Messi, Baturina and Modric’s ‘last dance’ (or not)

It was cold, very cold Basel. March 1, 2006. In the press gallery we covered ourselves with blankets. i played Argentina a friendly match Croatia and in that match that ended in a 2-3 Croatian win, Leo Messi He began his legend as a scorer at the Albiceleste. The world had its eyes on the FC Barcelona star and only in Croatia did they focus on the young man Luka Modric who made his debut in his team. 174 caps after that match where Luka surprised with his fragile appearance but his clairvoyant football, Modric appear again on a big date, after leading Croatia in the 2018 World Cup (finalist vs France) and 2022 in Qatar, which was eliminated in the semifinals against Argentina. He left that match to a standing ovation, probably because everyone thought it would be his last match with his team. But not. Modric I want to continue playing.

18 years later, he shares a locker room with a player who is 21 years old. Born Martin Baturina on February 16, 2003 in Split and grew up surrounded by soccer. His father is a coach and his brother Roko plays for Racing de Santander. It grew big enough for Modric consider him one of his own: 172 centimeters. Only the height of Luka Modric: 172 centimeters. Two centimeters more Leo Messi. Baturina He debuted in 2021 at Dinamo Zagreb and since then Luka Modric He knows that the pool of talented footballers in his country continues to provide different numbers. Baturina He is right-footed, with an elegant, intelligent dribbling. He sees football like few others, he is easy, he grew up watching Luka Modric, the collector of titles, the amazing footballer, the simple man who makes your life easier. “The biggest strength of our team is unity. We have young people who have shown that they deserve to be here and are taking that step,” said Luka, convinced.

Modric He won 26 titles with Real Madrid, he came to this European Championship after winning the League and the Champions League in a more unfortunate season for a winner like him, because Modric He is not satisfied with the 20 minutes, he continues to think that his legs respond to the commands of his brain with the same speed as before and his football is not worried about the 39 years that he will return in September . He takes care of himself and his life is so organized that he serves as an example to the ’10’ who was called to succeed him in the Croatian team and knows whether to be on the world stage.

In March 2006, the Argentina of Messi I am preparing for the World Cup in Germany as well Pekerman on the Albiceleste bench. Argentina was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Germany. Leo didn’t enter that game. Croatia They were eliminated in the group stage and Luka only played a few minutes in the match against Japan (he came on in the 78th minute).

“I’ve always believed in myself but if they gave me a piece of paper to write down what I expect from football, the truth is I wouldn’t expect that. I remember that in 2006 there was a wonderful atmosphere in the same stadium, hopefully it will happen again and on the field we will give joy to our fans. We don’t care if everyone else is the favorite… what matters is focus. Only together we can achieve something important. Since 2006 I have improved in everything, I have more experience. The biggest difference is the years.”

Luka said about the Spanish team: “We all want to play against big teams like Spain. We want to play this game – he explained in Croatian after apologizing because they didn’t let him respond in Spanish. The detail will be important. We never get tired of playing good games. We have shown that we deserve to be on top Spain who won two Euros and a World Cup is one of the best in the history of football, now has a lot of young talent with a good mix of young and experienced players. Spain “They have a lot of talent, they are very fast, especially on the wings.”

Modric It’s similar to 2006, maybe thinner, with more wrinkles. “I feel very old when I feel that Yamal He is very young (16 years old). Yamal “He has done incredible things this year and everyone sees him as a big risk, he has a great career ahead of him.” But the truth is that it is not old. He takes pride in being the leader of a team. He feels he has the strength and football to continue.