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MADRID, SPAIN – SEPTEMBER 02: Luka Modric of Real Madrid controls the ball during the La Liga match between Real Madrid and Granada at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on September 2, 2012 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images)
When the Luka Modric saga finally ended on the transfer deadline day, many moved to question how he would fit into a side that already functions so well without him in the first place. Would Mesut Ozil face the axe? Or would the victim be Sami Khedira? Angel di Maria perhaps? The answer is far simpler than it has been made out to be. The reason being that Tottenham, under Harry Redknapp, played practically the same system as Real Madrid do under Jose Mourinho. At Tottenham, Luka Modric would – on paper at least – sit alongside Scott Parker at the base of the midfield, with Bale operating down the left, Lennon down the right, and Van der Vaart playing in the ‘hole’ behind Adebayor, in a 4-2-3-1 shape. And on the several occasions that Lennon’s fitness couldn’t keep up with his pace, Van der Vaart filled in on the right, and Defoe and Adebayor would play together as part of a striking duo in the more rigid and ineffective 4-4-2.
While both Modric and Parker played as holders on the pitch, Parker was the one primarily indulging in the defensive activities, while Modric was essentially the playmaker, moving up from his position to supply the entire forward line. And Tottenham, like Real Madrid, operate with fast wingers capable of crossing into the box, as well as cutting in to shoot at goal, and the overlapping runs of the full-backs in Assou-Ekotto and Kyle Walker. At Real Madrid, the system while not completely identical, wouldn’t be too different either. Modric will, in all probability, end up usurping Sami Khedira as the holding midfielder alongside Xabi Alonso. Xabi Alonso too, is a more refined and able version of Scott Parker, and would be undertaking most of the tackling, and breaking up of play. Till last season, most of the creative onus lay with Ozil, and when he underperformed, Real looked to Cristiano Ronaldo to create the goals as well as score them, something which proved detrimental at times in the season. With Modric around, Ozil would now be able to focus more on creating breakthroughs for his teammates rather than dictating the entire flow of play as well.
Several have often remarked that Modric is an overrated player, considering he doesn’t chip in with nearly as many goals and assists as his price-tag dictates he should. But that is where the role of a classic playmaker is undermined by the fans. While Modric may not often play the final pass which leads directly to the goal, he will more often than not be behind the pass before the one that leads to goal. With the ability to spread play across the entire playing surface, he creates chaos in the opposition defences, without actually attacking them himself.
Tottenham have played a solitary game without him this season, and it was for all to see how large a void the diminutive Croatian has created within the team. Gareth Bale would probably never have prospered as much as he did without Modric’s fantastic passes in behind the defence, thus prompting Bale to outrun the full-back, and inevitably cross into the box, or cut in and attempt a shot himself. Or maybe the long balls out directly to Adebayor or Peter Crouch the season before. Both tall players, they’d knock down the cross, and allow Van der Vaart, Bale, or Modric to shoot at goal.
At Real Madrid, a Portuguese winger called Cristiano Ronaldo will play Gareth Bale’s role far more threateningly, and Angel di Maria that of a far more competent Aaron Lennon. Ronaldo would, in particular, thrive on Modric’s passes, as would Di Maria who’s metier is the ability to run at defenders, and then invariably pass to Ronaldo or Benzema/Higuain up top.
Madrid could also choose to use Modric as a utility player, playing in a variety of positions. Modric could replace Ozil as the teams No.10, or on the left-wing, with Ronaldo dropping in behind the strikers. However they should choose to play him, it is undeniable that Modric is the player that completes an otherwise delectable squad, and it would probably bring the best out of their other players as well.
