THE MOST widely read Spanish newspaper wrote that the revival of Luka Modric is the personification of resurrection that Real experienced and the reason they were crowned Spanish champions after a 2:1 victory over Villarreal led by Modric.

Modric was nowhere to be found, Real either

The entire last season and a good part of this season, Modric performance was poor, and it seemed that even Zidane wrote off the player who is turning 35 in two months. In the first part of the season, Zidane kept Modric as a bench player against the biggest rivals in the championship (Barcelona, Atletico) and the Champions League (PSG).

Without Modric, it didn't work out for Real either, which, being the only rival for the title like Barcelona, was shaky in La Liga. However, Real was also bad in the Champions League, where it was on the edge of elimination in the first knock-out round after a 2:1 defeat at home against Manchester City in the first game, while dropping out early in the King's Cup when Real Sociedad scored four goals against Real (4:3).

A miraculous summer revival

This all happened to Real before the cancellation of the season due to the coronavirus pandemic, which hit Madrid especially hard. All the signs indicated that even Barcelona, with their quarrels, would become Spanish champions for the third time in a row before the miserable Real. However, in only a month and the last ten rounds, La Liga ended with an ultimate triumph, in its "longest, most difficult and most complex season in history," Marca wrote.

"He killed his invisible, soulless version that we have been watching for a year and became a captain who is leading his team and building authority with outrageously good games" 

Marca points to two people as being symbols of unexpected Real's revival: "From a team completely sunken down, without self-confidence, glamour, pride, and class, everything that has ever characterized Real, Zinedine Zidane created a team that sweeps the board with excellent football. Luka Modric was an example of that incredible revival on the pitch. The biggest credit goes to the Croat who played the biggest role in winning Real's title. He killed his invisible, soulless version that we have been watching for a year and became a captain who is leading his team and building authority with outrageously good games. The best example of Modric's transformation is the goal against Villarreal, which he created from nothing and brought them the victory for the title."

In the 29th minute, when the score was 0:0, Casemiro picked off the rival's pass at the center by hitting the ball strongly to Villarreal's goal. It wasn't easy to pick up this ball, but Modric did it and headed forward. Twenty meters from the goalpost, he sent the ball nicely to the area behind two rivals and to Benzema, who was alone in front of the goalkeeper. Real's best striker didn't miss a chance assisted by Modric, and he fired through Sergio Asenjo's legs right to the goal.