Croatia captain Luka Modrić, who led the Vatreni to the World Cup Final in 2018 and Real Madrid to their fourth Champions League title in five years, was named UEFA Player of the Year today, UEFA reports.
Modrić beat out the likes of former Real Madrid teammate Cristiano Ronaldo and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah for the prestigious award: being named best player in Europe! This ends the 4-year streak of the award going to Ronaldo or Messi since Franck Ribery won it in 2013. It wasn’t even a close vote as Modrić beat out second-place Ronaldo by nearly 100 points.
Modrić is still in line to win the FIFA Best Men’s Player award later this month. What an incredible year for a boy who was once upon a time a refugee in war-torn Croatia!
@crnkovic
In 30 seconds? Ok. I was in Split in 1989 and attended a game between Hajduk – Partisan, very close to blowing up a la Dinamo – Red Star style in 1990. It was obvious shit was about to hit the fan, but thought it would be another 10 years before the breakup. I’m suggesting that a large war throughout Europe will kickoff soon. BTW, your mama told me to watch Kai Murros. 😉 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fd-nqG0cWVY&t=17s
Tgif, bought a six pack and sat down to watch Halilovic’s AC Milan vs Coric’s Roma, but I fell asleep in a drunken stupor. How did Rakitic’s and Modric’s replacements play? Anyone watch the game?
Kind of hard to control where your clearance is going when you got an offside Pogba deliberately pushing you in the back as you attempt a clearance. Maybe VAR should have been used then?
The Fix was in in that final. Just read my article that I wrote here. Check out the Sweden Mexico game. Same ref goes to Var and didn’t give a PK to Sweden for the Chicharito Handball.
Compare it to Perisic and the call is a joke.
Chicharito Handball no PK
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONJlYSrzvkI
Perisic Handball PK
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAVS_tyRh7w
Right on iVo.
Ahead of the England game I kept saying to myself if we win that game, then there will be no tears if a loss comes in the final.
Losing like (italics)that(italics) though is another matter. Both French first-half goals bogus ref BS. Clear as day. Changed the game entirely.
This ain’t ‘league play’ where you can ‘get ’em back next year’ this is the World Cup final, once every four years so, yes, I’m still unabashedly pissed off.
I agree about the rest.
4 days or 3 days is huge when you’ve played 3 extra times, and 2 pk’s
We started that game well but we looked pretty flat after they went ahead.
Pretty sure those goals deflated us mentally too.
To be down at the half when all the stats were favoring us would be pretty deflating.
Still think its bullshit but I’ve moved on.
Deleted the final from my pvr that day.
I’ve watched that England match from the 60th minute onward about half a dozen times though.
Either way just move on like when we missed World Cup 2010 World Cup 2014 we had a good team but couldnt defeat Mexico we just have to move on. Modric and Rakitic didnt play well in World Cup 2014 but Ivan Perisic did he was one of the most efficient players according to FIFA in the group stages.
@ Zlatan
it was a sloppy final with dubious plays and calls. I think most of us would have accepted a well earned Afro-French win but there are so many things not right about the final.
Also the fact that Afro-French got one day extra rest is pure FIFA schedule bullshit.
Never said it was a clear cut handall but they pay them this tournament with VAR also Mandzukic had a dumb look on his face after the own goal he could have headed that anywhere but didnt.
^gbvh
@Zlatan Hrvat
If you think that was a clear-cut handball, one that wasn’t called on the field but reviewed and called via VAR, then we can’t help you.
The panel during the broadcast here in Canada at halftime all said it was a terrible call. Even Howard Webb …. who spent almost the entire tournament talking about how great the refs are. Mourinho bashed the call too. We could go on…..
filip who the FUCK is Kai Murros? and why are you listening to an idiot like that? who told you to listen to him? he is complete idiot. i watched his speech for 30 seconds his argument are non sensical. DO NOT LISTEN to him. USE YOUR BRAIN
Also .. mbappe handles ball before he goes on run to set up Pogba break away goal.
Lovre Kalinic not in for Subasic is on Dalić.
Doubt Dalić ever let’s that happen again.
Another thing my Scottish friends told me that there
Was a Pavard handball. Has anyone seen this ?
@Zlatan
Pogba was offside on that Mario own goal.
There is video.
France wasnt gifted two goals Mandzukic is the blame for his lazy header and Subasic was to blame for barely moving to save it. The penalty Perisic was to blame he should have known VAR move your arms hands out of the way dont flap at the ball. Its easy to blame FIFA but not our igraci.
^ ^
Exactly!
all of you guys feel the glory for the merely second place yet you know the fact that we had been fucked by ref. “Modric won a balloon d or” well another FIFA dessert and then you will eat that shit!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2hUiKLZkdI&t=43s
Does it come down to this Europe?
@ Faux Cro
Two things Ziva loves :
Denying he called Luka Modrić a bust because he couldn’t immediately play well after a deadline transfer and navigating a toxic Mourinho locker room.
And .. Quasi relevant basketball references.
Živa .. Di si brate?
No need to hide out in the fortified “name change.”
Tell me “the truth,” your cynical self was happy when FIFA treachery stole the World Cup from us.
Right now you are thanking god that Grezman has at least some modicum of legitimacy for the Balon Dor.
Could you imagine “bust” to Balon Dor ?
Bet that would get your fragile ego in a bit of a conundrum.
Also Pulisic .. USA born Hrvat is going to be World Class and would definitely have been a #10 for us if HNS had there shit together.
Stay thirsty my friend.
Every time the Truth wants or thinks about coming back as Ziva Istina (official logo and all), the Bust fucks it up by winning another award.
Luka on his worst day could never play like a bust. That word should have never been used.
Anyone with a bit of intelligence could have figured out he was a month behind everyone as far as training when he joined Real Madrid and just needed time to catch up.
Bravo Luka!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My cousin Neno just ran into Luka in the airport the other day in Zadar. I am so proud to be a Hrvat, and from Zadar nonetheless.
Is it just me, or is there zippo, zilch, nada mention on BBC’s Football page about Luka or even for that matter the men’s player of the year?
Talky about bitter, salty sods…Keep up the class acts you wanking brits.
thats what im saying poglavnik..politics intervened fifa run by french ..helped their open borders country france ..to bring unity to all the strange strangers from anywhere to be happy
.its that fucked up imo..i know we would have won with our momentum 1st half..ref was ordered to throw in monkey wrench to grind our gears..imo.yebo ga wrag..i say that right..hope the devil fucks these govno enabler manipulating pos!!!
@Soul Champ
Well said.
@Ziva
Just admit you were wrong.
@soulchamp
Well said, the next Modric will be better!
Well i think it was said that modric was playing like a bust… Not that he was a bust
I’ve long touted modric incredible ability and the difficult of Croatia every replicating
Psss…. It’s not kovacic
He’s not the best player in Europe, but still a great midfielder who the media have a feel good award to
@ Cynical Hrvati
On a plane 10 years ago with Davor Šuker .. he was heading to the US for his BS camps and autograph tour.
He told me we would never replicate ‘98.
Now I hear we will never produce a player of a Modrić quality.
When I heard 6 years he was a BUST and at the very least NOT world class.
NOW he is the best player in the world!!
Take that cynicism and shove it up arse.
Vi ste svi mali po sranci.
@ pravi Hrvati
Ako znaš .. onda znaš .
Bog i Hrvati.
France don’t even give a shit about their football. I work with tons of Frenchies and they were all super blasé about the tourney until it was about halfway through then they started jumping on the bandwagon. They have some of the least passionate fans for a supposed footballing heavyweight I can think of. And most of their successes were fishy.
1998, Brazil no-show.
2000, Abel Xavier hand ball late in extra time.
2010, Hand of Frog, Henry v Ireland.
2018, 2 gifted goals.
https://youtu.be/56b_rmUHUg4
Tourism in Paris fell by 80% because of subhuman conditions I the streets..it’s a mess .shit piss hopelessness..our cro team was duped by fifa ,period..imo.Let me sleep in peace someone tell me I am wrong in thinking our / my cro brothers did not get the wool pulled over their eyes ..ref.fifa..etc to lose the wc by manipulation .Mother fuckers who never allowed a great country like Croatia to win.!!
Someone said that France was really worried
If they lost the riots would have been much worse.
I’ve seen videos of some of the fighting just st Arab
Scum.
ivo..we were fucked royally by the powers to be..it was political more so than just money..france is a terorist cess pool of un unified strangers living in a strange land..the fake victory handed to france brought them some temporary unity..imo.
Modric playing like a bust…as in, his bust is going to be in the Fifa World Football Museum (closest thing to a hall of fame that I know of.)
No doubt
We doubt we were fucked out of the World Cup.
Croatia has no money or political capital. A bone would be
To win the Nations League.
God blessed us with luka. Someone will come along o e day but hard to replicate.
imo fifa waging dogs tail..modric is great but i think fifa giving cro fans a bone or 2nd hand prize to get our minds off the fact ..ref was told to fuck us at all cost 2018 wc ..in my gods honest opinion..even though its a fact.
Love that it wasn’t even close!! Legenda!
Great for modric. It will be tough for Croatia to produce a better player again. He’s had a great season . Although I’m pretty sure he’s not the best player in Europe but he’s got media momentum on his side. Similar to when they have Derrick rose the mvp award. Like in hoops media gets tired of just giving it to Jordan, shaq, and lebron so the award actually becomes best story of the year. And modric is this year’s winner
BRAVO legend!
Big time bust! 😉
OUR GREATEST SON .
:)))))))))))))