Chapter 90 - 4: Keep-Away Game

Chapter 90: Chapter 4: Keep-Away Game

June 1st, the first day of training camp.

Davor Suker made a point of waking up extra early, heading for the training grounds at seven o’clock.

Arriving with him were Jarni and Stimac, fellow veterans of the Croatia National Team.

"Morning!"

"Morning!"

The three men greeted each other.

As former national team teammates, they were on very good terms.

"It’s rare to see you up this early."

Jarni teased, "Are you planning on showing the young lads who’s boss?"

Davor Suker shrugged. "I want to make them realize that if we old-timers are working this hard, they have no excuse to slack off."

Stimac also chuckled. "A little pressure is good for their development."

The three of them chatted and laughed as they walked from the parking lot to the field.

Along the way, more veterans joined their group.

Soon, their group had grown to seven. Aside from Davor Suker and the other two, the rest were veterans from Dinamo Zagreb’s previous coaching era who had been kept on by Be?i?.

As the captain, Davor Suker planned to establish his authority over the young players on the very first day.

His idea was simple.

He would get there extra early to make the youngsters realize they had to work hard and arrive even earlier than the veterans.

And at the same time, he’d plant an imposing image of himself in their minds.

However, things didn’t seem to be going according to his plan.

When the group of seven arrived at the training field, quite a few people were already there warming up.

Suk, Modric, Mandzukic, Vukojevic, Planic, Serna, Duimovic—all the newly-joined young players were present.

Some had even finished their warm-ups and were doing basic ball-feel drills.

Facing the morning sun and looking at the bustling field, Davor Suker fell into a deep silence.

Jarni: "...Maybe our generation was just too lazy?"

Stimac turned to Davor Suker. "Are you still planning on lecturing them?"

Davor Suker was even more speechless.

Lecture them my ass!

Why are these young guys so damn motivated?!

This kind of intense, internal competition didn’t have a name yet.

But ever since Suk had arrived at the training grounds, the other young players had seen him getting up before dawn every day, and one by one, they had all been spurred into action.

At first, it was just Suk and Modric. But after only three days, all the new young players started showing up on the field one after another.

This made the mornings at the Dinamo Zagreb training grounds much more lively.

"Morning, Captain!"

"Morning!"

"Captain! Morning!"

One after another, the young men enthusiastically greeted Davor Suker.

Davor Suker walked onto the field with an awkward smile on his face, feeling thoroughly frustrated inside.

The others followed behind Davor Suker, all trying to suppress their laughter.

Clearly, they found it amusing to see Davor Suker look so defeated.

Having failed to show them who was boss, Davor Suker was fired up and had a point to prove.

He immediately called out, "Hey! How about we play a little game?"

All the young players, including Suk, turned to look.

Davor Suker pointed to the center circle of the training field and said, "We’ll play piggy in the middle inside here. Two people in the middle try to win the ball. If you win it, you get to join the passers. The passers can run anywhere inside the circle, as long as you don’t kick the ball out of the center circle. Simple enough, right?"

With his foot on the ball, Davor Suker smiled. "Who wants to go first?"

Mandzukic and Vukojevic immediately stepped forward.

They couldn’t wait.

The two of them went into the circle and started pressing first.

But it was obvious they hadn’t coordinated before, so they just chased the ball chaotically while Davor Suker and the others constantly moved around the circle, passing the ball between them.

Suk, Modric, and the others watched while waiting in line for their turn.

"The pace is so fast!"

Modric said with a serious expression.

Inside the circle, it was almost all one-touch passing. Davor Suker and the veterans were incredibly precise and quick in judging the passing lanes.

Mandzukic and Vukojevic could barely react. They just stood in the middle spinning in circles, completely dazed from being run around.

Suk also watched the way they were passing and receiving. His eyebrows twitched slightly, as if he had noticed something.

After a little while, Mandzukic and Vukojevic, giving it their all, finally managed to touch the ball.

A new pair went in to press, and the two of them joined the circle of passers.

But it was clear they couldn’t keep up with the rhythm of the passing. They barely managed to react to the first two passes, but after that, they fell completely out of sync and were easily dispossessed.

"How could I... not get the pass off!"

Mandzukic plopped onto the ground, gasping for breath.

Vukojevic was also covered in sweat, panting with his hands on his knees.

They were clearly exhausted.

In contrast, while Davor Suker and the other veterans had broken a sweat, they were clearly in much better shape.

A playful smirk hung on Davor Suker’s lips.

"Who’s next!"

Serna and Planic exchanged a look and immediately stepped forward.

Both of them were full-backs, so they had more experience in defense.

As a result, they performed much better during the pressing phase.

But when it was their turn to pass, it was the same story.

After just two touches, they were out of sync with the group and lost the ball.

"Too slow to react!"

"It’s more like my footwork is slow! There was space, but I just couldn’t get the pass away."

The two said, their faces full of regret.

Just then, Modric said with a hint of surprise, "I get it."

Suk nodded as well. "It’s not that their footwork is slow!"

Modric: "It’s the timing of when they look up!"

"Go?"

"Let’s go!"

Suk and Modric immediately stepped forward.

"We’re new, so please go easy on us. Can we start off a little slower?"

Suk suggested with a smile.

Davor Suker and Jarni exchanged a glance, shrugged with a smile, and said, "No problem."

With that, Suk and Modric walked into the circle.

"These old-timers are waiting to see us make fools of ourselves," Suk whispered.

Modric: "Let’s show them what we’re made of!"

"Let’s do it!" Suk said decisively.

Soon, the drill began.

Suk and Modric sprang into action.

They had been on the same team before and had experience and chemistry from playing a high press, so their coordination was extremely sharp.

They pressed the flanks, first blocking off the passing channels, then pushing forward.

Suk and Modric’s movements were swift, and by pressing bit by bit, the two quickly narrowed the passing area.

"Crap!"

Seeing the press closing in, Jarni immediately pulled the ball back, trying to chip it over them.

But at that moment, Suk suddenly pushed forward while Modric took a step back, jumped lightly, and headed the chipped ball.

"Got it! Your turn to press!"

Suk jumped up immediately.

Davor Suker and the others looked at the pair, slightly surprised.

In the previous attempts, the young guys usually took more than ten, sometimes even twenty, passes to win the ball.

But Suk and Modric got it in just seven passes.

Moreover, their chemistry during the press was perfect.

"These two kids are different!"

Jarni whispered.

Davor Suker nodded as well. "But the real test is next!"

Now, Jarni and Stimac went into the middle to press.

Suk put his foot on the ball and shouted, "I’m starting!"

With that, he passed the ball to Davor Suker.

Davor Suker pushed the ball sideways and turned to look at Suk.

Suk had already run into the next open space to receive a pass. As he did, he turned his head to scan both sides. When the ball rolled toward him, he dragged it back and passed to Modric, then continued running to the next open spot.

Modric, in turn, moved the ball out of a tight space.

Davor Suker looked at the two in astonishment.

"These two kids..."

THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP!

The ball moved rapidly among the players.

Suk and Modric seemed to have blended into the group, their passing rhythm a perfect match.

In the swift exchange of passes, there wasn’t the slightest hesitation or awkwardness; everything was fluid and natural.

Soon, Suk was forced into a corner.

Seeing his chance, Jarni immediately lunged forward.

Seeing his opponent’s move, Suk quickly dragged the ball sideways. The ball shot through Jarni’s legs. Suk turned his body to dodge the tackle and toe-poked the ball to Modric on the other side.

"Nutmeg! You’re in for another round!"

Suk said, pointing at an embarrassed Jarni.

At this, Davor Suker cursed good-naturedly, "You two don’t need to be in this drill anymore. Go practice by yourselves on the side!"

Modric complained, not having had his fill of the fun, "But we just started!"

"Go, go, go!" Davor Suker urged them on with a look of mock disgust.

He even gave Suk and Modric a light kick on the butt, chasing them out of the circle.

Mandzukic and the others watched, completely bewildered.

They didn’t understand why they couldn’t do what Suk and Modric had done.

After Suk and Modric were excluded, the drill continued for several more rounds. Finally, looking at the exhausted Mandzukic and the others, Davor Suker called Suk and Modric over.

"You two, tell them what the problem is!"

Modric said directly, "The timing of when you look up!"

Suk nodded and explained in more detail, "This drill is actually a test of whether we’re grasping the correct timing for looking up—or rather, the timing for observation!"

"For example, your sequence is: trap the ball, look up, observe, then pass. By the time you observe, the opponent has already closed you down to press, which makes your pass slower!"

"So, the correct sequence is: look up, observe, then receive or pass the ball. Looking up and observing ahead of time is crucial. That’s the key to this rondo drill."

Hearing Suk’s explanation, Davor Suker nodded in satisfaction. "Observation is very important in soccer. When to look up and when to observe is even more critical!"

"In top-tier leagues, the pace is much faster. Often, the moment you look up, an opponent is already on top of you, giving you absolutely no time to observe. That’s why observing in advance is so important!"

"It tests how much useful information you’ve gathered before you even touch the ball."

"When I was playing for Arsenal, Head Coach Wenger once told Bergkamp to observe his surroundings multiple times in advance. He said a top-class midfielder will scan 15 to 20 times before receiving the ball!"

Everyone’s jaws dropped slightly.

’Scan that many times before getting the ball?’

Modric also had a solemn look on his face, but unlike the others, he seemed eager to give it a try.

"Developing good habits on the pitch is important. That’s today’s training. Anyone who didn’t win the ball, go run laps. Ten laps!"

Mandzukic and the others got up again and started running.

Suk and Modric didn’t join in, but Davor Suker walked over and, with a kick to each of their backsides, sent them into the running group.

"You two, get running too!"

Suk and Modric immediately cried foul.

"But we won the ball!"

"That’s right! We adapted!"

Davor Suker cursed with a laugh, "Run anyway! Everyone runs ten laps!"

And so, under the morning glow, the first day of Dinamo Zagreb’s training camp began with a game of piggy in the middle.