Mundo Deportivo have an interesting piece today about Luka Modric and his role in helping some of the young players at Real Madrid develop.
He has taken Turkish wonderkid Arda Guler under his wing, and seems to be developing him as a sort of protege.
Modric is so venerable at this stage that we’ve actually seen young players arrive, develop, play and then leave, while the Croatian remained constant.
Given that Modric is now 38 and Guler is 18, that’s not going to happen in this case. Guler is going to be the final understudy, and Modric seems convinced of his talents:
“Guler is a great kid with extraordinary talent. It’s a shame that because of injury he hasn’t had the chance to show the Real Madrid fans that,” Modric said.
“He’s got a great career ahead of him and he will give a lot of happiness to the Madrid fans. They should let him be Arda Guler and they shouldn’t pressure him or compare him with anybody – not even with me.”
Fellow midfield grand master Toni Kroos had similar things to say about Guler:
“He’s got a great talent for his age, he’s got a very, very nice left foot… he’s got a great shot on his left, he’s very good technically, especially in small spaces. I think it’s a good and a smart signing, especially looking to the future.”
The youngster couldn’t ask for a better pair of professionals and players to look up to. If he doesn’t fulfil the grand talent that Modric speaks of, he can’t blame it on a lack of role models, that’s for sure.
