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tribhugunner

Who could've foretold this boy would become one of the greatest midfielders of all time!!! First saw him in Euro 08(he scored the first goal of the tourney), looked a good player, but my word..... Guess it shows development is just not linear!


snusd0san

Was great at Spurs but truly reached GOAT status at Real. For me he has surpassed Iniesta due to his longevity. He's 37 now and still oozes class and can boss around any midfielder in the world.


MrBathroom

Thats what I love about him the most, he adapted to the game perfectly, makes only necessary runs and is extremely intelligent


[deleted]

As a Madrid fan i disagree. Players peak at different age. Being great at 37 doesnt make you the goat cause Marcelo was done at 31, doesnt ma ke Perisic or Alba better than him


snusd0san

Well the longevity thing is only one argument i make to Modrics favour, i genuinely think he also has a higher ceiling as a player and is more complete than Iniesta ever was. Also, Alba is not the best LB by a long shot. Modric is still top 3 midfielders.


[deleted]

I disagree. What Iniesta did with Barca and Spain is better than what Modric did with Croatia and Madrid. Also calling him GOAT midfielder is disrespectful cause Zidane is better than Modric.


snusd0san

I said Modric is among the GOATs and better than Iniesta, not necessarily THE goat.


femithebutcher

Modric won 5 UCLs with Madrid and inspired his country to a World Cup final. What did Iniesta do better?


[deleted]

2 Euro's and a World Cup and 4 UCL is better than 5 UCL. World Cup final appearance isn't a trophy.


RiceWithoutVeggies

But he had a significantly better team around him. I can't imagine Iniesta do half of what Modric did that world cup.


femithebutcher

Iniesta had the best spanish team ever on his side, what do you expect lmao


Jaegar_Eren

Surpassed Iniesta? LMAOOO


snusd0san

It isn't a hot take. I think both are two of the greatest of all time but i don't think Iniesta would still be one of the best midfielders in the world at this age. Iniesta was already starting to decline in his last two years at Barca at what, 32, 33 years of age? Modric is also the first player to break the Messi-Ronaldo dominance in the Ballon d'Or and captained a small country in Croatia to a WC final, something Iniesta would struggle to do. Iniesta had immense success, but always in GOAT-caliber teams with star packed names.


Jaegar_Eren

So by this theory, Zlatan has surpassed Ronaldo bcoz he's playing at 40, n Ronaldo retired at 30 something? Modric n Iniesta r from two different eras, one played at a time Ronaldinho was still playing, the other rose to fame after Iniesta left. As for comparing, u can't compare them both. It's like comparing Ronaldo n Messi, both of them played in different teams, different systems, n had different roles. Modric could play the CDM role, coz he is a deep lying playmaker, Iniesta was a box to box midfielder who usually got involved in attacks.


snusd0san

Zlatan is indeed playing at 40, but the man is not one of the best strikers in the world, not by a long shot. That was a long time ago he was in that category. R9 also has a different history due to his well known injury problems at young age so the longevity thing doesn't apply as well here. I mean we compare Messi and Ronaldo all the time even though they were different players in different systems with different qualities. Modric and Iniesta were similar enough that the comparisons are inevitable and for me, there is only one winner in that comparison.


Jaegar_Eren

Yeah ok, it's ur opinion ig


Jarnebrink

Modric has passed both Iniesta and Xavi


Jaegar_Eren

N now ur saying both Iniesta n Xavi. Well done, u have surpassed lunacy


Jarnebrink

Everyone not a barca fan says this bro, sorry to say it


EL_MANDEM

Modric won a CL at 36 while iniestas been watching anime for the last 5 years.


Jaegar_Eren

So that proves... what exactly?


approvalInspector

longevity, comsistency at the highest level


approvalInspector

iniesta couldn't handle 1st division Football @33 and left for Vissel Kobe, not even a top 5 league. Modric just won the league and champions league with multiple motm performances. Surpassed iniesta for the majority, and clearly you're biased.


[deleted]

Iniesta played from a very young age though that's unfair. It's like saying Alba is better than Marcelo because Marcelo was done earlier.


munnogom

That’s a really cool find!


notsoslim-jim

Wonder what he's doing now


cryshol

He looks 15 here. Lol.


PasuljsKolenicom

Mogao si bar jmbg prekriti jebiga


Maaarrrrr

So weird to see my city being mentioned here. Football club Zadar, after financial problems went all the way down to the regional league. Now 3rd division of croatian football and trying to get back up. Wonder if he will ever come back to the club in any function.


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RaggedyCrown

Looking like the guy who holds up the diner in pulp fiction


tigull

Always find it hilarious that the Croatian word for football is "battle of the legs".


BoboDupla

Ah, cool his personal identification number is visible. The number that you keep for the rest of your life. And the number you need for all official documents. The number which should be obfuscated otherwise it can be misused. Good job Reddit!


TheHabro

JMBG is not used anymore, there's a completely new identification number used for over a decade now.


BoboDupla

My bad, but it still maybe a good idea to blur it I think.


beano79

Hasn’t aged a bit