Luka Modrić does it again!
Apart from winning the Ballon d’Or, one of the greatest accomplishments you can have as a footballer is making UEFA’s ‘Team of the Year’. As football fans around the world waited not-so-patiently for the news since the contest was announced back in December, today, we finally have the results of which footballers made this most prestigious list. And for the second year in a row, the best team includes a Croat, reports Goal.hr on January 11, 2018.
It’s no surprise that Croatia captain Luka Modrić 2017 was filled with accolades, and many would agree that this is the best year in the Croat’s career - even though he is now 32 years old. To be fair, Luka does seem to be getting better year after year, and it’s about time that he is finally recognized for the player he is, not just in Croatia, but on an international level. This nod from UEFA definitely helps.
UEFA’s 2017 ‘Team of the Year’ is voted in by football fans around the world on the official website of the organization, and this year, a record of almost 8.8 million votes were cast.
This year’s best eleven includes Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus & Italy); Dani Alves (Juventus/Paris Saint-Germain & Brazil), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid CF & Spain), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus & Italy), Marcelo (Real Madrid CF & Brazil); Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City FC & Belgium, Toni Kroos (Real Madrid CF & Germany), Luka Modrić (Real Madrid CF & Croatia); Eden Hazard (Chelsea FC & Belgium; Lionel Messi(FC Barcelona & Argentina), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid CF & Portugal).
⚽️? #TeamOfTheYear ? ⚽️
— Team of the Year 2017 (@ChampionsLeague) January 11, 2018
Introducing your 2017 all-star XI after a record 8.8m votes! pic.twitter.com/MTpF7U37Yz
Last year, Luka made the team after he received the highest number of votes among the midfielders. This time, Kevin de Bruyne takes the lead (52.2%; 416,679 votes), while Modrić is just a few percentage points behind him (48.5%; 387,487 votes). Toni Kroos (43.3%) and Eden Hazard (38%) make up the rest of the midfield line.
This is the 17th year UEFA has held this election, and this year, Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos received the most votes - collecting 73.7% or 588,315 votes in total. Second place by the number of votes was fellow Real Madrid defender Marcelo (70% or 558,495 votes) followed by Leo Messi (59.8%) and Cristiano Ronaldo (55.7%).
Gianluigi Buffon (41.8%) was once again voted as the best goalkeeper, while Dani Alves (42.7%) and Giorgio Chiellini (37.1%) were chosen to fill the rest of the defense.
Luka Modrić’s 2017 year in review.
To start things off, Luka Modrić was named the third best player in the world by Goal.com, the best midfielder by FIFA, and finished fifth place in the Ballon d'Or. Recently, reader’s of the Spanish newspaper Marca chose Luka as part of the best Real Madrid team of all time, and L'Equipe included him in the best team of the world. Let’s not forget that Modrić was declared the best player of the World Club Championship last month, and in the research of the International Institute for Football Statistics and History, the Croatian Captain was the third best creator in the world.
It has been one hell of a 2017 for Croatia's captain - let's see what he can do for Croatia at this year's World Cup.
Excerpts taken from Goal.hr
