14-Year Europa League Drought! Modric's Breakthrough Return from the Bench

According to media reports, Modric joined AC Milan hoping to compete in the Champions League, but in the final matchday of last season, Milan lost 1-2 at home to Cagliari and missed out on Champions League qualification. Milan will instead play in the Europa League—a competition that, despite the club holding the most European honors among Italian clubs, they have never won. In the match against Benfica, Modric is highly likely to sit on the bench, marking his first Europa League appearance in nearly 15 years. His last appearance in this competition was on November 30, 2011, when he played for Tottenham against Thessaloniki, with Tottenham losing 1-2. Prior to that, Modric made his first 12 Europa League appearances for Dinamo Zagreb (the competition was called the UEFA Cup at that time).