Euro 2016: Luka Modric’s class carries Croatia in tough, physical battle with Turkey

It isn’t often that the person who works the hardest and does the invisible stuff comes out the hero. The name in the headline, the photo front and centre. Today was such a day. Luka Modric is such a player. His 41st-minute volley — taken from 25 metres off a stray ball that looped out of the box following a scuffle off a corner — dipped under the Turkish keeper Volkan Babacan’s outstretched right arm, crossed into the bottom left corner, and settled the first encounter of what is perhaps the precariously interesting Group D. [caption id=“attachment_2830870” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Croatia’s Luka Modric celebrates after scoring his side’s first goal. AP[/caption] The scoreline should have been different. Croatia hit the woodwork thrice, attacked with more purpose, had the better chances and the control, and played like a team that can be followed keenly. They created 18 chances, twice as many as did Turkey; six of them were on target. No team before them has created this many chances. Turkey responded with spells of attack, the kind of physical intensity that is expected of them, and did have their chances. But they did not control the midfield, and their defence will not like the videos that are replayed to them by the coaching staff. While Turkey is not the strongest opposition Croatia will face, there is history there, most famously the heartbreak of Euro 2008, when Turkey knocked them out of a game that Croatia had virtually secured with a last-gasp equaliser, and then a crushing penalty shootout. Among those who missed was Luka Modric. The Real Madrid central midfielder redeemed himself today — and then some — with a goal that will be replayed over and over for a while. With his small frame and delicate skills, Modric is not the kind of player who goes inside the opponent’s box for set pieces. Like Paul Scholes, he’s the man who stalks a few yards shy of the box, waiting to pounce on balls that stray off the aerial scrum. Players practice such shots. But these are, by their very nature, very difficult to control. The timing is critical, as is the placement; most players are in front of you. The dream shot, straight out of Playstation, avoids all the bodies, dips under the ’keeper, and stays inside the post. Modric produced that on the big stage in France. He did this in a game he controlled and directed from the centre. There were times when he was playing from behind the Croatian centre-backs. His industry left the holding midfielder Milan Badelj largely unemployed over long stretches. Modric passed more than anybody else: 58 passes at 90 percent accuracy. Ivan Perisic was another standout attacking player for Croatia. He started on the left wing, and switched to the right towards the end. Time after time, he tormented the Turkish midfield and defence, demonstrating why he is billed as one of the hottest talents on show in France. Captain Darijo Srna had a better game than was expected of the 34-year-old right-back. Centre-back Vedran Corluka provided defensive solidity, even as blood ran down his face from a gash that resulted from the Turkish centre-forward Cenk Tosun’s elbow, earning the No.9 a yellow card. Corluka got the fans behind the team, if they ever had deserted, with his gladiatorial encounters with Tosun. The Turkish attacker had a disappointing outing, with Turkey’s best chances coming from the attacking midfielders. Croatian manager Ante Cacic had opted for the more versatile and experienced midfielder Marcelo Brozovic on the right wing, instead of the pacey young winger Marko Pjaca, who came on as a substitute minutes before the whistle. Pjaca has also got the pundits buzzing about his abilities, and hopefully, he will see more time in the next encounter, against the Czech Republic on June 17. It became clear that this Croatia team will rely a lot on width, on pace in wide areas. It isn’t that they did not create from the middle. Ivan Rakitic was the attacking midfielder, playing between the lines and linking with striker Mario Mandzukic as well as the wingers. He had a good outing, sniffing the goal on two occasions, and putting through some beautifully weighted through balls. But teams better than Turkey will not allow them such composure in the midfield, neither will better defences let them through so readily — even if they created their chances with spark and spunk. That’s when the defensive capabilities of Badelj and the centrebacks will get tested. For the time being, Croatia will enjoy their win — and exorcising the ghost of 2008.