Harry Redknapp has revealed that other coaches warned him against playing Luka Modric through the middle as they felt the former Tottenham man did not have the strength to play centrally.
Modric arrived at Spurs with a big reputation from Dinamo Zagreb but he did not have the smoothest of starts to his time in England, with Spurs picking up just two points in their first eight games of the 2008-09 season under Juande Ramos.
Daniel Levy then decided to part ways with the Spaniard and bring Redknapp through the door from Portsmouth, with the English manager instantly getting a tune out of Modric and the other talented players in the squad.
The Croat played off the left during the entirety of his first season at White Hart Lane before being moved centrally and the former Tottenham manager revealed that many advised him against moving him to the middle.
Harry Redknapp believed in Luka Modric at Spurs
Redknapp recalled that many felt the diminutive midfielder would not be able to cope with the physicality of the likes of Chelsea but pointed out that the player never looked back once he got an opportunity in the middle of the park.
He told Optus Sport about Modric: “He came here and then people started doubting whether he could play in England or not. And whether he was strong enough to play here which was incredible when you look back, he’s strong enough to play anywhere.
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“When I first went to Tottenham, he played out on the left and I said I’m going to move him central. A couple of the coaches that were there before I came to Tottenham said, ‘Harry, you can’t play him there. He’s not strong enough, he’ll get murdered’.
“On the Saturday we played Chelsea and remember the coaches against it, [they said], ‘Harry it’s a bit different. They’ve got [Michael] Essien, [Frank] Lampard, [Michael] Ballack, they’ll be too strong for Luca’.
“I said, ‘They won’t be too strong for Luca’. He played there, it was fantastic and he never played anywhere else again, did he?”
Spurs Web Opinion
I love Harry but as always, he is playing a little fast and loose with the facts here. Ramos actually used Modric through the middle and it was Redknapp who moved him to the left when he arrived.
It was not until the latter part of Harry’s second season in charge when he moved Modric to the middle and that was a forced change as Jenas and Palacious were both out injured at the time.
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