Chapter 92 - 6: 3 Warm-up Matches

Chapter 92: Chapter 6: 3 Warm-up Matches

Davor Suker was getting older, but he was still in excellent form. Especially with the habits he’d developed playing in the Five Major Leagues, his first touch alone could create a shooting opportunity for himself.

For many top-tier strikers, that first touch is absolutely crucial, and Davor Suker’s shooting skill was also top-notch.

Thanks to Davor Suker’s goal, Dinamo Zagreb had taken the lead in the preseason match.

However, the real test for Mostar Zrinjski was just beginning.

Suk dropped back near the midfield line to receive the ball from Modric.

He wasn’t like a traditional winger who would wait on the flank for a teammate to feed him the ball. Just as at Mostar Zrinjski, Suk’s role at Dinamo Zagreb was to both orchestrate the offense and be an explosive force on the wing.

The moment Suk received the ball, Head Coach Be?i? turned to watch.

He had high expectations for Suk’s performance.

After receiving the ball, Suk didn’t move immediately but paused for a moment.

This pause allowed Modric and the fullback, Serna, to start making forward runs on either side.

Suk passed the ball to Modric, then instead of moving toward the flank, he cut horizontally toward the center, looping behind Modric to the other side.

At the same time, Modric, understanding the play perfectly, passed the ball back to Suk.

In this exchange, Modric acted as a wall, drawing the opponent’s attention for Suk.

When the ball came back to Suk’s feet, Serna, Davor Suker, and Mandzukic were all making forward runs ahead of him.

Suk saw Davor Suker suddenly stop and turn sideways, opening up his body.

In that same instant, Suk immediately passed to Davor Suker and sprinted forward himself.

Seeing the ball passed to Davor Suker’s feet, Mostar Zrinjski’s attention was drawn to him.

Just as they were about to close in on Davor Suker, he gave them no such chance.

Meeting the incoming ball from Suk, Davor Suker gently tapped it sideways.

The ball landed perfectly in an open space that had been created, a gap wide enough for a shot.

Suk, still on his forward run, saw this too. Without a second thought, he met the ball and swung his leg hard.

The ball flew low along the ground, deflected off Hajdari’s ankle, and zipped into the net on the opposite side of the diving goalkeeper.

"YEAH!!!"

Suk jumped up in excitement.

This was his first goal since joining Dinamo Zagreb. Even though it was only a preseason match, it was still crucial.

"Captain, beautiful pass!"

Suk shouted.

Davor Suker and Kosopech both looked at Suk at the same time.

Suk froze for a second, then awkwardly pointed at Davor Suker.

Kosopech smiled and turned his head away.

He had subconsciously thought Suk was calling to him, forgetting that Suk had already transferred.

On the sidelines, Be?i? gave a slight nod.

That goal was a great piece of teamwork. Davor Suker and Suk had developed some solid chemistry, likely a result of their joint training over the past two weeks.

But their offensive patterns weren’t that one-dimensional.

On the next attack, Suk once again dropped back to receive the ball. But this time, he didn’t direct the offense. Instead, after passing to Modric, he pulled out to the flank.

At the same time, Davor Suker and Mandzukic completed a crossover, switching positions.

Davor Suker, now on the wing with the ball, decisively cut inside. After dribbling past Haskic, he chipped the ball over Mostar Zrinjski’s defensive line.

The ball dropped toward the far post, but Suk made a sudden run. Before the ball even hit the ground, he chested it down gently, immediately adjusted his footing, and volleyed the falling ball straight at the goal.

The ball flew toward the near left post, struck it, and ricocheted into the goal.

Dinamo Zagreb scored their third goal.

Mostar Zrinjski didn’t just sit back and take it. In the 70th minute, they used Boamei’s speed to make a high-speed run down the flank, assisting Kosopech on a headed goal.

But in the 80th minute, Modric answered back with a world-class strike of his own.

In the end, the preseason match concluded with Dinamo Zagreb defeating Mostar Zrinjski 4-1.

After the final whistle, everyone gathered around to catch up.

Kerpic was ruffling Suk’s hair, saying with a disgruntled look, "How am I supposed to catch you? Your positioning is getting more and more disgusting."

Yes!

Disgusting!

Kerpic wanted to mark Suk, but Suk barely even operated on the flank.

The guy would even pop up in the half-space on the opposite side, which was a real nightmare to defend.

Suk just smiled without answering.

At Dinamo Zagreb, although Suk’s position was still a winger, when the fullback Serna pushed forward on an attack, his own position would change accordingly.

He would drift more toward the center, even moving into a central attacking midfielder role.

Be?i? knew that Suk’s physicality wasn’t quite there yet, so he gave him more space to roam. This allowed Suk to avoid a lot of targeted physical challenges.

Unless the opponent assigned a man-marking midfielder specifically to trail Suk, no one could contain him with the way he moved.

"I don’t think I saw any new signings, but Boamei played really well."

Suk glanced at Mostar Zrinjski’s lineup; he’d noticed earlier that there were no new players.

"The owner gave us a raise!" Mashovich said with a smile. "As for who they’re going to buy, we don’t know either. For us, the biggest thing right now is preparing for the Champions League qualifiers."

Suk paused for a moment, then it dawned on him. "That’s right! You guys have the Champions League qualifiers this season!"

The champions of both the Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Croatian leagues earn a spot in the Champions League qualifiers.

As long as they could make it through the qualifying rounds, they would advance to the Champions League group stage.

However, that was extremely, extremely difficult.

But even so, Suk was envious.

Dinamo Zagreb’s performance last season had been so poor that they hadn’t even earned a spot in the Champions League qualifiers.

Just then, the Dinamo Zagreb staff started calling the players over.

"I’ve gotta go. Good luck this season!"

Suk waved and turned to leave.

Watching Suk’s retreating figure, Kerpic grinned. "Now I finally get why Jorijac, that fullback from Sarajevo, was so helpless against Suk."

"In this match, we tightened up our defense and didn’t give them any chances to play balls in behind us. But teams that don’t know Suk, they won’t know to do that. You can just imagine how much they’re going to suffer!"

Kerpic turned his head and asked, "Do you think those two, Suk and Modric, can make it at Dinamo Zagreb?"

"Definitely!" Mashovich nodded. "I’ve always had complete faith in them."

Meanwhile, Suk had jogged into the locker room.

After having everyone sit down, Be?i? began to go over the problems from the match.

"You aren’t decisive enough on counter-attacks. On a counter, look for Modric first. If Modric’s position is blocked, then find Suk. Pass the ball forward quickly. That’s the key to a counter-attack!"

"In defense, your positioning is too loose, not tight enough!"

After a pause, Be?i? looked at Suk and said, "You track back too often. You need to remember, you’re the focal point of our counter-attacks. If we can’t find you upfield when we launch a counter, not only will we waste the opportunity, but we’ll also be put on the back foot. I don’t know what your duties were at Mostar Zrinjski, but here, you don’t need to drop back to defend so frequently!"

Suk immediately nodded to show he understood.

As Be?i? turned away to discuss other issues, Suk pouted and muttered quietly:

’I even get told off for tracking back diligently...’

Davor Suker heard Suk’s muttering and couldn’t help but grin. He gave Suk’s head a good ruffle, as if to console him.

He really liked Suk.

Who wouldn’t like a teammate who was exceptionally talented, ran tirelessly during games, and was a smooth talker?

Davor Suker was older, and his stamina had declined significantly.

The main reason this wasn’t exposed during the match was that Suk’s tireless running helped cover for him.

You could say Suk was running for the both of them!

"These are all problems we need to solve. Next stop!" Be?i? announced decisively. "Sarajevo!"

Over these two weeks, Be?i? had scheduled three preseason matches: against Mostar Zrinjski, Sarajevo, and then a trip to Serbia to play Red Star Belgrade.

The opponent for the second stop, Sarajevo, was another team Suk was familiar with.

As a result, both Suk and Modric performed exceptionally well.

With Davor Suker as the explosive point man up front, the two of them desperately fed him ammunition, helping Davor Suker score a preseason hat-trick.

Suk and Modric also each bagged an assist.

However, something interesting also happened during this match.

Namely, there were three Sukers in one game.

All the shouting could get confusing.

Nevertheless, the final result was still excellent, as they won the second preseason match with a score of 3-0.

After these two matches, the team returned to Croatia for a brief rest. Two days later, they set off for their third preseason game.

Their opponent: Red Star Belgrade!

Speaking of Red Star Belgrade, they were unequivocally the most formidable team during the era of the Former Yugoslavia league.

In the 1990/1991 season, they even won the Champions League, conquering all of Europe!

However, due to the civil war in Former Yugoslavia, the team was engulfed in the flames of war and didn’t reappear on the European stage until 2000.

But by then, Red Star Belgrade had been severely weakened. They were a shadow of their former dominant selves in the Champions League, and even qualifying from the preliminary rounds was a struggle.

But a starved camel is still bigger than a horse. Compared to Dinamo Zagreb, this was still a team with a glorious history and formidable strength.