These little magicians just keep on showing up….Here we are yet again taking yet another look at a baller who prefers that the game is ran based on his own tempo.
Luka Modric doesn’t need any introduction, since he is an inspiration for a lot of potential professional players in terms of what it takes to make it and stay at the top for a very long time. Luka started his career out in his native Croatia as a very promising youngster within the Dynamo Zagreb set up. He was being scouted all across Europe, and eventually landed in England when he was swooped up by Tottenham in the Barclay’s Premier League back in 2008. During his stay in the prem, Luka was absolutely incredible and was considered a big fish in a small pond with some of his teammates wondering how on earth Tottenham managed to sign such an amazing player. It was inevitable that he was going to leave for a bigger club, and while he was very close to signing for Chelsea, it was Los Blancos who ended up signing him in one of the longest drawn out transfer sagas over the last 15 years.
A lot of people commended Marid for making this transfer since he was not considred a galacticos but would’ve been a great addition to the squad. But, it did not turn out that way, and Luka struggled badly within his first season, so much so that he was awarded (well, I don’t know If you can call this an award) the worst transfer of the 2012/13 season by a very reputable newspapaer within Spain….. It would’ve been simple for Luka to return back to England since he still had a great reputation back there (with a potential move to Old Trafford being touted back in 2013), but Luka showed the rescilience that would eventually turn him into a Real Madrid Icon, with 5 Champions leagues under his belt, as well as being the first guy to end the duopoly of Ronaldo and Messi winning the Balon D’or back in 2018 after his exceptional performanes in the Champions League and for Croatia at the 2018 Fifa World Cup.
It will be a real pleasure discussing how to get the best out of Luka within Soccermanager worlds! 🇭🇷
PLAYER BIO
When it comes to having an experienced player within your X1 that the rest of the team will continually look up to in order to pull something out of a hat, only the likes of Ronaldo, Messi or Thiago Silva can do this consistently as many times as Luka has the ability to. He is one player that age is simply a number sincr he will continuously put in match winning performances again and again in without even breaking a sweat.
BEST ATTRIBUTES WITHIN SM23
Here’s what you can expect from the magical Croatian in terms of his best Attributes. Overall, I have no complaints about it whatsoever as these attributes are pretty spot on for the type of player that Luka is
BEST ROLES
Like many players similar his stature and characteristics , they all tend to be ‘one role men’ who are experts in being the best player they can be in their respective role. Modric is no exception either and might arguably be the best one out of the bunch (in my opinion, ofcourse) When choosing to play Luka in any double pivot formation he will remain stubborn to his perffered style of play and will use all of his experience to ensure that you get the best out of him, but it’s safe to say that Luka is no longer a mobile (although still fit) player which means that whomever you play next to him is the most important decision that you’ll have to make for your team. Luka can also operate within a Double pivot in s back 3 or 5 formation with the bonus of having an extra defender so, you might be able to get as much out of him compared to when you’re playing in a midfield 3 set upThe final position in our look at his best roles might just be a sleeper since it is arguably the one position that separates him from the likes of Thiago, Verratti, or even his compatriot Toni Kroos. This is ultimately the position that he plays for Croatia in, and if you have been paying attention ( how couldn’t you), you’d know that they always get an extra gear out of him.
HOW TO BEST USE HIM
When it comes down to it, Luka’s is a different animal when playing in a midfield 3 since he has some form of protection around his aging legs and this freedom plus his incredible ability is a recipe for a whole heap of problems for the opposition
WHO ARE THE BEST TEAMATES?
To truly unlock Luka within a midfield 3 will require that you play him as your ‘Playmaker’ while ensuring that he has an energetic ‘Box to Box’ Midfielder within the trio since he will cover up for Luka’s lack of mobility in a similar fashion to what Thiago Alcantara needed in a midfield 3 (even though Luka is the better player). Luka also has a range of passing that rivals even the brilliant Toni Kroos, so it is advised to have some attack minded ‘Wingbacks’ within your team. Upfront, although he may not be the most mobile player, Luka has a sixth sense of arriving into the box from deeper positions so having a ‘Target Man’ who can link up play either though his technical ability or his strength will be a bonusIn the 2 man double pivot set up, Luka will still operate as your ‘Playmaker’ but the player you choose to partner him will be EXTREMELEY important… We will need a similar type to what Toni had to play with next to him which is either a ‘Ball Winning Midfielder’ or a defensive minded ‘Box to Box’ Midfielder to cover with the caveat of him needing to have great physical attributes such as Pace, Strength and Workrate since Luka is immobile which is why I’d always go for a player like Tchouameni over a player like Casemiro. Ofcourse, the others are the exact same with 2 ‘Wingbacks’ and a’Target Man’ necessary In this Back 3 formation here, Luka has has the added protection in the back but I still believe that the most important players whom you should have around him remains the sameIn what I believe to be Luka’s secondary role, we have the first inclusion of the special ‘Classsic No.10’ Advanced Playmaker role and if you wanted to see 8,9, or 10/10 performances from Modric regularly, then with the use of the right teammates, playing him in this no.10 position will see Luka potentially displaying player of the season performances. Behind him, Luka will need a ‘Box to Box’ operator to do most of the ground work, while the ‘Wingbacks’ get motoring up and down each flank. The biggest differences will be the need to have a ‘Winger’ playing out wide in order for Modric to get even more space to operate in since ‘Wingers’ tend to attract multiple defenders, while upfront I believe it is best to play with a ‘Finisher’ who will look to stay on the defenders shoulder as he continuously gets fed the ball by his number 10 threading those passes through the eye of a needle like clockworkAs always, any player of the elk of a Luka Modric must be considered your go to player that you’ll aim to give the ball to as much as you can. The only exception is if you are playing another Playmaker and want to share the creative load around with the other distributors within the X1
Luka is the perfect example of “aging like fine wine” where age is simply a number, and his commitment to his craft has ensured that whenever he decides to call it a day on his career that he will quite frankly go down along side the likes of Xavi and Zidane as one of the greatest M(C)’s the world has ever seen
Up next, we’re heading to the Prem to check out a tenacious AM(C) that plays football as if his life in on the line… 🇵🇹
The Soccermanager Experience 