Slipperduke
The Camden Cad
Even without England's involvement and, in fact, maybe even because of their absence, the European Championships are a mouth-watering prospect. Three weeks of Cristiano Ronaldo, Fernando Torres, Klass-Jan Huntelaaar and Franck Ribery at the top of their professional game, battling for supremacy. Every tournament however, brings a new name to the fore. A budding talent ready to flower in front of the world. This year, I think it's going to be Luka Modric.
Croatia are an interesting side and, like Germany, they can be sure of avoiding Italy, France, Holland and Spain all the way to the Final, so they've got a good chance to impress. They beat England home and away in their qualifying campaign and showed at Wembley that they have no concerns about ruffling the feathers of the supposed European elite. Without the stricken Eduardo, they lack a goalscoring figurehead, but in Modric, they have magic in their midfield. Slaven Bilic's side are solid enough across the rest of the pitch and, if their young creator is given a chance to express himself, you can expect some fireworks.
I'm still shaking my head in bewilderment that Tottenham managed to sign him. Chelsea and Arsenal were favourites, but it's possible that the Croat's representatives thought guaranteed first team football would be better than waiting for a chance behind Cesc Fabregas, or trying to usurp Frank Lampard, Michael Ballack and Michael Essien at Stamford Bridge. Mind you, the revelation that Darren Bent is one of the 20 highest paid footballers on the planet can't have hurt Modric's negotiations either. Payslip parity may be a more logical explanation for his decision to slum it in North London.
The White Hart Lane faithful are in for a treat next season, but before that, we'll all get to see him for ourselves in Vienna on June 8 when Croatia take on the tournament whipping boys, Austria. The home fans in Vienna actually campaigned for their own disqualification last year on the grounds that they were so bad that they would humiliate the nation. They even managed to lose at home to Steve McClaren's England, so they must be pretty awful. If Modric manages to find a little room in their midfield and starts to flash passes around, poor Austria could be in for a pounding.
Modric has been described by some as the new Johann Cruyff, which is high praise indeed, if a little premature. He certainly brings a number of Cruyff's attributes to the table. He can bring the ball under control on the move, he can release passes of superhuman precision with just a deft poke and when he gets the ball at his feet and runs, he can be impossible to stop. There are very few players in the world as comfortable on the ball as him, but if he wants to live up to these enormous expectations and comparisons, he has to prove himself this summer. Doubts remain over his slight build and sparrow-like physique, but being tiny never hurt Gianfranco Zola, another player that this little Croat resembles.
Modric wouldn't be the first player to have his head turned by enormous piles of money and he wouldn't be the first to crumple under the glare of the watching world, but I've always had a feeling about this boy. He's so good that, years from now, we could be talking about Euro 2008 as 'Modric's Tournament'.
Croatia are an interesting side and, like Germany, they can be sure of avoiding Italy, France, Holland and Spain all the way to the Final, so they've got a good chance to impress. They beat England home and away in their qualifying campaign and showed at Wembley that they have no concerns about ruffling the feathers of the supposed European elite. Without the stricken Eduardo, they lack a goalscoring figurehead, but in Modric, they have magic in their midfield. Slaven Bilic's side are solid enough across the rest of the pitch and, if their young creator is given a chance to express himself, you can expect some fireworks.
I'm still shaking my head in bewilderment that Tottenham managed to sign him. Chelsea and Arsenal were favourites, but it's possible that the Croat's representatives thought guaranteed first team football would be better than waiting for a chance behind Cesc Fabregas, or trying to usurp Frank Lampard, Michael Ballack and Michael Essien at Stamford Bridge. Mind you, the revelation that Darren Bent is one of the 20 highest paid footballers on the planet can't have hurt Modric's negotiations either. Payslip parity may be a more logical explanation for his decision to slum it in North London.
The White Hart Lane faithful are in for a treat next season, but before that, we'll all get to see him for ourselves in Vienna on June 8 when Croatia take on the tournament whipping boys, Austria. The home fans in Vienna actually campaigned for their own disqualification last year on the grounds that they were so bad that they would humiliate the nation. They even managed to lose at home to Steve McClaren's England, so they must be pretty awful. If Modric manages to find a little room in their midfield and starts to flash passes around, poor Austria could be in for a pounding.
Modric has been described by some as the new Johann Cruyff, which is high praise indeed, if a little premature. He certainly brings a number of Cruyff's attributes to the table. He can bring the ball under control on the move, he can release passes of superhuman precision with just a deft poke and when he gets the ball at his feet and runs, he can be impossible to stop. There are very few players in the world as comfortable on the ball as him, but if he wants to live up to these enormous expectations and comparisons, he has to prove himself this summer. Doubts remain over his slight build and sparrow-like physique, but being tiny never hurt Gianfranco Zola, another player that this little Croat resembles.
Modric wouldn't be the first player to have his head turned by enormous piles of money and he wouldn't be the first to crumple under the glare of the watching world, but I've always had a feeling about this boy. He's so good that, years from now, we could be talking about Euro 2008 as 'Modric's Tournament'.
