体坛英语新闻：Croatian teammates give all thumbs up to Champions League winning Modric

ZAGREB, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Luka Modric and his UEFA Champions League triumph with Real Madrid were main topics in Croatian camp on Sunday.

"Luka (Modric) played excellent, especially in the second half and extra time. He was all over the field. He was perfect like he was throughout the whole season. This is a reward for everything that he was doing in the last two years," Croatian coach Niko Kovac said on Sunday.

Modric's teammates were also full of praise. "We are all happy for Luka. We wanted to see the trophy in his hands," said forward Ivica Olic who was very close to lifting the trophy himself in 2012 when Bayern Munich lost the UEFA Champions League final against Chelsea on penalties.

"Real Madrid deserved this trophy because they were the best team in UEFA Champions League. I want to congratulate Luka (Modric) on his performance and I hope that he will play for Croatia at the World Cup as he did for Real Madrid," said Ivan Perisic, Olic's teammate from German Bundesliga side Wolfsburg.

While his teammates were going through hard drills in Austrian resort Bad Tatzmannsdorf, Modric was celebrating. The celebration started on the field in Lisbon, continued on the plane and carried on to the streets of Spanish capital city.

"I was out until 8 am when Gareth Bale drove me home. I thought that I will go to sleep but there was another party at my house where family and friends were waiting for me," Modric told Sportske novosti, Croatian daily sports newspaper.

Croatian coach Kovac gave Modric four days to rest and the Real Madrid star will join national team in Croatia for a friendly match against Mali on 31 May.