Modric or Cazorla?

On two occasions Real Madrid had the opportunity to sign Santi Cazorla, one when he was at Villarreal and the last time just recently when Jose Mourinho denied any interest in signing the Asturian and the reasons given were because negotiations were well under way to sign Modric. That may be well and good, and the club did not want to let two years of bargaining with Daniel Levy fall by the wayside but are they serious?

It's not just that a non-scientific poll on Marca saw immense support for the Spaniard, nor is it that he was integral to the winning of two European Championships for Spain, but Cazorla is just a better player. Modric is marginally younger, but at 9 months not exceedingly so. They played the same amount of games for Villarreal and Spurs over a similar four-year span at the same age and Cazorla was by far the better goal-scorer: 23 to 13. While Modric is much more of a midfield general, a younger Andrea Pirlo, keeping his mates involved, Santi can play one either wing, is comfortable on either foot so he can play on either wing and he can play off the striker as well. Cazorla is more versatile and is pacier which are two requirements if you want to play the quick-counter.  Plus, he has a devastating free-kick. 

This is no slight on Modric nor on Spurs, and certainly this isn't a matter of bias towards or against either North London club and their respective players. This is an exercise in which one fits better at Real Madrid. The merengues have three other center-midfield players that perform the job that Modric does. Ozil alone is a metronome with his incisive probing passes and his creativity; a match for the Croatian. Cazorla is as fast as Angel Di Maria on the wing but his decision making is light-years ahead of the Argentine and his ball skills are unmatched wherever you play him.

I can only think that Mourinho has a certain mold for players on the wing, where he likes to pressure opponents, and he prefers a taller player with more implied physicality, but I'd still take Cazorla over any of the players (Marcelo, Coentrao or Di Maria) that Mourinho has played out there. Not to mention it, but he's Spanish. The great Spanish players of their generation should be playing for Real Madrid and Barcelona.

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