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The European Footballer of the Year award or Ballon d'Or, as it is more popularly known as, was introduced in 1956. There have been 25 recipients of the award till date and almost all the true greats of the game have won the award. It is a very prestigious award and a matter of great pride for the winner to win it.
For the last decade or so, however, the Ballon d'Or has become a two-horse race as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have shared the honours since 2008. Both have won the award on 5 occasions each.
However, Luka Modric, the Croatia and Real Madrid midfielder, has a very good chance of winning the award this year because of his outstanding performances for both his national team and club.
The Ballon d'Or winner would be announced on 3rd December and Modric could possibly turn out to be the chosen one. We would now take a look at 3 unique feats he is going to achieve if he goes on to win the award:
#1 He would become the first Croatian player to win the award
Croatia is a tiny nation and has a population of only 3.5 million. It almost defies belief that they actually managed to finish runners-up in the World Cup and much of the credit should go to Modric, the Golden Ball winner in the tournament.
He was magnificent in almost all the matches and scored 2 goals in the tournament. Croatia defeated teams like Argentina and England on their way to the final and Modric was their talisman throughout it. Modric also won the UEFA Champions League for the 3rd consecutive time in 2017-18.
Quite understandably, no other Croatian player has come even close to winning the Ballon d'Or. Davor Suker was among the best players in the World in the 1998-99 season as Croatia finished 3rd in the 1998 World Cup. Suker finished the 1998 Ballon d'Or awards in second place.
In fact, Modric would become only the second East European player to win the award, should he win the coveted prize on 3rd December. Lev Yashin of the erstwhile USSR had previously won the award in 1963 and remains the only East European player to have done so.
#2 He would become the first central midfielder to win the award
No central midfielder has managed to win the Ballon d’Or till date. Modric plays as a central midfielder for both Real Madrid and Croatia, although he switches to a more advanced role for his national side at times.
Modric has earned 118 caps for his national team and scored 14 goals. Moreover, he has also had numerous assists, the most recent of which came against a UEFA Nations League match against Spain, when his cross from the left-wing led to a Croatian goal.
There have been great central midfielders like Xavi and Paul Scholes in recent times, but they have not been able to win the Ballon d'Or. Xavi came quite close twice but was voted 3rd on both the occasions.
Lothar Matthaus, the recipient of the award in 1991, also played in the central midfield at times. However, during that season, he mostly played as an attacking midfielder. He actually scored 4 goals in the 1990 World Cup and that World Cup triumph was a major reason behind his Ballon d'Or win that year.
#3 Become the first player to win the award who has played for Tottenham Hotspur
Should Modric win the award, he would also become the first ever player to win the award, who has played for Tottenham Hotspur in the past. Modric played for the Spurs between 2008 to 2012 and appeared in 159 matches for them.
He played as a box to box midfielder for the London club. The Croatian moved to Real Madrid in 2012 and has reached even greater heights at the Bernabeu. But Tottenham remains the first major club that Modric played for.
There have been some great Tottenham players in the past, but none of them managed to win the Ballon d'Or. Osvaldo Ardiles, the Argentine midfielder, played for Spurs from 1978 to 1988 and was among the best midfielders in the world in his prime. However, he never went close to winning the coveted trophy.
With Harry Kane's rise, there is hope that one day he would go on and lift the coveted Golden Ball.
