Luka Modric continuously proving himself to be AC Milan’s leader in the midfield, and he is inspiring the Scudetto dream.
As Tuttosport (via MilanPress) recall this morning, a common thread links 15 of the 16 Scudetti won by Milan between 1950-51 and 2010-11: the presence of a world-class player in midfield, capable of being the metronome and guiding the team through difficult situations.
Reinvented and reinvigorated
Modric arrived at Milan as more of a box-to-box player, but was quickly transformed by Massimiliano Allegri into a regista, a deep-lying playmaker. Despite his age, the coach sensed that the Croatian could reinvent himself in this role, capitalising on his vision and smart management of the ball.
Any doubts about the 40-year-old’s fitness have been refuted by the facts: he’s started in 17 out of 17 games thus far in Serie A, and in 14 of them he has played for the full 90 minutes. This has prompted some discussions about over-use and over-reliance, but for now Modric is looking in top form.
In fact, the Ballon d’Or winner leads the league in attempted and completed passes, in successful long balls and is among the best in key passes. As for his defensive contribution, he has made a remarkable 19 interceptions, making him one of the league’s top ball-winners too.
To restart after a difficult season, the Rossoneri relied on a leader capable of winning and showing the way. The likes of Liedholm, Schiaffino, Rivera, Ancelotti, Albertini and Pirlo did the same before him. When the Rossoneri had a playmaker like that, they often won the league. Can it happen again?
I remember folk here saying football has changed and no one plays a deep lying playmaker anymore, it’s more about physicality and athleticism nowadays. Running tirelessly. We had that for the past 2 seasons. Complete disaster. It felt like watching NFL.
This is football at its finest. Elegance, vision and creativity. Without Modric, we’d be watching the second coming of Poli, Muntari and Bertolacci. Of course having a “metronomo” orchestrating it, that also calls for a physical, tireless partner in the middle, in our case Rabiot. These two complement each other perfectly. Hope they can build on this and continue this way with some young talent. Ricci is certainly there to be molded, maybe Comotto.
Football is unfortunately becoming more systematic with the likes of Totti, Del Piero not being produced anymore… Modric is a dying breed sadly.
WHAT ABOUT JASARI