Luka Modric is undoubtedly one of the best midfielders in the history of football. And if he rises to the Olympus of football on Sunday, he could get the label of best. How is it that at the age of 37 he still holds his own at the top level? This is what the personal trainer described about him.
Not so long ago, everyone marveled at this, now it seems normal to everyone. Even in old age, Luka Modrič plays at the highest level and is currently among the best midfielders in the world.
Croatia is a small country of 3.8 million people, who haven’t been given many chances. After the success of four years ago, few expected the red and whites to repeat themselves. But let’s see, Captain Modrič has brought his team back into the fight for medals. And on Tuesday evening he will face Argentina for the final.
His performances in Qatar are breathtaking. Especially when at 37 he hardly gets off the pitch. He played the full 90 minutes plus setup long twice in the group, only to go down in the 85th minute with Canada level.
In the round of 16 against Japan, he reached extra time, where he was taken off in the 98th minute, but in the quarter-final against Brazil, he spent all 120 minutes and converted a penalty. And after a few days he is ready to fight again for the final. How does it do it?
The magic is in the regeneration. Modric’s body is a natural phenomenon and why he is still held to such a high standard. Modrič’s personal fitness trainer Vlatko Vucetic explained this a little more closely.
Fast regeneration
“Modrič played an extremely intense match against Belgium. All the players felt tired, he didn’t. He has something special. He regenerates very quickly after the match, the others take a few days off from tiredness, Modrič is ready for play the next game the next day. This is his great strength” uvedl pro AS Vucetic diary.
He zoomed in a bit behind the scenes. “The key to the success is that we keep Luka ready all the time, he’s always between 85 and 100%. This can be seen in the fact that he can manage not just 90, but 120 high-intensity minutes without any problems. It also helps him get by practically unharmed”. explains Vucetic.
And he’s right. Modric does not suffer from injuries, even at 37 he regularly plays almost all Real Madrid matches. When something bothers him, it usually lasts for a few days. The last injury that would have sidelined him for more than a month dates back to 2016! Since then, the duration of recovery from injury has never exceeded 19 days.
And how is Modric preparing? “Before every training and match, Luka trains with a rubber band for half an hour. His muscles are thus more elastic, as if he has springs all over his body. And of course he spends a lot of time recovering after each match.” adds Croatian.
Modric will celebrate his 38th birthday next year, an age when the vast majority of footballers have long since finished their careers or are finishing their careers at a lower level. However, the Croatian captain still remains a key player for Real Madrid. How much longer can he play?
“We have been working together for six years, it shows how dedicated he is to hard work. He can play like this for the next two or three years, it will depend on how determined he is in his head. If he’s determined to sacrifice his personal life and put everything through hard training, his body will stand the onslaught.” assures Vucetic.
Source: AS diary
