Luka Modric Ballon D’or 2018
The Croatian midfield maestro Luka Modric finallyreceived plaudits for his football ability on the world scale. Luka, who was voted the greatest Croatian footballer of all time, won ahost of individual awards for his role in Real Madrid’s Europeantriumph and Croatia’s run to the World Cup final. Modric won the 2018 Golden Ball wards, joining an elite host of players to ever winthe award including Pele and Johan Cruyff.
Modric also won this year’s edition of the mensBallon D’or award, finishing well ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo insecond and Antoine Griezmann. His solitary win puts him in greatcompany, with Eusebio, Zidane, George Best and Ronaldinho gauchohaving won the award a single time. Luka becomes the first Croatian player to win the award, and the 7thReal Madrid player to pull off the achievement.
The win also breaks the dominance of two offootball’s greatest ever players, who have won the award between them for a decade. Since Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo first made the top three in 2008, they have gone on to win 5 Ballon D’or awards each. No other player comes even close, with Platini, Cruyffand van Basten holding three wins each. Ronaldo and Messi’s dominance has been so severe that this year’s award was the first time since 2008 that at least one of the two didn’t make it to thetop three.
Luka Modric Ballon D’or
Modric’s win also marks a return to an age ofappreciation for overall football ability, even without astronomicalnumbers. Ronaldo and Messi have set the bar so high with theirgoalscoring antics that it almost seemed impossible for footballersto win the award without scoring aton of goals. Like Fabio Cannavarro’s win in 2006, Modric’s victory may come as a timely reminder that there is more to football than just goals, assists anddribbles completed.
Modric and Ronaldo turn 34 in 2019, with Leo Messi turning 32. It could be the perfect opportunity for upcoming youth tostamp their legend in football history. World cup winner Kylian Mbappe has already made the first steps, having won the inaugura Kopa award that was set aside for players aged below 21 years. They willneed to face off with a host of talented senior players such as Neymar, Hazard, Pogba and a few other worldly talents who have had towait in line for the Ronaldo-Messi succession to end. Ronado and Messi continue to defy their increasing age with great performancesthat will warrant a place on the list. Who knows where theillustrious award will go next!
The only thing any football fan can be sure of is that the 2019 Ballon D’or will be one of the most closely contested since the award was created.
