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Luka Modric has revealed the reasons behind Real Madrid’s astonishing route to their 14th Champions League crown last season.
The midfielder was ever present as the club eliminated Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Manchester City en route to the final in Paris, where they beat Liverpool 1-0.
Trailing behind PSG and Manchester City, Real Madrid staged remarkable comebacks in a matter of minutes to turn the tide in both ties. In the quarter-finals, Chelsea had threatened to do what the hosts had done to PSG, but a rescue act from Rodrygo and Karim Benzema halted the English giants, with the Spanish club advancing 5-4 on aggregate.
Exuding a feeling of never going to bed and refusing to be beaten, Real Madrid beat Liverpool in the final in Paris to claim their 14th crown. Modric has been present in five of them.
Talking to Rio Ferdinand as part of his Series Between the Lines Ahead of Real Madrid’s meeting with Liverpool at Anfield on Tuesday night, the Croatian revealed that the team was motivated by suggestions that they were ‘finished’ and ‘dead’ in each of the draws.
Luka Modric has spoken about Real Madrid’s amazing journey to Champions League triumph last season
Real Madrid eliminated Paris Saint Germain, Chelsea and Manchester City en route to the final
The midfielder was ever present when Real Madrid won their 14th Champions League crown.
“Everyone was a favorite against us,” he said. ‘I think this year what happened was difficult to describe.
‘They all wrote us off. That is why this celebration (against PSG after the third goal) comes naturally because everyone discards us. “They are dead. Modric should retire, Kroos cannot play.” So you are emotional.
Despite being part of one of the most successful clubs of the modern era, Modric said he had been motivated by a feeling that he still had something to prove, even then at the age of 36.
‘Of course you want to try [something]. We had something to prove here. Me, the team, everyone. Because everyone said that we are dead, we are finished. It gives you something inside that you want to prove is not the case.
‘The way we won this one it’s really hard to explain what we did, because every game we were finished.
They all bet on PSG, Chelsea, City and Liverpool [in the final]. That’s why it was special, the way we did it. Every time we lost, against PSG, Chelsea and City, the game against Paris we turned it around in three minutes. Against City we scored two in three minutes, we could have scored a third without extra time.
‘It was really something special about that year.’
Speaking about his own role in the comebacks, registering vital assists against PSG and Chelsea, Modric said that Ancelotti, during his first spell with the club a decade ago, had asked the Croatian to make more runs from deep.
“I remember Carlo Ancelotti, when he first arrived in Madrid, he always asked me when he had the ball in deeper positions to run with the ball. That’s what I did here, intercept Neymar’s pass and run with the ball. The pass to Karim was good, and if he doesn’t score, nobody talks.’
When asked why the team was able to stage such miraculous and seemingly impossible counter-attacks, Modric pointed to the home fans in Madrid as part of the reason for his success.
“I know that at the Bernabéu we have to show our offensive quality and I knew they (PSG) would suffer if we had to go out and play,” he said.
He revealed after being taken out in the Parque de los Príncipes that he turned to his teammate Dani Carvajal and told him ‘we are going to kill them at the Bernabéu’.
‘In addition, the fans played an important role because our fans are very demanding. Sometimes when things don’t go our way, they can be… But this season was something incredible, it was different, it was incredible.”
Despite the miraculous nature of the club’s 14th win in the competition, Modric maintains that his favorite of his five Champions League victories was the club’s first and, crucially, 10th, or ‘La Décima’ in Lisbon in 2014.
Chelsea players collapse into a crouch after being at the end of a remarkable Real Madrid rescue act
Modric spoke about the energy he has in matches and how he manages to keep going
Karim Benzema was imperative: scoring goals in the three qualifiers to secure Real Madrid’s path
Carlo Ancelotti goes to greet Benzema and Modric – the Croatian revealed that the wild celebrations were due to their unsubscribing
Rodrygo scored a vital goal against Chelsea from Modric’s pass to force extra time for the night
Despite the remarkable nature of last season’s win, Modric said 2014 remains his favorite.
Modric claimed the fifth Champions League crown of his career against Liverpool in Paris
‘It was different. For me the best was La Décima. Special number, I like the number. Real Madrid waited 12 or something years to win it,’ he said.
When asked about his relentless energy in Real Madrid’s midfield, sometimes against much younger opponents, Modric revealed that his energy builds as games progress, without offering much respite to waiting opponents, to the 37-year-old, who could be closing in on a permanent spot on a bench or in a television studio.
‘It’s interesting, the more the game goes on, I feel better and more energetic. Yeah, that’s why (get stronger as the game progresses)’.
BT Sport is the exclusive home of the UEFA Champions League. Watch Liverpool v Real Madrid live on BT Sport 1 starting at 7pm on Tuesday 21 February. For more information, visit btsport.com