Modric's former coach His forehand is like Federer's backhand

Former Croatia coach Slaven Bilic shared his impressions of Luka Modric, whom he got to know well over the years. A few days ago, the experienced midfielder recorded his 500th game for Real Madrid. In this regard, "Athletic" asked Bilic to tell about his acquaintance with the player. The first time I saw Luka was when I took over the youth national team (under 21) of Croatia in the summer of 2004 - began Bilić. - Immediately with my assistants we noticed that he is very quiet off the field, but a leader on it. I remember him as a young teenager getting into duels for a high ball with strong midfielders and forwards.

He believed he could win these duels. Of course, he didn't come out victorious in any, but at least he was trying. Even if Peter Crouch had been in front of him, he would have jumped. His forehand shot reminds me of Roger Federer's backhand. I first saw him kick the ball like that as an 18-year-old, and he got better at it as time went on. People ask me if Modric has changed. Of course it changes - like the iPhone changes every few years. There they got to iPhone 15 or 16, and Luca also made an "upgrade", even though he could do everything at the beginning. We had great footballers like Boban, Šuker, Bokšić, Prosinečki before, but he made Croatia a more popular country.

I had the privilege of being his coach. In the beginning, Modrić and I were both rookies - I as a coach, and he in men's football. So he helped me a lot and so did we with my staff on him. At Real Madrid, it doesn't matter what happened yesterday. Even Cristiano Ronaldo had to leave, and the same happened with Spaniards like Ramos, Casillas, Raul... We are talking about legends! And at the same time, Luca stayed there for so long. It's hard to explain this if you don't know him. However, if you know him and his family, then everything is extremely clear.