Chapter 98 - 12: Get Past Him

Chapter 98: Chapter 12: Get Past Him

Slaven Belupo was getting completely overwhelmed!

They remembered Dinamo Zagreb’s playing style from last season, and this wasn’t it!

They didn’t face this much defensive pressure then, either.

From the very start of the match, they had been weathering wave after wave of attacks from Dinamo Zagreb.

Especially that number 7 on the left wing!

That little bastard who shared a name with Davor Suker was an absolute, unending nuisance!

"Lao Xi! Mark him!"

Lao Xi, drenched in sweat, stared at Suk. He heard his teammate’s shout but had no time to respond.

This kid named Suk was too agile; his Explosive Power and Speed were just too fast.

If he lost focus for even a second, he’d be dribbled past for sure.

Because of this, Lao Xi focused intently on the ball at Suk’s feet.

Meanwhile, Suk was gently tapping the ball forward, probing.

Suk slowly dribbled the ball forward on the wing. His teammates were already moving up to support him, but he showed no intention of passing.

For one thing, his teammates were all marked by defenders.

For another, this full-back, Lao Xi, was a bit slow. Suk was confident he could get past him.

Suk suddenly pushed the ball forward, feinting a breakthrough.

Lao Xi’s body twitched, and he immediately followed.

But Suk came to a sudden, sharp stop. Lao Xi couldn’t stop in time and stumbled.

Seizing the opportunity, Suk knocked the ball sideways and used his formidable Explosive Power to instantly blow past Lao Xi.

As he lost his balance, Lao Xi desperately stuck out his left leg, trying for an Interception. It was his last act of defiance, but it was still useless.

"He got past him again!"

The commentator, Klauzovic, exclaimed in praise.

"I’ve lost count of how many times we’ve seen this scene. Lao Xi, a full-back known for his stability in the Croatian League, has become Slaven Belupo’s weak point!"

"Young Little Suqi! His performance is just incredible!"

Suk’s latest breakthrough earned another thunderous round of applause from the Dinamo Zagreb fans in the stadium.

But what happened next made their eyes go wide.

Suk dribbled along the line of the penalty area, constantly moving forward. Slaven Belupo players closed in from all sides, but Suk was like a butterfly flitting through a flower garden. With graceful footwork, he weaved and dodged his way across the entire top of the box.

"He beats one! He beats another!! And another!! Oh my—God!!"

The commentator Klauzovic put his head in his hands. He thought getting past Lao Xi was already an outstanding play.

But he never expected Suk to traverse the entire penalty area line from left to right.

"A through ball!! Davor Suker is making a run!"

Klauzovic shot to his feet.

Suk had single-handedly thrown Slaven Belupo’s entire defensive line into chaos, and in the midst of it, he threaded a perfect through ball.

Davor Suker made an intelligent run forward. Could he put the perfect finishing touch on this brilliant display of dribbling?

As Davor Suker ran forward, his eyes were full of focus.

He made a diagonal run, shaped to shoot with his right foot, and after drawing a sliding block from the defender, he sharply cut the ball back and immediately shot with his left.

The shot didn’t have much Power, and the ball wasn’t fast, but the angle was extremely tricky.

It rolled precisely into the far corner.

"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!"

"Another GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!"

"A perfect performance!!! A brilliant link-up between Little Suqi and ?uker!!"

"This match has given us so many surprises! Be?i?!! Where on earth did that man dig up this treasure?!"

The commentator, Klauzovic, could no longer remain calm.

Anyone who witnessed that run across the top of the penalty area would be absolutely thrilled.

In the Croatian League, known for its rough style of play and low dribbling success rate, Suk’s performance was a breath of fresh air.

"Dinamo Zagreb leads Slaven Belupo 3-0!!"

After scoring, Davor Suker didn’t run off to celebrate. Instead, he ran straight for Suk.

"Good kid!!"

Davor Suker pulled Suk into a fierce hug, excitedly ruffling his hair.

That dribbling run had left even him stunned.

To single-handedly throw the entire backline into disarray... those nimble movements were as graceful as a butterfly flitting through a thorny bush.

Suk smiled happily.

This was his debut for Dinamo Zagreb, and so far, his performance was basically a perfect score.

"That kid..."

On the sidelines, even Head Coach Be?i? was looking at Suk in astonishment.

Although Suk’s performance in training was also excellent, it was nowhere near as breathtaking as it was in a real match.

From his first charge at the start of the game, Suk had already disrupted Slaven Belupo’s defense and won a penalty.

After that, he coordinated with his teammates, linking up the play that led to another goal.

This time, he had used his own individual skill to forcefully tear apart Slaven Belupo’s defensive line.

In this match, the kid was even stealing the spotlight from Davor Suker.

...

In the south stands, the bus driver, Kredyvach, couldn’t help but laugh out loud, clapping his hands continuously.

Beside him, Potter’s jaw was dropped, his eyes were wide, and his eyeballs looked like they were about to pop out.

Seeing this, Kredyvach became even more smug.

"How about that? Didn’t I tell you? His skills aren’t limited to just being fast!"

Potter whipped his head around and asked, "How old is he?"

Kredyvach replied, "He hasn’t even had his 18th birthday yet!"

SLAP!!!

Potter slapped his thigh hard, stood up, and roared towards the pitch.

"Little Suqi!! Great playing!! Keep it up!! Dribble past him again!"

When the match resumed, Suk once again had the ball on the wing.

He was once again locked in a stalemate with Lao Xi.

Suk glanced at Lao Xi’s position and the covering defender behind him. Even if he got past the first man, he would immediately face a second challenge.

’A breakthrough here isn’t worth much!’

So, Suk decided to pass.

But just then, a unified chant suddenly erupted from the stands.

"Beat him!!"

"Beat him!!"

"Beat him!!"

The Dinamo Zagreb fans were hyped.

They kept egging Suk on from the stands, wanting to see more dazzling dribbles.

"Beat him! Little Suqi!"

"You can do it! Believe in yourself!"

"Dribble! Dribble!"

"Go for it!!"

Hearing the fans’ passionate shouts, Suk felt his heart suddenly start to pound faster.

He looked up sharply at Lao Xi.

Lao Xi shuddered, a look of fear on his face!

’The atmosphere is perfect. It would be a crime not to dribble past you now!’

Suk took a sideways stance, left foot forward, right foot back. His right foot rested lightly on the ball as he took small shuffling steps forward, probing.

It was a classic dribbling posture.

Lao Xi was filled with anxiety.

Just then, Suk suddenly feinted forward, and Lao Xi quickly moved to follow.

But it was just a body feint; the ball hadn’t moved.

Damn it!

He watched as Suk pulled back, about to break through on the other side.

In a fit of anger, Lao Xi went straight for a slide tackle.

HISS!!!!

The fans sucked in a collective breath.

That was a vicious slide tackle!

But Suk seemed to have anticipated it, flicking the ball up with his foot and hopping over Lao Xi in one smooth motion.

WHOA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Dinamo Zagreb fans went wild.

"Beautiful! Beautiful!"

"Go!!"

"Little Suqi!! Little Suqi!"

Suk charged down the byline.

The center-back, Bozic, scrambled to catch up.

"Beat him!!"

The fans roared again.

Suk was sent sprawling to the ground by a hard shove from Bozic!

’Beat him my ass!’

Suk felt like his arm was about to be dislocated. That guy was clearly going for the man, not the ball.

Bozic roared viciously down at Suk, his mouth spewing filth.

But the Dinamo Zagreb fans had his back.

"Asshole! You butcher!"

"You piece of shit! I’ll pull out your intestines and tie them in a knot!"

"Foul! Give him a red card!"

"Disgusting idiot, I’m gonna kill you!"

The Dinamo Zagreb fans were having none of it.

They furiously cursed out Bozic and even started throwing trash from their hands.

Only after Bozic had scurried away in disgrace did the curses stop, replaced by waves of applause from the stands.

"Little Suqi! That was a beautiful move!"

"Don’t be scared, Little Suqi! This is our home turf!"

"Get up and get him again!"

Suk got to his feet with a grin. ’These guys really know how to stir things up!’

Bozic received a yellow card for his reckless action!

A center-back on a yellow card was a huge problem.

"Slaven Belupo’s left flank has been completely blown apart!"

The commentator, Klauzovic, shook his head and remarked.

Although Slaven Belupo wasn’t a powerhouse team, their defense was usually very solid.

Even when facing stronger teams, they could use a defensive counter-attack strategy to cope, and even win.

But they had never looked so helpless before.

The price for having one of their flanks demolished was being led around by the nose by Dinamo Zagreb.

Fortunately for them, the first half soon came to an end.

At the 45-minute mark, Dinamo Zagreb was leading Slaven Belupo 3-0.

Dinamo Zagreb had been dominating their opponents for the entire first half.

「Dinamo Zagreb’s locker room.」

"Hey! That was brilliant!"

"We played really well. Let’s keep it up in the second half!"

"Hahaha! We totally blew them up on the left flank!"

"Suk! You were outstanding out there!"

Serna wrapped an arm around Suk’s neck, ruffling his hair.

The whole locker room was filled with laughter.

Their debut, Dinamo Zagreb’s first match of the season, was in the bag.

Head Coach Be?i? also walked into the locker room, feeling very satisfied internally.

But he didn’t praise the players.

"Overall, the performance was good, but there are still some issues."

"When the full-backs push up, the defensive midfielders need to learn to cover. Your positional awareness is still too poor. Slaven Belupo is being suppressed by us and can’t mount a decent counter-attack, but if we were up against a stronger team, they could exploit this kind of opening to threaten our goal, and even score!"

"Secondly, your aggressive running is commendable, but you must maintain your positional sense. Remember your position, remember your operational area." Be?i? glanced at Suk and said, "Don’t just go dropping back into our own half whenever you feel like it!"

Suk scratched his head in embarrassment.

It was a habit; he was always willing to drop back and help with the defense.

But in Be?i?’s tactical system, Suk was supposed to be the attacking commander up front. He could press and make interceptions around the midfield, but he wasn’t supposed to drop back too deep.

There were a few counter-attacks where they had already pushed the ball to midfield, but Suk hadn’t been able to get there in time, slowing down the overall pace of the attack.

"In the second half, keep up this performance. And also..." Be?i? turned his head and said, "Mandzukic, go warm up. You’re coming on in the second half!"

Mandzukic shot to his feet, his eyes burning with fighting spirit, and turned to walk out of the locker room to warm up.

He had been waiting for the moment he would be put on the field!