'Lightweight' Luka

[Libero]

Amazing centre midfielder in an era where power and brute force were/are king. Definitely would make my best Spurs 11 within my lifetime.

 

[Millsy_Yiddo]

Obviously, and going by reports at the time he did just that. Worked his socks off on and off the pitch to get better.

And better he got, fantastic player. But playing in his position trying to get better at scoring and assisting is just a very small fraction of all the work he surely must have done to get better. Of course if he was a glory hunter that's probably what he would have focused on, shoot shoot shoot. Just like that's what you focus on. I don't think that's been his focus, or the focus of Real Madrid.

And that's why last night he could stand on a pitch with midfielders like Alonso, Isco, Di Maria on his side and Schweinsteiger, Kroos, Lahm and Martinez and be the best midfielder on the pitch - by some margin I would say. Despite not having a single shot on or off target.

His movement, his first touch, his turns, his dummies, shimmies, faints, short passing, mid range passing, quick passing, flicks. All that is partly a result of his drive to constantly get better. Obviously. And he bested some of the best around at that.

But then, despite him playing in a position where few players score many goals people somehow ask of him "why don't you practice shooting more?" As if that's the most important thing for a player in his role.

Great post. He's a world class player, I don't see how anyone can see it any other way.

 

[braineclipse]

When he was here this point was raised and someone (I forget who, but if anyone recalls please let me know) made a great point. Modric isn't the person who makes the assist, or scores the goal. He's the person who begins the play, passes to the winger to cross in etc. He is the basis of attack, the fulcrum. Arguably the hardest player to stop on the pitch. Statistically maybe not that impressive, but i'm always more impressed by what I see than by what I read about a player.

Has been pointed out by several people including Scara, Steff and myself. I have no idea who made that observation first.

The bolded part was shown so clearly in the first video posted in the first post. It's everything we've missed and more.

 

[Gazza Dazzla]

The "whose our most important player" thread had this debate in it, quite rightly some opted for bale but some of the dismissive posts about luka were and still are a complete joke. Is it in the archives?

 

[Hotshot-Tottenham]

Top vid, 3:30...

Did I see Modric, to Bale to VDV... Goal?

 

[thfcsteff]

A brilliant player. When i first saw him I liked him, when he signed him it was Levy's finest hour and when I saw him in our shirt I felt I was watching the first midfielder we'd had since Ardiles who could do what Ossie did in the modern context. I remember the knock being that he wasn't 'big' enough, laughable. A quick look at where he grew up would tell people how tough he had to be, and those of us who saw Ossie glide past choppers and hackers week in week out knew he had the nous.

He is a fantastic player, and his early troubles at Madrid were managers not knowing what to do with him. As soon as Ancelotti went there I knew he'd be a smash. Wonderful player. GHod I miss him...

 

[indospurs]

He also works bloody hard in defence, impressive for all his passing skills and vision going forward, he works hard going back too. His skill and work ethic deserves the recognition he's getting and rewards he's achieved and will achieve.

 

[Lily White]

Beautiful player, one of the best I have seen in a Spurs shirt.

 

[SteveAWOL]

Good to see a new thread in honour of our Croatian midfield maestro =D>

To add to the compilations, here's one of my favourites showing how Luka orchestrated the passing tempo of our team. Obviously it helped that Spurs had so many skilful footballers back then.

[video=youtube;r_XNLoBxmQw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_XNLoBxmQw[/video]

Oh and some stats (as I know how everyone loves those :lol: ) to emphasise how much of a void was left when the 2011/12 vintage moved on to greener pastures.

 

[Robspur12]

My problem with Luka was he wasn't a dominant player who could pick the team up by the scruff of the neck, he didn't do enough imo, when we needed something special to unlock a team who were defending deep, unlike Bale. His set plays were not good enough, there were loads of games that I watched where his corners failed to clear the first man and I wanted him to take more of a risk with his passing at times, rather than just keep it simple, unlike Glenn in his pomp. I get though how important he was at keeping the team ticking over and not replacing him sooner after he left was a mistake. But I think that he can be replaced more easily whereas Bale was unique (well unique in that there are only 2 other players who can dominate games like he does). I think in time we will see Eriksen being as important a player as Modric was. I freely admit to being a biased Glenn Hoddle fan and I'm afraid Luka, good as he was, was just not as good as the master imo.

 

[Robspur12]

Amazing centre midfielder in an era where power and brute force were/are king. Definitely would make my best Spurs 11 within my lifetime.

By Luka's time things were changing, the top teams were moving away from brute force towards smaller playmakers, mata, silva, and nasri spring to mind.

 

[scaramanga]

I was involved in some rather long winded discussions with people claiming that he was overrated (essentially because he didn't get enough goals or assists).

Yep, there's a lot of not very bright people (Ahem, Timmeh) who think Modric is a number 10 and judged him on that basis. As a playmaker (either deeper in midfield, or roaming) he's one of the very best in the world.

 

[Robspur12]

Good to see a new thread in honour of our Croatian midfield maestro =D>

To add to the compilations, here's one of my favourites showing how Luka orchestrated the passing tempo of our team. Obviously it helped that Spurs had so many skilful footballers back then.

[video=youtube;r_XNLoBxmQw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_XNLoBxmQw[/video]


Oh and some stats (as I know how everyone loves those :lol: ) to emphasise how much of a void was left when the 2011/12 vintage moved on to greener pastures.

That was a title winning team as good as the current Liverpool team. If only we had that team this season with a decent manager in charge. Fooking Spurs fate has never been on our side.

 

[SteveAWOL]

That was a title winning team as good as the current Liverpool team. If only we had that team this season with a decent manager in charge. Fooking Spurs fate has never been on our side.

Yup, having seen Liverpool go on an 11 game winning streak (with the possibility of matching ARSEnal' top division record of 14 by the end of this season) I just can't help thinking back to how our equally potent 2011/12 side lost all momentum during the run-in and dropped points to dross like Wolves (a game which should've seen Spurs go top of the league), QPR, Villa, Stoke, Sunderland and Norwich... #-o

Fingers crossed that our current crop of bright prospects reach similar heights in the coming seasons and Spurs have a manager at the helm who knows how to win titles [-o<

 

[SteveAWOL]

Real Madrid's Luka Modric passes test after Bayern Munich lose their way | Michael Cox | Football | The Guardian

...The home side's outstanding player, however, was Modric, thriving in precisely the sort of game Real recruited him for. Two seasons ago, Bayern outplayed Real at this stage partly thanks to a star performance from Kroos, who combined intelligent passing with mobility and the ability to evade challenges. At the time, Real lacked that type of player – Alonso was not mobile enough, Sami Khedira not technical enough, and Mesut Özil's contributions too intermittent.

But Modric has solved that issue. There was one perfect example of his role, shortly after Real had gone ahead, where he effortlessly skipped around Schweinsteiger's challenge before playing in Benzema on the left, who crossed for Ronaldo to blaze over.

This was not an obvious evening to marvel at passing statistics considering Bayern's futile possession play but it is precisely the fact Real recorded only 28% of possession that makes Modric's 97% pass completion rate so impressive. Anyone can complete passes when their side are dominating but Modric's ability to find team-mates so consistently, when under pressure, proves he belongs at this level.

BBC Sport - Luka Modric: Real Madrid midfielder outshining the rest

...Modric was aged just six when his family were forced to flee their home in war-torn Croatia in 1991, moving into an army-owned hotel in the coastal city of Zadar. His father joined the military and his grandfather was killed. Money and food were in short supply. With grenades falling on the local football pitches, Modric honed his skills in the hotel parking lot and there began his journey to the top, starting at NK Zadar and moving on to Dinamo Zagreb via loan spells with Zrinjski Mostar in Bosnia and Inter Zapresic back in Croatia.

His progress at Dinamo preceded a £16.5m transfer to Tottenham in 2008, although injuries and questions about his physical stature had to be overcome before he really began to shine. "I have great memories of Tottenham," he says. "I spent four great years there with a lot of emotions, with a lot of love from the club and the fans. I enjoyed every moment with Tottenham. But in one moment you feel you need to take a step forward, to go to a higher level. I think it was the right time for me to go, but I will always be thankful to Tottenham for everything they did for me. I became a better player there and they pushed me to this level where I am at the moment. I will always be a fan, I follow them a lot when I can."

Modric politely asks if we can avoid discussing memories of his youth, but the emotion is still evident when he explains what it means to represent Real Madrid. "I think 'unique' is the best word to describe your feelings to play for such a special club," he says. "From the first moment I arrived here - my presentation walking into the trophy hall at the Bernabeu and seeing trophies and pictures of the legends of Real Madrid, it showed me where I've come. I feel so proud of where I've come. All I dreamed of when I became a footballer was to play for a club as big as Real Madrid. It's maybe the most famous and best club in the history of football."

Not a bad move, then,for a 5ft 9ins midfielder who it was claimed during his time in the Premier League might be too "lightweight" to become one of the very best. "People like to judge and make their own conclusions," Modric says. "I never cared what other people were saying about me - I had my aims, I believed in myself and never stopped. I've been through many difficulties in my life, but all these things made me a stronger and better person. All these critics push you forward to show people they are wrong. Maybe I look lightweight but I am a really strong person mentally and physically, and I never had any problems with my size."

This is a point illustrated by the fact Modric has made more tackles (56) than any other Real Madrid player in La Liga this season and his average number of tackles per league game (2.86) is currently higher than he recorded at the end of any campaign since leaving Dinamo. And it is not only his tackling that has improved; since Ancelotti succeeded Mourinho as head coach last summer, Modric has developed a formidable central midfield partnership with Xabi Alonso and Angel di Maria, statistically improving virtually every facet of his game in the process.

Most notable is his passing, with the 878 Modric has completed in the opposition half of the pitch in La Liga easily the highest of any Real player (Di Maria is next with 650). His passing accuracy in the league (90%) is the highest it has been since leaving Dinamo and the highest of any midfielder in Europe's top five leagues who have five or more assists this season. Modric's six assists already equals his highest for a league campaign since leaving Dinamo...

 

[AuroRaman]

We sold him for £35mil if I remember correctly? How much is he worth now? Taking into account he's probably not as marketable as Balenaldo or Messi etc

 

[Lilywhite]

Incredible footballer, I don't half miss seeing him run the show at the Lane.

 

[SteveAWOL]

@mixedknuts: Luka Modric, 2011-12. Lotta good stuff going on here. pic.twitter.com/OGe2gnn5l5

We sold him for £35mil if I remember correctly? How much is he worth now? Taking into account he's probably not as marketable as Balenaldo or Messi etc

According to http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/en/luka-modric/mwverlaufgraph/spieler_27992.html we sold Luka at the peak of his transfer value. He's 28yo now and, as you say, not going to garner as many headlines as the men up front so that makes him one of the most valuable central midfielders in world football.

At least he still speaks fondly of his time at Spurs so perhaps he will return to WHL when the Madristas get bored of him...

 

[braineclipse]

We sold him for £35mil if I remember correctly? How much is he worth now? Taking into account he's probably not as marketable as Balenaldo or Messi etc

Thing is that he doesn't score goals or get regular high assist numbers. Usually players like that won't go for massive money. If Real were looking to sell him this summer, even after his fantastic season, I don't think they would be getting more than their money back.

Me on the other hand, I thought anything less than £50m when we sold was insufficient. I really think he was that important to us.

 

[Danishfurniturelover]

He was great but we should be looking at the next "modric"

I think Pjanic(spelling) at Roma when I have watched them this season he has looked great actually score a lovely goal friday night. Not sure if we could sign him as they will have champs league football and we wont.

Cabaye was one we should have gone for straight after we sold modric, obviously that ship has sailed. So I think the one I would go for is Claise, not sure he can be as creative as modric and the others but he is a very good prospect.

Not convinced on the director of football thing but this is the time it can convince me if we sign a playmaker and not another winger. I actually thought Dembele would turn into that player but that was not to be.