Tottenham’s All-Time Starting XI
By Ryan Wrenn
Central Midfielder: Luka Modrić
Modrić was slated for big things from the very beginning. The £16.5 million it took to pry him away from Dinamo Zagreb in 2008 equaled the club’s record fee spent on Darren Bent the year before. He stalled a bit under the physical pressure of the Premier League, though by the time Harry Redknapp came along he was well adapted.
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Redknapp and his predecessors played Modrić deeper than he was played at Dinamo and the Croatian national team, recognizing that his considerable passing skillset made him the ideal platform to launch counter-attacks. That style of play became synonmous with both Modrić and Redknapp as Tottenham made it into the Champions League for the first time in their history in 2010.
For two more years, Modrić built the case for him being one of the best midfielders in the world. His vision, timing and accuracy paired supremely well with the pacey attackers ahead of him, so well in fact that he was picked up by Real Madrid in 2012 as their long-term Xabi Alonso replacement. Though his career at Tottenham was short, there’s no doubting how much Modrić helped the club reached the next level of quality that they continue to play on to this day.
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