David Beckham, Luis Figo, Wayne Rooney, both Ronaldos, Zinedine Zidane… Carlos Queiroz has coached a lot of great players during his 40-plus-year career in the game.Former Manchester United assistant coach and Real Madrid boss has also coached against a lot of great players, particularly during his periods in charge of 11 different international sides and in six World Cup campaigns. Only last week, his latest team, Ghana, followed his instructions to the tee to frustrate England’s superstars.But there are some problems even he cannot solve.“He is the maestro,” said Queiroz when asked to explain how Luka Modric had just led Croatia to a 2-1 win over his Ghana.“We tried to move a couple of players to block him but it’s very difficult. But it did not only happen to us, it’s been happening for 10 years.”Ten? Make that 20, Carlos, as Modric is only a couple of months off his 41st birthday.The game against Ghana was the Croatian midfielder’s 201st for this country, with his first cap coming shortly before the 2006 World Cup in Germany. He would make two substitute appearances at that tournament but has been a fixture in the side ever since.But that is not a huge surprise — he has been a fixture for his club sides, too, which is pretty impressive when you remember he spent 13 spectacularly successful years at Real Madrid.(Igor Kralj/Getty Images)That spell came to an end in 2025, when he moved to Milan. But not before he won four Spanish league titles, two cups and only the six Champions League crowns.And then there are the individual awards: 14 Croatian player of the year prizes, six FIFPro World XI selections, twice La Liga’s best midfielder, twice the Champions League’s best midfielder, one player of the World Cup prize and one Ballon D’Or (the only person not named Cristiano or Lionel to win it between 2008 and 2021).