Chapter 93 - 7: The Bombshell

Chapter 93: Chapter 7: The Bombshell

"...Left side! Pass it here!"

Suk waved his arm forcefully. As soon as the ball reached his feet, Suk immediately faced the attack and feinted left and right repeatedly.

Red Star Belgrade’s full-back, Savic, watched Suk’s nimble movements, his eyes blurring from the dizzying feints.

As Suk continued to press forward, Savic felt a surge of anxiety.

"Damn it!"

Savic immediately stuck his leg out for a tackle.

The moment he committed, Suk flicked the ball sideways.

"I’m here!"

Red Star Belgrade’s center-back, Siniaqi, immediately charged toward Suk, sticking his foot out again, trying to make the tackle.

In that critical moment, Suk used his quick footwork, touching the ball repeatedly with his right foot, and managed to carve out just enough space to break through.

’Crap!’

Just as Siniaqi reached out to grab Suk, the latter suddenly accelerated.

"Whoa!!—"

Watching Suk beat two defenders on the wing, Davor Suker, positioned at center-forward, couldn’t help but gasp in amazement.

Having shaken them off, Suk cut inside with the ball and charged directly into the penalty box.

The opposing team’s last center-back immediately rushed at Suk.

Suk wasn’t greedy. After a sideways touch with his right foot, he hopped lightly into the air, dodging the slide tackle.

At the same time, an unmarked Davor Suker watched the assist that practically served the goal up on a silver platter. He easily tapped it in for the score.

"Beautiful!!!—"

Fierce cheers erupted from the Dinamo Zagreb bench.

Several members of the coaching staff, including Head Coach Be?i?, were applauding excitedly.

They offered their most fervent applause for Suk’s brilliant display of dribbling.

Anyone would have the same reaction after seeing a single player tear through an entire defensive line like that.

"Suk’s performance is incredible! They can’t stop him at all!"

Assistant Coach Kleman exclaimed with excitement, "He’s like an elf on the pitch!"

Be?i? also nodded with a smile.

This was Suk’s value as an explosive playmaker on the wing.

’He can dribble, and he can pass!’

When the game was stable, Suk could use his passing to help the team advance the attack.

But when the team ran into trouble, Suk’s sharp dribbling was a powerful weapon for breaking down the defense.

However, despite all this, they still had a lot of problems.

On the scoreboard above.

Red Star Belgrade 3:3 Dinamo Zagreb.

Although they had tied the score, they were still on the back foot overall.

After all, Dinamo Zagreb was a newly assembled team, and this match had exposed many of their issues.

First, the defensive line was unstable. They sometimes chose to press aggressively and proactively, not even waiting for the midfielders to fall back. This often resulted in the opponent getting a one-on-one with the keeper or a clear shot on goal.

Second, when the full-backs pushed forward, the midfielders weren’t quick enough to cover the space, making them vulnerable to being penetrated on the wings.

Finally, there was the issue with the forward line.

Mandzukic and Davor Suker were always getting in each other’s way.

Mandzukic kept drifting toward the center, compressing Davor Suker’s space. The latter couldn’t perform effectively and had basically no chances at the far post.

The only silver lining was that Suk’s ability to create breakthroughs was truly phenomenal.

All three goals had come from Suk.

For the first, Suk used his speed to blow past the opposing full-back on the wing before sweeping a cross into the center, assisting Davor Suker.

The second goal also came from a run by Suk on the wing. After beating two players in a row, he forced a foul and won a penalty.

Davor Suker converted it!

And the third goal was the one that just happened.

Suk’s performance was outstanding, but everyone else had too many issues.

Be?i? scratched his head, feeling a bit frustrated.

’I thought the veterans like Davor Suker were supposed to lead the younger generation, but it feels like they’re the ones riding Suk’s coattails.’

PANT! PANT! PANT!

On the field, Suk was gasping for breath.

He glanced at the match timer. 80 minutes had already passed.

’These 80 minutes have been exhausting.’

Suk’s dribbling was sharp, but he could feel the opponents strengthening their defense on the left wing.

Every time Suk broke through, the pressure on him would double.

’I can barely get past them now.’

"Shut him down!"

Sure enough, as soon as Suk controlled the ball, three opponents immediately closed in to press him.

Suk quickly nudged the ball to evade the press, but his small frame was quickly pushed off-balance, and the ball was stolen.

"Counterattack!!"

A Red Star Belgrade player roared.

The ball was quickly passed upfield.

Suk scrambled to his feet and tried to track back to defend, but by then, the opponent had already advanced the ball to near the penalty box.

’It’s too late!’

Suk shook his head helplessly.

’I won’t make it back in time!’

Just as expected, Red Star Belgrade sent the ball high into the penalty box, where their tall center-forward, Grujic, leaped up for a header.

Just as he thought he was about to connect with the ball, Dinamo Zagreb’s center-back, Jarni, made a powerful jump, held off the pressure, and flicked a header to the full-back, Serna.

Serna immediately passed it to Modric.

Without taking a touch, Modric sent a direct forward pass to Davor Suker.

At this moment, Red Star Belgrade’s defensive line was positioned between their penalty box and the center circle.

Davor Suker executed a textbook drag-back turn and threaded a through ball forward.

"Suk!!"

Along with Davor Suker’s shout, a figure burst out from the crowd.

His speed was like lightning. In an instant, he blazed past the opponent’s defensive line and caught up to the ball.

"Damn it! This guy is too fast!"

Red Star Belgrade’s full-back, Savic, sprinted desperately to catch up, but watching the gap widen, he felt utterly frustrated.

Suk was one-on-one with the keeper!

He took large strides, knocking the ball ahead. The moment the opposing goalkeeper came out and lowered his center of gravity, Suk sharply dragged the ball sideways, bypassing the keeper.

Having rounded the keeper, Suk faced an empty net and easily finished the shot!

SWISH!!

The ball hit the back of the net, and Suk collapsed straight to the ground.

"So... damn... tired!!!!—"

Suk laughed.

The other players all crowded around him, ruffling his hair in encouragement.

"What a fantastic play!"

Davor Suker pulled Suk to his feet.

In this match, Suk had one goal and two assists. In a friendly against Red Star Belgrade, at a moment when Dinamo Zagreb was being suppressed, it was Suk who exploded onto the scene.

This was something none of them had expected.

But it was also thanks to Suk’s explosive performance that they weren’t completely thrashed.

Final score: Dinamo Zagreb 4:3 Red Star Belgrade!

They had actually managed to win the friendly match.

The victory even surprised Head Coach Be?i?.

When scheduling the pre-season friendlies, he had arranged for Red Star Belgrade to be their third opponent specifically to raise the difficulty.

He had even been prepared to lose.

But he never expected they would actually win.

Of course, winning was a good thing, but it also exposed quite a few problems.

Nevertheless, after this match, everyone, including Be?i?, felt a fire ignite within them.

’This Dinamo Zagreb team... is something special!’

Suk’s individual brilliance was one thing.

On the other hand, if they could solve the problems that had emerged during the match, what kind of performance would the team be capable of then?

Be?i? suddenly felt full of motivation. He couldn’t wait to see what this team would look like once it was fully formed.

Suk’s excellent performance in the match earned him the respect of the Red Star Belgrade players.

"You’re so fast. I wish I could dribble past players like you."

Red Star Belgrade’s tall center-forward, Grunic, said to Suk with envy.

Suk looked at Grunic’s 195 cm height and laughed. "Then give me half your height."

Grunic was taken aback for a moment, then burst out laughing.

After the two exchanged jerseys, they headed for the players’ tunnel.

Back in the locker room, Be?i? was already standing in the middle. Suk was the last to arrive.

Be?i? nodded at Suk, who immediately ran to a bench and sat down.

"I don’t need to say much about this match. You all know how we won it!"

Be?i?’s words made everyone turn to look at Suk.

Suk seized the moment, stood up, lifted his chin, spread his arms, and looked at the stunned crowd. "Well? Where’s the applause?" he asked, feigning dissatisfaction.

CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP!!

Modric, playing along, was the first to applaud.

The others couldn’t help but chuckle at Suk’s smug look, but they still joined in the applause.

Although the game had been tough, winning still felt great.

"For the next two weeks, we’ll focus on adjusting to fix these problems. We only have half a month before we have to start competing for real."

SLAP!

Be?i? snapped his notebook shut and declared loudly, "We have to win our first home game! It’s not just the debut for most of you; it’s also about giving the fans confidence!"

Everyone knew what Dinamo Zagreb had gone through last season, so they understood the importance of this match.

On July 1st, Dinamo Zagreb concluded their two-week pre-season tour and returned to their training facility.

Be?i? did not publicly release the results of their friendly matches.

Although the fans were curious about the newly formed team, they would have to wait until game day to find out the details.

The final two weeks were for adjustments and building chemistry.

There were still many problems that needed to be solved.

And in two weeks, they would face the first match of the Croatian League season!