Luka Modric: The Veteran Maestro Arrives at Milanello
A football genius, a rarity in recent years, has landed at Milanello. A player who has won every major trophy in his career. We could accurately describe him as `Mister 500 Wins.` Luka Modric arrives in Milan carrying this significant label, embodying triumphs and successes. He is well aware that he must bring not only his boundless talent but also a distinct winning mentality to the club. His message for the younger generation is unequivocal: winning teaches you how to win. And very few individuals globally can impart this lesson as effectively as he can.
Modric`s Remarkable 536 Career Victories
Indeed, Modric embarked on his winning journey two decades ago and has shown no signs of stopping. Throughout his career, he has consistently operated as a leader, earning the nickname `professor` at Real Madrid for his ability to dictate play and rhythm. His professional career began in his early twenties with Dinamo Zagreb, where he collected numerous league titles and various cups over four years. During this period, his win percentage impressively exceeded 80% – the highest average he ever achieved.
Following his time in Croatia, he spent four years at Tottenham. This period, as one might expect, saw a lower win-to-game ratio, settling at just 45%. However, it was at Real Madrid that his trophy cabinet truly overflowed with team and individual honors, including a staggering 6 Champions League titles and a Ballon d`Or. Crucially, he also secured an immense number of match victories: 394 successes, representing over 65% of his games there. In total, his career boasts an astonishing 536 victories. The hope in Milan is that he can replicate similar percentages and, perhaps more importantly, instill a profound winning ethos throughout the entire squad.
Comparing Modric to Lewandowski, Müller, and Bernardo Silva
Globally, only a handful of footballers can match Modric`s winning record, both in terms of collective trophies and individual match victories. Focusing specifically on the last twelve years, merely three players from Europe`s top five leagues have accumulated more successes than the Croatian midfielder: Robert Lewandowski (404 wins), Thomas Müller (400 wins), and Bernardo Silva (378 wins) are the sole players to have surpassed Modric`s 360 victories in this period. To offer an Italian football comparison, a player like Giorgio Chiellini, an icon and former Juventus captain, amassed just over 400 career victories – more than 100 fewer than Modric. This disparity underscores the extraordinary winning pedigree the Croatian brings to the table.
Modric`s Impressive Haul of 34 Trophies
The number of trophies won constitutes another exceptional category where the Croatian truly stands out. As noted, he achieved success in his homeland before continuing his triumphant journey with Real Madrid, securing victory after victory, even on the European stage. What makes this statistic even more compelling is considering only currently active players: merely Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, Cristiano Ronaldo, David Alaba, and Karim Benzema have won more team trophies than Modric. Of these, only Alaba still plays in one of Europe`s top five leagues. Luka has amassed a remarkable 34 team trophies in total: six with Dinamo Zagreb (3 league championships, 2 national cups, and 1 Supercup) and 28 with Real Madrid, including 6 Champions League titles, 6 Club World Cups, 5 UEFA Super Cups, 4 La Liga titles, 2 Copa del Rey titles, and 5 Spanish Super Cups. Interestingly, with just one more trophy, he would equal his long-time Real Madrid teammate, CR7. Rossoneri fans are ardently hoping he can achieve this milestone as early as December, perhaps in the Italian Supercoppa.
73 Victories with the Croatian National Team
This comprehensive count of victories does not even include his contributions to the Croatian national team. Yet, even there, Luka maintains impressive statistics: a win rate of over 50%, with 73 successes in 141 official matches. Modric has led his beloved Croatia for a decade, guiding them to the 2018 World Cup final, and he holds the record for most international appearances for his country, with 188 caps. Luka`s primary objective at Milan will therefore be to impart this crucial lesson to the younger players: it`s not merely the quantity of victories that matters, but also their significance and impact. The `professor` with over 500 career wins already has a crucial lesson planned for his new team.
