West Brom will always rue 2007 play-off heartbreak – It cost them a move for future Real Madrid superstar

West Brom will always rue 2007 play-off heartbreak – It cost them a move for future Real Madrid superstar

West Bromwich Albion have been promoted or demoted at least ten times since 2001, making them

the twenty-first century’s yo-yo team between the Championship and Premier League.

The Baggies momentarily defied that reputation with a consistent run in England’s top division

from 2010 to 2018, including an eighth-place result in 2012–13 under Steve Clarke. Albion,

however, has at least three instances of being promoted and subsequently dropped on his first try.

West Brom defeated bitter rivals Wolves in a two-leg Championship play-off semi-final.

previous year, 2007, giving them the chance to return to the Premier League immediately after

being relegated.

In the 61st minute, Stephen Pearson’s goal defeated Tony Mowbray’s team 1-0, setting up the first-

ever second-tier play-off final at the new Wembley versus Derby County. Albion was unable to rally

and equalise.

Because of that result, it meant that West Brom missed out on a future Ballon d’Or winner, who was

set to arrive at The Hawthorns in the event of an immediate Premier League return – the player in

question was none other than Luka Modric.

How did West Brom miss out on Luka Modric signing in 2007?

When Albion was on the verge of a top flight return eighteen years ago, their management, led by

Jeremy Peace and Mark Jenkins, maintained cordial ties with Croatian powerhouse Dinamo

Zagreb.

A young midfielder named Luka Modric played a part in Dinamo’s victory that season as they won

Croatia’s top domestic division.

At the age of 22, Modric was accessible and affordable, but he wasn’t a complete unknown at the

time because he had already earned 14 caps for the senior Croatian national team by the end of

2006–07.

The only catch for West Brom was that, due to the small playmaker’s brilliance, they needed

Premier League football in order to sign him.

Unfortunately, BirminghamLive reported in 2018 that West Brom’s hopes of acquiring Modric were

dashed when they fell at the last second.

With the help of Eastern European players like Robert Koren and Zoltan Gera, Albion would win

the Championship championship in 2008, but Modric, a Croatian phenomenon, had been

establishing himself with Dinamo in his own country.

Modric scored double figures in goals and assists in the Prva HNL (Croatian top division) during

the 2007–08 season and demonstrated his abilities in European competition before captaining his

nation at EURO 2008, which led Tottenham to decide to sign a £15.8 million deal with Dinamo

before the season was even over.

That is probably a lot more than Albion was supposed to pay for the midfield player’s services the

year before, and it looks like they will always regret it given what Modric has done in the years

before.

Whilst he never won any accolades at Tottenham, Modric would flourish at Real Madrid after his

2012 transfer to the Spanish capital, winning the Ballon d’Or in 2018 after Croatia’s run to the FIFA

World Cup final, with four La Liga’s and six UEFA Champions League winners medals to boot.

And yet, 18 years ago, he was so close to becoming a Baggie…

Despite Luka Modric’s dismay, West Brom achieved success; nonetheless, there will still be significant regrets.

On paper, West Brom’s team in the 2007 Championship play-off final probably had far more

quality than their opposition, but Billy Davies was able to mastermind the Rams’ pathway into the

Premier League.

Even though it was a close call, West Brom won the second division title in 2007–08 without

Modric. That season, they would be joined by legendary midfielders like Chris Brunt and James

Morrison rather than a small Croatian magician.

Although West Brom would have to endure another Premier League relegation the following year,

they would remain in the top divisions of English football for the following eight years after their

2010 ascent.

If Modric had been nurtured properly, he would have been a game-changer for West Brom, and he

obviously had the ability to kick on whoever was in charge of his fate. However, you still have to

wonder what would have occurred if they had gone up in 2007 and signed him.

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