A world footballer fails against another: Luka Modrić and his Croatia suffer after the semifinals at the World Cup. Also, because the "golden generation" threatens to slowly dissolve. But the world footballer of 2018 will continue, many are sure. There is a lot to be said for it.
Croatia and the end of a golden football generation: Luka Modrić has been following this topic and headlines like this for more than six years now. After the 2016 European Championship, it was said that the Croatians and their superstar would never get another chance like this. Two years later they were in a World Cup final. In 2018 it was said: Such a success will certainly not be achieved a second time in such a small country. On Tuesday evening, however, it failed again at the World Cup in Qatar until the semi-finals.
And now? Modrić is now 37 years old and has won the Champions League five times with Real Madrid. He knows how to classify success and failure realistically. So after the 0:3 (0:2) against Argentina he briefly pointed out that before Lionel Messi made it 0:1 he would have awarded a corner kick for Croatia instead of a penalty for Argentina. But his key message was: "We have to congratulate the Argentines. They were the better team and they certainly deserved it more than we did to reach the final."
Modrić was not specific about his own future in the national team. "My last game with the national team?" The 2018 world footballer simply asked: "I don't know, we'll see. This is not the right time to talk about it." If you take your own statements before the tournament ("I will play until Croatia wins something important - or someone better ousts me") and those of your close confidants after the lost semifinals as a benchmark, there are many indications: At the next World Cup in 2026 he will probably no longer take part when he is almost 41 years old. At the European Championship 2024 in Germany, on the other hand, it is.
"This is the golden generation of Croatian football. They have achieved great things," said coach Zlatko Dalic, not only referring to his most important player Modrić, but also to defender Dejan Lovren and left winger Ivan Perišić (both 33). "Maybe this is the end of this generation at a World Cup. But I think this generation will also be at Euro 2024."
Because there is still a lot to be achieved by then: the final tournament of the Nations League in June 2023. The European Championship qualification. And above all: "It would be great if we could still win the bronze medal at this World Championships on Saturday. That would be the highlight of this generation," said their coach.
Dalic definitely wants to continue until 2024. And the already most successful coach in the history of the Croatian national team has done very well so far by not letting his "golden generation" step down in blocks, but in stages.
Mario Mandzukic and Ivan Rakitic ended their international careers in 2018 and 2020. Modrić will probably follow in the foreseeable future, but not immediately. In the meantime, the small country of four million people keeps bringing out new top players who first learn alongside the old and then take on their responsibility. The 20-year-old defender Josko Gvardiol from RB Leipzig is one such name. Red Bull Salzburg playmaker Luka Sucic, who is the same age, is said to be the next big thing.
In this context, an anecdote from the EM 2016 in France is significant. At that time, the Croatians were the best team in terms of play in the preliminary round, but then lost in extra time in the round of 16 against eventual European champions Portugal. The Portuguese Eduardo, who plays for Dinamo Zagreb, was asked back then whether this was the sporting end of the Modric generation and the goalkeeper gave a short laugh as an answer. You have no idea, he meant to the journalists, what is still to come in this country. "They have so much talent, such a strong competitive mentality."
That was back in 2016. And in December 2022, Modrić's teammate Toni Kroos said as a TV expert on Magenta TV: "If I had to guess, I would say: He's still playing the European Championship in Germany. He's just crazy about football too."
