Throughout his coaching career, Harry Redknapp managed some of the best footballers on the planet. But of all legends he developed, one in particular stood out from the pack.
Over a 34-year period, the Londoner earned his stripes as one of the best gaffers in the country. In a fairytale story, he guided Portsmouth to FA Cup glory in 2007/08 and won the Premier League Manager of the Year award with Tottenham Hotspur in 2009/10.
During this time, he worked with the likes of Gareth Bale, Jermaine Defoe and Rafael van der Vaart. However, despite their incredible ability, in Redknapp’s eyes, they couldn’t hold a candle to his number one player.
Read: Did Gareth Bale retire too early? — Harry Redknapp gives his verdict (sporf.com)
Harry Redknapp claims that Luka Modric is the best player he ever managed
While the 75-year-old has coached a plethora of footballing legends, Luka Modric stands out as the best. With laser-like passing and a sublime footballing IQ, the Croatian icon has cemented his place in sporting history books.
With five Champions Leagues titles, three La Liga championships and a Ballon d’Or to his name, the 37-year-old has lived a life most players could only dream of. And he can attribute a portion of that success to the developments he undertook while working with Redknapp.
Speaking to Reece Mennie on his podcast, Redknapp said: “He was a great player. He was a great man, fantastic person, not a minute’s problem, a family man, trained hard, never moaned about anything. You couldn’t get near him, he’d just play and had eyes in the back of his head.
“When I went to Spurs, he was playing out on the left. I remember saying that I was going to play him centrally against Arsenal, when I’d only been there for a couple of weeks, and the coaches who were there said, ‘You can’t play him there, Harry, he’ll get murdered, he’s not strong enough’. But he played there and never looked back!”
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