With many betting sites suspending prices on Modric’s move to Real Madrid with sources claiming that the Spanish giants had agreed personal terms with the player, there has been a wave of acceptance amongst English fans, including Tottenham, Chelsea and Manchester United (with the latter two being linked with the playmaker over the last year or two) now looking elsewhere for a player of the similar mould. He is likely to slot in besides Xabi Alonso in the midfield for Real Madrid, and we will look to how his last season in the Premier League was in comparison to some of the playmakers featuring in the Spanish League.
| Player | Appearances | Goals | Assists | Average Passes | Pass Completion (%) |
| Modric |
36 |
4 |
4 |
70.4 |
87.4 |
| Navas |
37 |
5 |
12 |
36.5 |
75.1 |
| Xavi |
26 |
10 |
7 |
93.8 |
92.4 |
| Ozil |
30 |
4 |
17 |
46.8 |
87.1 |
Luka Modric in 2011-2012
Appearances- 36
Goals- 4
Assists- 4
Average number of passes/Pass Success(%)- 70.4/87.4%
Many watchers of the Premier League on a week to week basis may be valid in saying that these statistics do not provide the whole story to his contribution towards Tottenham’s race for a Champions League place. Often played out of position due to injuries to Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon, Modric has been shifted out of position by having to deploy wide left and wide right positions to try and fill the gaps left by injuries, whilst trying to maintain a high quality performance for the teams cause. With a higher quality of talent around him at Madrid, with names like Ozil, Ronaldo and Benzema deploying positions further up the pitch for him to pinpoint with his vision, his assist to game ratio is likely to increase, and he may be able to chip in with a few more goals with the space left in midfield for him to attack with teams sitting back against Madrid.
Jesus Navas in 2011-2012
Appearances- 37
Goals- 5
Assists- 12
Average number of passes/Pass Success(%)- 36.5/75.1%
Navas, being one of two players in the top 10 number of assists in La Liga who are not playing for either Barcelona or Real Madrid (with Castro of Mallorca being the other player) had a very different type of season to Modric, with Sevilla not competing for the higher places in the league, yet managed to outscore and provide more assists than the Croatian midfielder. Navas is an out and out winger, who will look to use his pace and ability on the ball to get past defenders and swing crosses into the box for strikers to attack. His lightening pace in comparison to Modric’s running power may be a factor in the number of goals scored, with the winger being able to run beyond the last defender and use his pace to get away and slot home.
Xavi in 2011-2012
Appearances- 26 (5 as substitute)
Goals- 10
Assists- 7
Average number of passes/Pass Success(%)- 93.8/92.4%
With age now playing a factor in Xavi’s involvement for Barcelona, the club often looked to save his legs for the latter rounds of the Champions League, where the giants were beaten by Chelsea over two legs, the Spanish midfielder has been the benchmark of quality that all young midfielders have looked to emulate following an extraordinary period of success for Barcelona under Pep Guardiola. With an unrivalled passing style, Xavi has been surrounded by a wealth of talent at the club, with the passing ability of Fabregas and Iniesta besides him, the raw pace and finishing of Alexis Sanchez and Leo Messi for him to pass to, as well as the steel of Sergio Busquets behind him, allowing him to venture forward from time to time to chip in with a goal. With Iniesta seen as the clone replacement of Xavi, the 32 year old Spaniard will look to set the benchmark and provide passing and movement of a different level for another season or two, leaving Modric with his work cut out to provide the same level of contribution to his team.
Mesut Ozil
Appearances- 30 (5 as a substitute)
Goals- 4
Assists- 17
Average number of passes/Pass Success(%)- 46.8/87.1%
Lining up alongside Ronaldo and Di Maria in an attacking midfield three just behind Benzema, the German has improved vastly and been given the freedom to express himself on the pitch, and this has shown by the number of assists in the league. Allowing himself to rotate positions with Di Maria and Ronaldo has let him to run into gaps through the centre of midfield to chip in with the odd goal, as well as occupying positions on the wing to allow Ronaldo a more central position in attack, which has given Ozil the opportunity to show his vision and craft by finding the Portugese attacker, who finished the title winning season as the top scorer.
Conclusion
Modric will find it hard to emulate the level of contribution to the team which Iniesta and Xavi have maintained over the last few seasons at Barcelona, mainly due to the different formation played by Madrid, in which the midfield two sitting in behind the attacking three of Ozil, Ronaldo and Di Maria will have to be much more disciplined, and often play as deep lying playmakers. This will take a bit of adjustment for the Croatian, as he is used to the freedom he was allowed under Redknapp at Tottenham. However, the passing ability and vision of the player cannot be underestimated, and bar a really bad season in terms of personal performance, he is likely to finish in the top 10 number of assists in the Spanish league, dominated by the top two teams in Spain, Barcelona and Real Madrid.
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Stats are as always from whoscored.com
Wlc 2 madrid modric
These kinds of comparisons are inconclusive and not really scientific. You are not comparing like with like (and never can). The kinds of passes that Xavi and iniesta exchange all the time at Barcelona would be somewhat more difficult to make against Wolves fighting for survival and employing Henry to follow them around. Equally Modric would have much more chance to play tippy-tappy against some Spanish relegation fodder – we can’t tell. What is clear is that, on an international stage Modric competes as a great player. It is all really a matter of guess work past that, and that’s what we employ proper football experts to ponder on. Despite this, lots of players fail to live up to expectations in all kinds of situations. It is actually why we all find football fascinating.
“The kinds of passes that Xavi and iniesta exchange all the time at Barcelona would be somewhat more difficult to make against Wolves fighting for survival and employing Henry to follow them around”
Seriously?
The best teams in the World have struggled to contain Xavi and Iniesta playing for Barcelona and Spain over the years yet the answer was sitting in Wolverhampton all along.
You make the flawed assumption that teams in the relegation zone of La Liga are not as able to kick opponents as their Premiership counterparts. They can. The problem, as always, is getting close to players of the calibre of Xavi and Iniesta.
Couldn’t agree more
Would have been nice to see Xabi Alonso included as well!