Matthew Kovacic He was hardly a protagonist in the Croatian team that reached the World Cup final. With 24 years and three Champions in the 2018 appointment, his substitution in Real Madrid relegated him to a secondary role in his national team. Being on the bench in the first phase of Russia made him reflect on his career, his future and from the very concentration of Croatia he asked to leave Real Madrid. “I need to play more and it’s time to go”, he said in the interview with BRAND in which he asked for his departure. Chelsea was his destiny.
Time proves him right
Three years later, time has proved him right and Kovacic It can be said that he is one of the few players who has continued to grow after leaving Real Madrid. Mateo no longer has three Champions, but four after the one achieved this year with Chelsea, where he is general captain with Tuchel. An injury prevented him from starting the final against City, but the Croatian is a capital player for Chelsea.
With Croatia, your goal is also more than accomplished. Kovacic He is Luka Modric’s squire at the core, the locomotive of Croatia, the footballer who helps all his teammates with and without the ball. When defending, he is the first to press, retract or put his leg in. With the ball, his dynamism always offers the team a quick exit from the ball. Nor has he lost his verticality, with those starts so characteristic of hers and that they became famous with the Real Madrid shirt.
The Croatian locomotive
With 29.8 kilometers, is the Croatian player who has traveled the most distance in the first phase, of which he only lost 12 minutes. We are talking about an undisputed starter and a key player in the construction phase: 87% success rate in the pass, with 174 good passes out of 198. Life insurance.
In the field, you will not find Real Madrid players, absent from Luis Enrique’s list, but they are teammates and former ones like Azpilicueta and lvaro Morata. The Croatian has a great relationship with his captain in the English team and during his stay at Madrid, in addition to being closely linked to his Croatian teammate, he made very good friends with the young people who had passed through the quarry, such as lvaro Morata or Lucas Vzquez.
A gold trade
His departure was one of those that did not harm the club, as well as Zidane and his teammates. But the almost 50 million that were obtained by their sale between what was paid for the first transfer and the subsequent transfer speak of the Croatian as a great operation of the white team.
Luka’s advice
His friendship with Luka dates from almost the same day that Kovacic pis Valdebebas. On the 10th of Real Madrid he turned to his partner and helped him in the adaptation and was even a counselor at the time of goodbye. Modric recommended that he continue, but seeing him so convinced, he did nothing but support him and tell him about what he found in London: “I always talk to Luka. Of course, he is happy for me. He is sad that I am leaving Madrid because we were there all day together, But he told me that London is an amazing city. He told me that the Premier League will be difficult at the beginning, but also that it is a good League, with the stadiums always full and that he will enjoy this experience a lot, “he said then. Kovacic. “Mateo is a great player, who always helps his teammates a lot in the center of the field, he is a guarantee”, says de l Luka.
Disappointment with Zidane, Tuchel’s admiration, and Dalic’s joy
His coaches have always turned to him. His current Chelsea master, Thomas Tuchel, highlights his ability to work. “You can call him at four in the morning to train and there is the first one, he is running. It’s nice to have such players. He is a great professional, with a lot of work, good control of the game … One of the best midfielders “.
Zidane also always had compliments for Mateo, although the end was not the desired one for both. “I deserve to play in that final, I thought I should give myself minutes that day,” he said in an interview on Four four two Kovacic on the final in Kiev.
Your now selector, Zlatko Dalic, also celebrates Kovacic’s big moment. He succeeded with his departure from Madrid, he had to play “.