Luka Modric has won virtually everything there is to win in his club career, and Massimiliano Allegri continues to rely heavily on his experience.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) report this morning that Modric’s legs won’t be shaking tonight at San Siro, because he’s already shown he knows how to handle the big occasions, and how to lend a hand in both phases.
Luka’s ideas won’t be clouded because his team-mates and fans have already learned a rule that everyone in Madrid – from 2012 to last June – knew by heart: if you give the ball to Modric, then it is safe.
It will be the Croatian Genius, with his mind like a football computer, who will try to lead the Diavolo to the top of the table at least for one night. Three points against Lazio would allow Allegri to spend Sunday comfortably seated on the sofa, waiting for Roma-Napoli.
The match against Maurizio Sarri’s team, however, isn’t just a chance to return to the top (a feeling he already felt after round seven), but also a true test of maturity for a Milan side fresh from the derby triumph.
Max emphasised this aspect throughout the week, and in Thursday’s press conference he stated that focus and determination are needed. Having Modric on the pitch makes him feel more at ease.
Photos: Claudio Villa/AC Milan via Getty Images
The unstoppable
Modric will start his 13th consecutive league game tonight. Only on the opening day against Cremonese was he substituted half an hour into the second half. Otherwise, he’s been on the pitch for ninety minutes, 11 times in a row.
Not even three months ago, he celebrated his 40th birthday, and he’s already played over a thousand minutes in the league (1,055, to be precise). There’s no other 40-year-old like him in Europe’s top five leagues, but examples like this are rare around the world, even in less competitive leagues.
You have to look to Saudi Arabia (a certain Cristiano Ronaldo) and Brazil (Thiago Silva) to find someone with a four as the first digit of their age who can still be so consistent in terms of use and performance.
When Milan signed him on a free transfer in June, the management knew they were signing a champion coming off a season with over 3,000 minutes on the pitch with Real Madrid, but they didn’t imagine he could have this much stamina. Or, if you prefer, that he would have been so decisive in every match.
Allegri’s impact has been crucial in instilling courage and mental confidence in a team fresh from an eighth-place finish in 2024-25, but it’s undeniable that having a Ballon d’Or winner like the Croatian at the helm is a significant advantage for the coach.
Luka and Adrien Rabiot, together in midfield, combine class and physicality, running and intelligence, leadership and charisma. They also (and above all) know how to win trophies, and it’s natural for their team-mates to follow them, relying on them especially in crucial moments of the game.
It’s inevitable that Sarri will try to take away space and playable balls from the duo with the pressing of Guendouzi, Vecino and Basic. If the Biancocelesti want to try to climb the table, they need a move to counter Modric and Rabiot.
A test of maturity
Last season, first under Fonseca and then Conceiçao, Milan never found the consistency needed to achieve success (with the exception of the Italian Super Cup). Just last March 2nd, the Biancocelesti won at San Siro (2-1), giving the Rossoneri the sense that the end of the season would be complicated.
With Allegri and Modric, the music has changed, and the results against the big teams (victories against Napoli, Roma and Inter, plus a draw against Juventus) bear witness to it.
While waiting to see if the lessons learned against the smaller teams (victories against Cremonese, Pisa, and Parma) have been effective (they only picked up two points), there’s Lazio, who – despite the transfer ban in the summer – have a quality squad.
On the night the last two managers capable of winning a Scudetto for Juventus will face off, Modric will find himself facing – perhaps after the match has started – the Pedro he faced in the El Clasico in Spain.
For Luka, who plays every match as if it were a World Cup final (he actually played in the 2018 final against France in Russia), the long-distance encounter with the Spaniard will be an added incentive. Perhaps to score like he did against Bologna, or to provide an assist for Leao, who feels at home at San Siro again.
After a goalless 2024-25 Serie A campaign at the Meazza, he has three goals and one assist in his last three home games against Fiorentina, Pisa and Roma. Rafa scored against Lazio in the first game last year, in the match that became known for the cooling break incident.
It seems like a lifetime ago now that Allegri and Luka have put things right at Milanello, and the Scudetto for the second star is no longer an illusion.
