Croatia coach Slaven Bilić reckons the whole world will see why Tottenham shelled out £16m for Luka Modric as Euro 2008 progresses. With Modrić already the captain of his club side, even at the tender age of twenty-two, he has managed to successfully convey the leadership qualities he possesses onto the international arena throughout Croatia's triumphant Euro 2008 qualifying campaign. Bilić actually managed the player during his stint as Under-21 manager and is in no doubt that Modrić is one of the best players in Europe.

Tottenham appeared to agree with this statement by signing the playmaker from Dinamo Zagreb last week. Modrić was one of the players that helped to knock England out of the Euro 2008 finals, but Tottenham fans will not be too dismayed, as their latest signing has been compared to both Johan Cruyff and Lionel Messi. He actually resembles Cruyff in both stature and the way he plays, possessing agility, creativity and speed, as well as being a pin-point passer of the ball.

It is the good fortune of both Bilić and Croatia that the country has probably found the perfect successor to midfield masters Aljoša Asanović, Robert Prosinečki and Zvonimir Boban in both Modrić.