Kovacic Reveals The Secret Behind Modric's Beautiful Appearance

JAKARTA - Mateo Kovacic detailed the reasons behind Luka Modric's career success ahead of Chelsea's Champions League quarter-final second leg against Real Madrid on Tuesday.

The Chelsea midfielder revealed that Modric was his idol when the current Real Madrid star joined Kovacic's favorite Dinamo Zagreb before joining Tottenham Hotspur.

"It was quite difficult to stop (Modric)," Kovacic said at Monday's pre-match press conference ahead of the game against Real Madrid.

“He is an extraordinary player. I admired him when I was a kid when he played for my favorite club, Dinamo Zagreb.

"He's always been as good as he is now. As long as I've known him he's stayed at the same level, which is great. He really loves football. He is a professional. If he continues like this, I see him playing for (again) three or four years.

"It's fun and difficult to play against him, but it's never fun when you lose. I always prefer to have him on my team. Right now we are facing each other, and we are ready to give our best tomorrow to try to qualify (to the semi-finals)."

The Croatia international went on to stress that Chelsea could still qualify for the semi-finals, despite losing 3-1 to Real Madrid in the first leg at Stamford Bridge.

"Of course we have a chance (to qualify) and we are motivated to show our best tomorrow," added Kovacic.

"We didn't play our best game and the result was not good in the last game. There is hope and we are motivated to do our best. It will be a quality game and we are looking forward to it."