It was cold, very cold Basel. March 1, 2006. In the press gallery we covered ourselves with blankets. He played Argentina a friendly against Croatia and in that match that ended with a 2-3 Croatian victory, Leo Messi He began his legend as a scorer in the Albiceleste. The world had its eyes on the FC Barcelona star and only in Croatia did they focus on the young man Luka modric who made his debut with his team. 174 caps after that match in which Luka was surprising due to his fragile appearance but his clairvoyant football, Modric appears again on a big date, after leading Croatia in the 2018 World Cup (finalist against France) and 2022 in Qatar, which was eliminated in the semifinals against Argentina. He came out of that match applauded, perhaps because everyone thought it was his last match with his national team. But not. Modric I wanted to continue playing.
18 years later, he shares a locker room with a player who is 21 years old. Born Martin Baturina on February 16, 2003 in Split and grew up surrounded by soccer. His father is a coach and his brother Roko plays for Racing Santander. He grew just enough so that Modric consider him one of his own: 172 centimeters. Just the height of Luka modric: 172 centimeters. Two centimeters more than Leo Messi. Baturina He debuted in 2021 at Dinamo Zagreb and since then Luka modric He knows that the pool of talented footballers in his country continues to provide different figures. Baturina He is right-footed, with an elegant, intelligent dribble. He sees football like few others, he has it easy, he has grown up watching Luka modric, the collector of titles, the sublime footballer, the simple person who makes your life easy. “The greatest strength of our team is unity. We have young people who have shown that they deserve to be here and are taking that step,” says Luka, convinced.
Modric He has won 26 titles with Real Madrid, he comes to this European Championship after winning the League and the Champions League in a more unfortunate season for a winner like him, because Modric He is not satisfied with 20 minutes, he continues to think that his legs respond to the orders of his brain with the same speed as before and that his football is not worried about the 39 years that he will turn in September. He takes care of himself and his life is so organized that he serves as an example to the ’10’ called to succeed him in the Croatian team and who knows if on the world stage.
That March 2006, the Argentina of Messi was preparing the World Cup in Germany with Pekerman on the Albiceleste bench. Argentina was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Germany. Leo did not enter that game. Croatia They were eliminated in the group stage and Luka only participated for a few minutes in the match against Japan (he came on in the 78th minute).
“I have always believed in myself but if they had given me a piece of paper to write what I expected from football, the truth is that I wouldn’t expect that much. I remember that in 2006 there was an impressive atmosphere in this same stadium, I hope it will be repeated and on the field we will give joy to our fans. We don’t care if others are the favorites… it’s important to be focused. Only together we will achieve something important. Since 2006 I have improved in everything, I have more experience. The biggest difference is the years.”
Luka talks about the Spanish team: “We all want to play against big teams like Spain. “We want to play this game,” he explained in Croatian after apologizing because they wouldn’t let him respond in Spanish. The details will be important. We never get bored of playing great games. We have shown that we deserve to be at the top. The Spain that won two Euros and a World Cup was one of the best in the history of football, now there is a lot of young talent with a good mix of young people and experienced players. Spain “They have a lot of talent, they are very fast, especially on the wings.”
Modric It is the same as in 2006, perhaps leaner, with more wrinkles. “I feel very old when I feel that Yamal He is so young (16 years old). Yamal “He has done incredible things this year and everyone sees him as a great danger, he has a great career ahead of him.” But the truth is that he doesn’t feel old. He feels proud of himself as the leader of a team. He feels with the strength and football to continue.
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