Luka Modric caused a sensation in Milan. Since his arrival this summer, the 40 -year -old Croatian milieu has multiplied convincing services and has already established himself as a key element of the Rossonero device. His technique, his vision of the game and his natural leadership recall memories in San Siro. To the point that an emblematic figure of Italian football did not hesitate to establish a flattering comparison with a legend from the club.
Albertini takes out the Pirlo reference
Demetrio Albertini, former captain and legend of AC Milan, dropped the word that hits the bull's eye
: “With Modric, everything is easier. Milan now has a new champion in front of his defense. This implicit reference to Andrea Pirlo will not escape anyone. Like the old number 21, the Croatian orders the tempo, anticipates the opposing weak times and relaunches with surgical precision.
The comparison is not trivial. Pirlo remains in collective memory as the absolute playing master, the one who transformed San Siro into a tactical classroom. See Albertini, who rubbed shoulders with the greatest, establishing this parallel testifies to the immediate impact of Modric. In four Serie A games, the 2018 Ballon d'Or is already displaying a goal and a decisive pass.
An express adaptation that impresses
At 39 and 354 days old, Modric has become the oldest environment to issue a decisive pass in Serie A since 2004-05. These statistics hide a deeper reality: its ability to adapt instantly to Italian football. His goal against Bologna, scored a few days after his 40th anniversary, symbolizes this Milanese Renaissance.
But beyond the figures, it is its influence on the group that strikes. Christian Pulisic and Alexis Saelemaekers greet his humility and his determining contribution. This communicative serenity actually recalls the best years of Pirlo, when the Maestro guided his partners with a simple look.
The story will say if Modric fully deserves this comparison with the architect of Milanese successes of the 2000s. But after only a few weeks, the rapprochement already seems justified by its natural class and its intelligence of play.
