Croatia international Dejan Lovren believes Luka Modric would have been vying for the Ballon d’Or title if he had come from one of Germany or Spain. The Real Madrid star has been a consistent performer for club and country over the years and he has already contributed a couple of goals for Croatia during the ongoing World Cup in Russia.
As such, his compatriot Lovren has praised his qualities and feels he would be in contention for the Ballon d’Or, had he come from a better-recognised country like Germany or Spain, he said: “Modric would probably be getting more attention than he is right now if he was a German or Spanish player. He would maybe even be a Ballon d’Or winner. But because we are a smaller country, he does get less attention than he deserves. We are all football lovers and we know Modric is an incredible player.”
Croatia have already qualified for the round of 16 stage with six points after two games and their superior goal difference should pretty much secure them of the top position. As a result, manager Zlatko Dalic has talked about rotating the squad with a number of players facing the risk of suspension.
Speaking in regard to this, Lovren fully backed the coach’s decision with Ivan Rakitic, Ante Rebic, and Mario Mandzukic among the key players at the risk of suspension, he added:“I fully understand Argentina’s concerns and their wish for Croatia to play a full team for the next game. But we must also think about the fact we should not be playing the players who have yellow cards. That’s also our concern we need to keep in mind.”
Argentina and Nigeria are due to face in the other group stage game and the fight for the second position in the group could go down to the wire with Iceland also in contention. Iceland face the compulsion of beating a much-changed Croatian outfit on Tuesday whilst hoping that the result goes their way in the other match.
