GdS: Precious rest for Modric – why Milan can smile after Croatia’s qualification

On Friday evening, Luka Modric secured a spot in his fifth career World Cup with Croatia, making AC Milan a little happy too.

Why is this the case? As La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) report, with qualification secured the Croatia coach Dalic will be able to give his starters a break tomorrow in Montenegro, in a match that has become as important as a friendly.

Modric won’t return to Milanello early and will remain there to guard his teammates, as the leader and captain of the national team that he is. That said, he’ll be sitting on the bench, thus conserving precious energy for next Sunday’s derby.

The best preparation

For Luka, this will be his first Milan derby, after having experienced plenty of them in both London and Madrid. In the dreams of Inter fans, Modric could have joined years ago when they pursued him in 2018. He chose to stay at Real Madrid, racking up many more honours before joining Milan.

“It’s sad that Madrid didn’t allow Modric to finish his career there, at the club where he left an epic mark on football,” Zvonimir Boban said, whom Luka considers somewhat of a mentor. Boban attempted to bring his protégé back to Dinamo Zagreb, where he is now president.

“We had a dream of him coming back here, but there was no way. Modric made other choices, and since it wasn’t Dinamo, I’m happy it was Milan,” the former Rossoneri director revealed.

Present and future

Luka himself is also happy, having found Milan to be a marvel, and not just on the pitch. The Croatian’s entire family loves the city, so much so that if footballing things continue as they are, it’s practically a given that Modric and Milan will stay together for another year.

Modric has already faced Inter in the past, playing for Tottenham and Real Madrid: six previous meetings, with only one defeat (in their first meeting, a 4-3 defeat for the Nerazzurri against Spurs) and five consecutive victories (four against Los Blancos, one against the English club).

These weren’t derbies, however. Even so, the Croatian knows the meaning of city rivalry. Two of his six Champions League titles in Madrid (a record shared with Carvajal, Kroos, Nacho and Gento) came in finals against Atletrico.

For now, there’s no European trophy to be played for with Milan, but Sunday’s match at San Siro could already be a crucial turning point for the Scudetto. Inter can go five points ahead, but Milan can jump above their city rivals, with Modric sure to be at the heart of things.