Author: neil

Welcome to our Big Interview Icons series where we shine a light on a legend whose name has lit up some of the conversations I’ve had with my guests over the years. This episode focuses on Luka Modric.

Former Tottenham colleague Robbie Keane admired the unassuming Luka’s particular courage: his willingness to take the ball under any circumstances.

I interviewed John McGinn ahead of Euro 2020, and when asked who was the forthcoming opponent he would most like to swap shirts with, Scotland’s midfield maestro chose the classy Croat.

Slaven Bilic espouses the virtues of having an independent Croatian football league to help develop younger players – but he says Modric would have made it anyway.

Lastly, Rafael van der Vaart talks about joining the fantastic, attacking Spurs side Harry Redknapp had assembled in 2010, for which Luka was the midfield fulcrum.

Olivier Giroud believes he was destined to play for Arsenal and current club AC Milan because he followed the fortunes of both as a kid.

Also in part two, we hear about Olivier’s brother Romain who was a real talent but who didn’t make it in the professional game. And, of course, there’s France’s 2018 World Cup triumph, delivered, Olivier says, by team spirit. Did you know that N’Golo Kanté really does bend the rules at cards, and that Olivier and Hugo Lloris celebrated in a Moscow duck pond?

Graham.

Olivier Giroud is a World Cup winner whose will to succeed was undergirded by his deep religious faith; it’s no coincidence that his brilliant new autobiography is called Always Believe.

In part one of our conversation you’ll hear about the euphoria that broke out after Olivier set up the winning goal against Lille in 2012 which all but clinched Montpellier’s only top-flight title. The big striker is a forgiving fellow, but it was nice to prove one doubter in particular wrong.

And there’s chat about taking on Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk when Olivier was at Arsenal and Chelsea. These were physical battles, but there was always mutual respect.

Graham.

Here’s another chance to hear my interview with Owen Hargreaves from season four.

As a youngster at Bayern Munich, Stefan Effenberg would kick Owen in training, but it toughened him, taught him to be ultra-competitive. When he went up against the likes of Luis Figo at Real Madrid in the 2001 Champions League semi-final, he soon felt worthy of the task. Owen played in the final in Milan where Bayern beat Valencia on penalties. Owen did well in shootouts with clubs – netting in Manchester United’s shootout win over Chelsea in the Champions League 2008 final, but not so well in them with England.

There’s also great stuff about the legendary Paul Scholes, why England’s golden generation didn’t deliver and why Owen was so desperate to play for Sir Alex Ferguson, the ultimate competitor.

Brilliant stuff.

Graham

Paolo Sousa played through the pain barrier for his entire career, but it didn’t stop him winning back-to-back Champions Leagues at Marcello Lippi’s Juventus and then Ottmar Hitzfeld’s Borussia Dortmund. He had come to feel unwanted at Juve, and it was surely karma that it was the Italian club that Borussia defeated in the 1997 final.

Also in part two: How to manage a genius like Poland’s Robert Lewandowski.

You’ll love this.

Graham.