In the second leg of the UEFA Europa League last eight on Wednesday (13), two La Liga teams, Real Madrid and Villarreal, advanced to the quarterfinals, and even more coincidentally, the 36-year-old veterans of the two teams, Modi Ricci and Abiol, were both honored as the best players, which is true that time honors the true gold.
Modi played 120 minutes, making 73 passes and 65 accurate passes to his teammates. Although he only hit the target once, he was equally good on the defensive end, blocking one opponent's shot, intercepting two, and making four steals. The key point is that he sent a precise long pass in the 80th minute, which helped Lodigos to equalize the goal, bringing the score to 1-3 and avoiding the elimination of Real Madrid from the tournament.
The UEFA Technical Observation Mission evaluated the Croatian star as the best player on the pitch, even without scoring, by controlling the midfield and being the central driving force of the team, with a balanced performance in both attack and defense.
As for Villarreal's center back Ebiol, he was the lone stopper of Bayern Munich's onslaught, making 13 clearances, two blocks and one interception. The UEFA Technical Observer Mission praised the Spanish veteran for his leadership on the pitch, his one-on-one aerial dominance and his footballing intelligence.
After the match Abiol said, "We have been through a tough test in both rounds and it is not easy to reach the quarterfinals, we still want to fight for more and I believe we can create problems for any opponent."
Ebiol, who played for Real Madrid between 2009 and 2013, was honored to be named Player of the Year alongside his former teammate Modigliani.
