LEIPZIG, Germany – His expression as he posed with the UEFA Man of the Match award said it all. Part medieval oil painting (the suffering peasant who thought he had escaped the Black Death only to find his village burned to the ground), part a battle-weary warrior turned to stone by the gaze of the Basilisk, part ” “I'm fucking this stupid guy.” piece of metal through the window because it no longer makes sense now that we have lost.
🥇🇭🇷 UEFA Man of the Match: Luka Modrić.
Heartbreaking for the legend. 💔 pic.twitter.com/VYoNlb73gt
—Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 24, 2024
We don't know if this was Luka Modric's last game in a major international tournament. If you love this game, you'll hope he doesn't know it either. He probably he doesn't.
“I would like to continue playing forever, but there will probably come a time when I will have to hang up my boots,” he said after Monday's heartbreaking 1-1 draw against Italy. “I'll keep playing, but I don't know for how much longer.”
What we do know is that he went through a cruel centrifugation of emotions, a sadistic cycle of joy-despair-joy-despair that ended with that tin trophy pictured above and only the faintest hopes of making it to the knockout rounds of Euro 2024.
After a relatively calm first half, fate (and Davide Frattesi's arm inexplicably at the height of his head) gave him the opportunity to charge all of Croatia once again (“Small country, big dreams”, read the motto in many t-shirts) on your back and carry them later in the tournament. VAR sent referee Danny Makkelie to the screen to investigate a possible handball by Frattesi, and when he returned and pointed to the spot, the Croatian crowd erupted.
Now everything depended on Modric, and he would not let them down because legends don't let you down. Except burly Italian goalkeeper Giianluigi Donnarumma extended a long bear paw to his left and snuffed out the penalty, sending him spinning toward the sideline.
Did Modric have time to realize that he had just wasted his country's ticket to the next round? Or did the adrenaline stop him from even processing what had happened?
If he noticed, he recovered pretty quickly. Croatia took advantage of the clearance, sent a cross, Ante Budimir was there to receive it, Donnaruma's reflex save deflected the ball and Modric seemed to finish.
It was as if the football gods had risen up as one and said: “No, Luka, this is definitely No “How are you going to get out?” Thirty-three seconds had passed. Either the blink of an eye or an eternity, depending on perspective. But she was given her chance and, this time, he took it.
We saw a different Modric from that moment on. Fatigued, exhausted, but also determined, drawing on reserves of energy that should not have been available to him. He even found himself booked for knocking down an opponent, and when he was substituted with nine minutes remaining, the Croatian crowd applauded their captain.
And then everything was taken away. The next thing he knew, the men in blue were celebrating and the UEFA suits were approaching him with that player of the match statuette.
My feeling is that this doesn't end here. It's not just loyalty and patriotism to their country and their fans, it's not just love for the game, it's not just fear of what comes next for retired legends. Heck, we've been here before, very recently. Do you remember the first six months of your season at Real Madrid? His diminished role as a super substitute, his disgruntled looks from the bench, the realization that after 12 years he was no longer the center of the club's wheels?
Modric took it to his chin, sulked, and then got up, dusted himself off, and made it work. He accepted the role, finished the season strong and played an important role in giving Madrid its umpteenth LaLiga title and the Champions League. Along the way, he had so much fun that sources tell ESPN that he will extend his contract for another season, returning for 2024-25, rather than fade away into the sunset like his teammate and teammate Toni Kroos.
Plus, just look at it. He ignores the deep lines on his face and the sunken eyes. Or get yourself a good Instagram filter. You will see the same youthful enthusiasm, the same delicate touch, the same ability to escape, the same vision and the same drive that he showed a decade ago. There's something of Dorian Gray about him – how many other 38-year-olds do you know who can get away with that haircut?
And if, as unlikely as it may seem at the moment, he ends, consider yourself blessed to have witnessed so many of his successes, both with the best blue bloods, Real Madrid, and the underdogs, Croatia.
Just do me a favor. Don't talk about the end of a Golden Generation. That's what they said when Croatia's 1998 World Cup semi-finalist team, the team of Zvonimir Boban and Davor Šuker, Slaven Bilić and Robert Prosinečki, began to fade. Then what happened? From this generation emerged that of Modric, of Ivan Perisic and Ivan Rakitic, of Mario Mandžukić and Domagoj Vida.
The torch is ready to be passed, Josko Gvardiol is ready to receive it. Because yes, football is cyclical, but the quality and mentality last. And Croatia, as a sports culture, has both.
But remember Modric: if you want to pass the baton, we will understand. No one will think less of you. However, after what happened on Monday in Leipzig, you don't want to go out like that, right?
Stay with the torch, maybe until the 2026 World Cup. Your old teammate Cristiano Ronaldo will be there and he's older than you. Get rid of the ridiculous man of the match award. You don't need it.
