The holder of Ballon d’Or on the bench, it has been a little more than a month until we discover who is going to be the next footballer for 2019 in the world. Till then, Luka Modric is going to be the holder of the award. However, it cannot be said that he is the sure-fire starter anymore under Zinedine Zidane.
Amongst the three ‘Clasico midfielders Casemiro and Kroos remain in the starting XI of Zidane without any doubt. Nevertheless, Modric has seen the grip on the third position of midfielder slip away. He did come on for the last thirty minutes in the match against Leganes. Yet, the score was 3-0 and the opposition has started thinking about the weekend. The substitution seems to have been made so that Kroos could get some rest instead of anything else.
Following the Clasico being postponed, it had been the ideal opportunity to play Modric at a home game against a coping opponent. The thirty-four-year-old players have come back from an injury and it could have been an excellent chance to get him up to speed. This would also have provided Casemiro with the required rest, who risks overdoing it. Nevertheless, Zinedine Zidane stuck to the formula which worked for him previously by lining up Casemiro, Kroos, and Valverde. The coach is quite comfortable placing the Uruguayan player midfield. Also, Real Madrid appears to be more dynamic with him on the team, the young player of 21 versus a veteran player of 34.
The outcome of suspension, injuries, and Valverde taking up his minutes has left Modric with the fewest minutes in his term with Real Madrid. In 2019, he played 276 minutes and is quite less in comparison to last year’s 497 minutes. In fact, in the last season, he played 937 minutes.
