assists. In addition to transforming his goal in the penalty shootout against the Netherlands. The fans of the albiceleste entrust themselves to their particular D10S. And the companions. And the coach.
“He has always been a winner and he has a pride and a desire to continue playing ball that is envious”
Lionel Scaloni, Argentina coach
“Leo does not surprise me,” explained Scaloni, who met Messi at that time and shared the concentration of the World Cup in Germany-2006. “He has always been a winner and has pride and a desire to continue playing ball that is envious,” added the coach, who left football at the age of 37, two more than Leo has.
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Modric has played 495 minutes. He only rested 4 minutes against Canada and 11 in overtime with Japan. Croatia has played two overtimes, with South Korea and Brazil. Luka respects Messi and Argentina a lot, he stressed in statements to TVE: «Argentina is a great team, I don’t just want to play against a player. Leo Messi is very big, his best player, and we will have a lot of difficulties to stop him. We are prepared and we are going to try to play the best game of our lives. I hope it’s enough to be in the final.”
Continue “enjoying” Leo
Messi, for his part, has worked with the kinesiologist to recover from the intense quarterfinal against the Netherlands. «We will see if he will continue after the World Cup; the important thing is that we continue to enjoy it, which is the best thing that can happen to us,” said Scaloni. “If it goes well for him, it will go well for all of us,” added the coach, who does not want to glimpse a future without the 10. Nor is Nicolás Tagliafico, who will start against Croatia due to the suspension of Marcos Acuña – Gonzalo Montiel is also punished – still wants to imagine the national team without Messi. “It is our captain and our leader, who drives us and motivates us,” he said, before summarizing the true dimension of the star: “We know that with him we have a plus.”