Chapter 95 - 9: Passionate and Friendly Fans

Chapter 95: Chapter 9: Passionate and Friendly Fans

July 15th. 1:00 PM, Zagreb time.

At the Dinamo Zagreb training ground, the players were packing their bags, waiting to head to Maximilienplatz.

The 18-man roster had been announced, and all the players who performed well in the preseason matches were selected.

The substitutes who didn’t make the cut were disappointed, but they understood why.

Be?i? had given them chances, but they hadn’t been able to seize them.

Suk, naturally, made the roster and was very likely to be in the starting lineup.

He was buzzing with energy as a result.

"Everyone grab your gear. The home jerseys will be delivered to the stadium for us."

Be?i? moved through the crowd, constantly reminding these restless young men.

"Serna, you left your shorts!"

"Luka, your training socks!"

"Whose underwear is this?!"

The atmosphere in the locker room was still a little tense.

After all, for most of the players, this was their debut for Dinamo Zagreb. Of course they were nervous.

Suk packed his bag and slung it over his back.

"I’m heading out!"

Suk said to Modric, who nodded in response.

Suk walked out of the locker room.

The Dinamo Zagreb team bus was parked right outside the locker room door.

At the entrance to the bus stood a man with a beer belly. He was wearing the team’s home jersey with a vest over it, and his belly stretched the jersey tight, giving him a distinctly round look.

This was Dinamo Zagreb’s bus driver, a man named Kredyvach.

He had been driving for Dinamo Zagreb for twenty years and was only two years away from retirement.

Kredyvach was a die-hard Dinamo Zagreb fan. He had a thick, messy beard, and as soon as he saw Suk, he threw his arms open and lifted him right off the ground.

"Let’s see who we have here! HAHAHAHA, our superstar number seven, Little Suqi!"

Kredyvach got along well with all the players.

But he had a particular soft spot for Suk.

He had been completely won over by Suk’s performance in the recent preseason matches.

Especially in the match against Red Star Belgrade, Suk’s insane performance, carrying the team almost single-handedly, had instantly endeared the young man to the aging Kredyvach.

"Don’t call me Little Suqi!"

Suk said, displeased.

Kredyvach put Suk down and pointed at him. "You are Little Suqi."

Then, he pointed at Davor Suker, who was behind them. "He is ?uker!"

Davor Suker rolled his eyes in annoyance.

Not many people on the team could get away with joking with Davor Suker like that, given his fame and status.

But for Kredyvach, none of that mattered.

After all, he had been the driver here long before Davor Suker became famous.

His seniority was second to none!

At Dinamo Zagreb, everyone respected Kredyvach.

Soon, Kredyvach rushed over and swept up Modric.

"Little Luka..."

Suk rolled his eyes.

Davor Suker chuckled. "It’s his way of encouraging people."

Suk nodded. "I know, but it just feels weird."

Davor Suker smiled. "If you don’t like it, you can tell him. Kredyvach respects everyone’s opinion."

Suk thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Forget it."

Once everyone had boarded, Kredyvach started the bus, turned to the team, and boomed, "Ready to go, lads?"

"The Kredyvach Express is headed straight for Maximilienplatz! That’s right! Tens of thousands of fans are waiting for you there, and of course, so are our opponents!"

With that, Kredyvach pumped his fist and shouted, "Let’s go kick Slaven Belupo’s ass!"

"Let’s roll!" Kredyvach yelled.

The bus slowly pulled away from the training ground and headed down the main road toward Maximilienplatz.

...

「Maximilienplatz」

This was a stadium located in the northern part of Zagreb.

It was also the primary stadium used by the Croatia National Team.

The stadium could hold forty thousand fans.

The whole stadium was built like an open cardboard box.

Three sides had double-decker stands, while the fourth had a single, curving stand and a giant screen that displayed the score and various match statistics.

Maximilienplatz was incredibly lively today.

The first match of the new season!

The return of Davor Suker!

The team’s restructuring...

All of this news had fueled the fans’ passion for this match.

For the Dinamo Zagreb fans, they had endured a terrible season last year.

They had a fire in their bellies.

They were the titans of the Croatian League!

They needed to reclaim their dominant position.

Thus, the season opener had fully ignited their enthusiasm.

’My heart beats for Dinamo!’

’My heart beats for Dinamo!’

’My heart beats for Dinamo!’

The cheers of tens of thousands of fans filled the air above Maximilienplatz.

The high-pitched cheers made the whole stadium vibrate.

Led by the stadium DJ, the fans cheered with all their might, creating a fiery home-field atmosphere.

Meanwhile, in the second tier of the north stand.

Di Camoqi had brought nine children from the orphanage to the match.

The fierce roars and waves of heat from the crowd filled the children, who had grown up in the orphanage, with curiosity.

Beneath the deafening cheers, they could feel their hearts pounding violently.

The waves of heat rolling off the shouting crowd made their bodies feel flushed and hot.

At the same time, they were also a little scared.

"Is Suk going to play here?"

A young boy named Bavia asked, shrinking his neck and looking around nervously.

"There are so, so many people here!"

Di Camoqi smiled and said, "They’re all here to cheer for Suk!"

Bavia nodded emphatically. "We’ll cheer hard for him too!"

Di Camoqi smiled.

He looked up at the fiery atmosphere, at the fanatic faces that showed the most sincere love for Dinamo Zagreb.

He had never imagined that his friend from the orphanage would one day actually set foot on this field.

Today, in the heart of Zagreb, under the watchful eyes of tens of thousands, he would begin his professional soccer career.

At the same time, Di Camoqi was also extremely worried.

He didn’t know if Suk would start, if he would play well, or if he had even made the game-day roster.

Just then, the cheering suddenly intensified.

ROOOOAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!——

The fans in the stadium erupted in a massive cheer.

On the field, the players from both teams had begun to enter.

"It’s Suk!"

Bavia immediately recognized Suk in the crowd, wearing the blue number 7 jersey.

When Di Camoqi saw Suk, his heart skipped a beat.

The number 7 jersey!

That’s a starter’s number!

’Is Suk starting?’

On the other side of the stadium, at the front of the south stand.

The bus driver, Kredyvach, emerged from a tunnel and ran all the way to the very front.

"Made it just in time!"

Kredyvach wiped the sweat from his brow.

In a group of fans nearby, a few older gentlemen waved to him.

"Over here, Lake!"

Kredyvach turned and laughed. "Potter! You guys came to watch too."

The fan named Potter, his hair streaked with gray, smiled and said, "This is Suk’s return debut! How could I possibly miss it!"

"I’m here to watch Suk play too!" Kredyvach laughed. "But not Davor Suker!"

ROOOOAR!!!!——

Suddenly, another wave of cheers went up.

Kredyvach looked toward the field and saw Suk and Modric practicing long passes.

The two stood about ten meters apart, passing the ball back and forth without letting it touch the ground.

And as they continued to exchange passes, wave after wave of cheers rolled through the stadium.

Suk controlled the ball with his chest, popped it up with his left foot, and then volleyed it back with his right.

Modric, on the other side, did the same.

This time, however, Modric’s pass was a little too strong.

Suk immediately turned, hooked his foot and raised his leg. The ball hit the top of his boot and shot straight up into the air.

Suk adjusted his footing, turned his body sideways, and struck the ball, sending it back again.

Just then, waves of applause came from the stands behind him.

CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP!!

"Beautiful control!"

"Great play, kid!"

"Go, number 7!"

They didn’t know Suk’s name, so they just shouted his number.

Faced with the fans’ enthusiasm, Suk wasn’t quite sure how to respond.

The fans at Mostar Zrinjski had never been this passionate.

Just then, one of the fans suddenly shouted, "Ball’s coming!"

Suk immediately turned his head, already adjusting his feet. The moment the ball landed, he planted his foot on it, stopping it dead under his sole.

At that, another cheer went up from the stands.

With his foot still on the ball, Suk gave a thumbs-up to the stands and smiled.

"The atmosphere here is amazing!"

Suk and Modric were warming up together, chatting as they did.

"Of course. The Dinamo Zagreb fans are great to their own players. They’ll encourage anyone on the team, even the subs!"

Suk nodded and grinned. "I’ll repay them with a goal!"

Modric nodded. "So, we go on the attack right from the start?"

Suk: "Attack! We have to go for it!"