2 minute read
Luka Modric 2018
Acrobatic…Modric volleys the ball
Robert Jarni et al. But that memorable side has been surpassed by the class of 2018, orchestrated and directed by Modric.
As Spain, Germany, Argentina and Brazil fell by the wayside in Russia, Modric was the man who lifted his team to a higher level. His talents, both creative and physical, allowed his team-mates to flourish. With long pinpoint passes as well as sharp, competitive challenges, his full range of qualities was on display.
It is rare for a player to star for both club and country in the same season but only a few weeks after he had
celebrated winning the Champions League with Real Madrid in Kiev, Modric was named the best player of the World Cup.
Croatia are the latest in a long line of east European countries who have been raised from the pack by an extraordinary individual: Bulgaria with Hristo Stoichkov, Gheorghe Hagi’s Romania and the Ukraine of Andriy Shevchenko.
Modric is Croatia’s greatest-ever player and arguably the best to have emerged from the region of the former Yugoslavia.
Forwards and attacking midfielders have dominated these awards since their inception in 1982, but Modric is breaking the mould.
Fabio Cannavaro (2006) and Paolo Maldini (1994) are the only defenders to have been recognised, with Xavi (2010) and Lothar Matthaus (1990) the only previous central midfielders to win the award.
Modric is also the first Croatian winner and only the second from Eastern Europe, after Pavel Nedved in 2003. His victory – which was the tenth in a row for either a Real Madrid or Barcelona player –is yet another for the Spanish Liga. Real Madrid players have now won the award eight times, a tally which is second to Barcelona’s ten, but more than Juventus (seven) and Milan (six).
In the voting for the World Manager of the Year award, France coach Didier Deschamps was the clear winner, ahead of last year’s number one, Zinedine Zidane, who guided Real Madrid to a third successive Champions League title. Deschamps joined an elite group who have won the World Cup as both a player and a coach and is the sixth Frenchman to win Wor ld Soccer’s World Manager award.
France, following the pattern of World Cup winners usually being recognised in a World Cup year, won the World Team of the Year award, ahead of European champions Real Madrid and World Cup runners-up Croatia in third. Another thing Modric can be proud of. John Holmesdale
Top 10 Players of 2018
Player Club Country Points
1) Luka Modric Real Madrid Croatia 706 2) Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid/Juventus Por tugal 576 3) Kylian Mbappe Paris Saint-Germain France 486 4) Lionel Messi Barcelona Argentina 452 5) Antoine Griezmann Atletico Madrid France 391 6) Mohamed Salah Liverpool Egypt 352 7) Eden Hazard Chelsea Belgium 326 8) Kevin De Bruyne Manchester City Belgium 219 9) Raphael Varane Real Madrid France 185 10) Harry Kane Tottenham Hotspur England 142
Proud…Champions League king
Other World Soccer Award winners 2018
Glory…Les Bleus
TEAM OF THE YEAR: France
