Ivkovic: Modern medicine must study AC Milan midfielder Modric

Tomislav Ivkovic says medicine should study how AC Milan midfielder Luka Modric is performing as he is at 40 years of age.

Now Rijeka academy director, Ivkovic was Croatia assistant coach when Modric made his international debut.

He told TMW: "I remember that debut very well, a friendly against Argentina in Basel. A player had gotten injured, and we decided to take a chance on him, who was 20 years old and playing for Dinamo Zagreb.

"He played an excellent match, we won 3-2, and from there his story with the Croatian national team began. My memory of the young Modric is of an intelligent player, who even then thought much faster than the other players and had the solution before receiving the ball. His vision and reading of the game were impressive."

Ivkovic also said: "I saw the match against Napoli, I expected much more from Conte's team. But AC Milan played a fantastic match, 45 spectacular minutes. And what else can I say about Modric? I'm just saying that those who analyze football, and I'm also referring to doctors, need to examine him to understand how it's possible that a 40-year-old player never stops, that he plays like nothing happened for 90 minutes, and that in the 85th minute he sprints 2-3 times to win the ball back. He deserves a monument, and I'm not saying this just because I'm Croatian."

He added, "I've been in football for 54 years, I've seen a lot, and for me he is without a doubt the best Croatian player of all time. And I'm not exaggerating when I say he's one of the 10 greatest players in history."