What a mockery, at this very moment. There lay Luka Modrić on the pitch of the Leipzig stadium, huddled in pain and grief, as the stadium announcer congratulated him warmly. Not on his brilliant career – perhaps the last chapter in the national jersey ended at that moment. Not on the many goals either, the most recent just half an hour old. But on the award as man of the match. At the height of the ordeal, Modrić had to hold the trophy intended for it up to the cameras. He was rarely seen with such a stony expression.
