Croatia captain and erstwhile Real Madrid stalwart, Luka Modric, has called out the English media for their “arrogance” when it comes to addressing their national side and their rivals going into major tournaments.
The pre-match buildup between both sides has been getting friskier as England get their Euro 2020 campaign underway on Sunday afternoon with their kickoff against Croatia.
Modric said: “That arrogance is not so much related to the players but the people around them, some of the journalists and commentators.”
The almost seamless wall-to-wall coverage provided by the English media going into the biggest sporting events is a cane often used to rap England and its media, primarily due to their perceived supercilious air of “arrogance”, erroneously conceived or otherwise.
It is not difficult to understand the optimism and slant of the English media heading into this particular tournament in cranking up the hype on their beloved squad as the current Three Lions is an extremely talented squad filled with a promising batch of players culled from both experience and youth, seemingly bursting at the seams with loads of confidence.
The bookies are already having a field day pitching England as second favorites to win Euro 2020, with France, no surprise here, the favorite across the board.
World Cup aficionados would of course remember that bit of recent history between the two sides as well back in 2018 when England seemed to have a great chance of winning the World Cup with the odds then in their favor when they were a goal up against Croatia in the semi-final.
However a very strong and determined Croatian side resiliently fought back and emerged victorious in the final 2-1 encounter, before going on to lose 4-2 to France in the final of the tournament.
In the post-match exuberance after that victory over England, Modric took the chance to chastize the British media, saying, “English journalists, pundits from television, they underestimated Croatia and that was a huge mistake. They should be more humble and respect more opponents.”
Credit: Football Tribe Malaysia
