Nineteen years ago, in a friendly between Croatia and Argentina, the Milan player made his debut in the national team against Leo and together with the current Juve technician. Today he finds him as an opponent with his Milan
On the day of the Luka Modric national debut, Igor Tudor was at his side and against a certain … Leo Messi. From 1 March 2006 almost twenty years have passed, but that friendly between Croatia and Argentina, played at St. Jakob-Park of Basel and won by the red and white 3-2, remained in the mind of Milan’s champion. Because the “first” with the national team never forgets. Then Luka was twenty years old and, despite being considered a crystalline talent of Croatian football (in 2008 it would have been purchased by Tottenham; in 2012 the transition to Real Madrid), in a few they imagined that he would make such a career. With 190 appearances in the national team, a World Cup lost in 2018 in the final against France and six Champions League raised to heaven with the Blancos shirt. That evening the coach Zlatko Kranjcar was looking for elements to be added to the squad in view of the world cup scheduled for three months later in Germany and Modric was the special observed, the Under 21 star considered ready to climb among the … great. In the initial 3-4-1-2, the boy from Zara played median alongside Nico Kovac, the current technician of Borussia Dortmund. Behind him, in the center of the three -year -old defense, the twenty -seven year old Tudor who after the World Cup concluded by Croatia with the elimination in the group stage, would have abandoned the national team (at the age of thirty the farewell to football played due to injuries).
Leo against Luka
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But let’s go back to Croatia-Argentina 3-2: the red and white did not have the talents of the next generation (Brozovic, Rakitic and Kovacic), but only a good team: in attack, just to make a couple of examples, the owners were Prso and Klasnic; In defense Simic, author of the 3-2 network. The Albiceleste led by Pekerman, on the other hand, had a firmament of stars on the pitch: in a very offensive form, a 3-3-1-3, Riquelme was behind Messi, Crespo and Tevez. A creepy attack in which they headed, for a recovery clove, Diego Milito and Aimar. In that Argentina there were, among others also Cambiasso, Burdisso, Samuel and Scaloni, then rocky defender and now coach of the world champions. And Modric? That night some class flash showed him, but inevitably his performance was clouded by Leo’s goal and Assist (for Tevez). Male Tudor, judged by the Gazzetta “too static as a central one to be able to picky holes”. Igor and Luka played four friendlies in Croatia and then two clips at the 2006 World Cup. When Zara’s champion “took the national team, Tudor wasn’t already there and admired him as a fan in front of the TV. They belong to two different generations and come from two rival football schools (Luka Dalla Dinamo Zagreb, Igor Dall’Hajduk Split), but mutual esteem has always been there and there is also now.