In the penalty shootout between Real Madrid and Manchester City in the quarter final of the 2023-24 Champions League, Modric, the first player to appear on behalf of Real Madrid, missed the penalty. Fortunately, his teammates were strong enough, and Bellingham, Vazquez, Nacho and Ludige were all fired. Luning made two excellent saves. The whole team worked together to save Modric's mistake. Modric, who is not an absolute main force in Real Madrid, can still help the team win the Champions League in his own way.
Croatia won the penalty kick at the crucial moment against Italy in the European Cup. Modric stood at 12 yards, but he missed again this time. The quality of the penalty kick he sent out was not high and was sealed by Donaruma who judged the right direction. At this moment, the Magic Flute may realize that it can only redeem itself by itself. Only a minute later, he ran to the opponent's restricted area smartly and seized the opportunity to shoot again. Modric, 38 years old and 289 days old, became the oldest scorer in the history of the European Cup.
With persistent thoughts, Magic Flute sticks to it
In the 80th minute, Modric, who had no strength, tied the captain's armband to Pericic's arm and was replaced by Croatian fans. In addition to scoring immediately after losing points to redeem himself, Modric tried to drive the attack several times when he reached the front of the restricted area in the first half. After scoring in the second half, he made some big defensive moves and paid a yellow card for himself. The replaced Magic Flute almost never sat down and always stared at what was happening on the court.
At the last minute of stoppage time, Zakani seized the empty space and shot the ball into the dead corner of the Croatian goal. Only in an instant, the situation of qualification was reversed. At this moment, Modric in the camera sits on the sideline. After the game, Modric took off his shirt and covered his face. No one will criticize such a veteran. As a midfielder, he shot more shots than any other player in Croatia's front line, and the defense was also tough, but at the last moment, he was powerless. He could only watch the team regretfully draw on the sidelines and was close to being out.
Modric, who has won many championships in the club, is now obsessed with winning a championship trophy on behalf of Croatia. Although the plaid team has been a force that cannot be ignored in the competition in the past few years. The past two World Cups have made history by winning one sub one season. The achievements of this generation of Croatian players have surpassed those of the generation led by Boban and Suk, the only thing that the plaid team lacks is the championship trophy of the World Series. Last year's UEFA was a chance for Modric and Croatia to realize their dream, but their final penalty defeat to Spain shattered Magic's dream of national team championship.
Modric still chose to insist. The old comrades who accompanied him in the past years have retired in succession, such as Manjukic, Lakitic, Subasic, Lovelen, etc. Only Modric has always insisted on fighting for his country, just for the sake of his heart. This Croatia has never proved itself in the European Cup, which is one of the reasons why Modric insists. In his autobiography published in 2018, Modric recalled Croatia's unlucky experience in several European Cups, such as being beaten by Turkey in 2008, declared out of the group by Spain in 2012, for example, the top group player in 2016 fell in front of Portugal, who was ranked third in the group in the first round of the knockout round. In his autobiography, Modric said that after he was out of the European Cup in 2016, he once had self doubt and even thought about quitting the Croatian national team.
Two years later, continue to fight?
In the last European Cup, Croatia, as the runner up of the World Cup, fell in front of Spain again in the 1/8 final. In this European Cup, Croatia, trapped in the group of death, was defeated by Spain in the first game of the group game. The second game was a draw against Albania. Croatia, who only got one point, needed to fight with Italy. Modric almost let this tenacious team survive again. But fate dictated that after making up for his own mistakes, Modric could only watch Croatia draw again on the sidelines. Facing extremely harsh qualification conditions, Croatia is on the verge of being eliminated. In Leipzig that night, the Magic Flute won the best trophy of the game, but this trophy is just a consolation prize full of tragedies. Croatia's trip to the European Cup has not officially ended, however, the last European Cup match of Modric's career has probably ended.
Strong spirit and willpower are the labels of this generation of Croatian players, and also the best portrayal of Modric. This willpower has always made it difficult for him to give up playing for his country, and also made him unwilling to leave Real Madrid as the highest stage. Even if it is no longer the absolute main force, Magic Flute always goes all out in the match for Real Madrid. Even though he is getting older, Magic Flute has never missed the national team match in recent years, and his faith still supports him to fight.
Cross, the old partner, chose to retire after success, but Modric still insisted. Recently, western media reported that Magic Flute has basically confirmed that it will renew its contract with Real Madrid for one year. Real Madrid executives do not want to lose two historic midfield masters in the same summer. After the 2022 World Cup, Modric said that he would "at least fight for his country for another world championship". During his visit to the United States on behalf of Real Madrid last summer, Modric was asked whether he would participate in the 2026 World Cup. Magic Flute did not deny that.
Wu Haoyu, Special Correspondent of Titan Sports Weekly
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