Chapter 27 - 25: Mostar Zrinjski

Chapter 27: Chapter 25: Mostar Zrinjski

August brought another scorching day to Mostar.

In the sweltering heat, even the pigeons at both ends of the old bridge were lazing about in the shade, with no desire to soar into the sky.

In Mostar, the pigeons and residents got along so well that the birds weren’t afraid of people at all.

They would even fly into residents’ homes, do a little aerial performance, and then demand food.

Two pigeons were perched on the roof of Oripé’s house.

Suk sat on a nearby stone block, gazing up at the pigeons. Normally, he would have shooed them away without a second thought.

’Their droppings really stink!’

But pigeons were also a symbol of good luck, just like Van Stiake, the man Suk had been waiting for day and night.

"It’s been three weeks!"

Suk’s head drooped.

’This is taking forever.’

’Did I misunderstand him?’

Feeling restless, Suk shook his head and was about to go back inside to grab his gear and practice.

Just then, he heard the sound of car tires on the road outside.

A wine-red Volkswagen Santana. The paint was glossy and freshly washed—a rare luxury in Mostar Town.

As Suk watched with curiosity, the wine-red Santana pulled up in front of Oripé’s house. The doors opened, and two men got out.

Suk only recognized one of them: Van Stiake, who had been in the driver’s seat.

Suk’s eyes lit up. He couldn’t have been happier.

He jogged over and opened the door for them.

"Coach!"

Suk greeted him with a wide, welcoming smile.

Van Stiake saw Suk and nodded with a smile.

The other man, dressed in slacks and a white short-sleeved shirt that made him look a bit stiff, sized Suk up without any intention of greeting him.

"Please, come in."

Suk smiled, opening the door wider.

But Van Stiake waved a hand. "Go pack your bags. Where’s your guardian?"

Suk’s eyes lit up again. "Oripé is at the school. I’ll go pack right away."

With that, Suk dashed back to start packing.

At that moment, the man in the shirt turned and said, "This is the other ’great treasure’ you mentioned?"

Van Stiake chuckled. "He’ll surprise you."

The other man looked unconvinced. Even though he didn’t work in the football department, he still worked for a football club and had seen plenty of players. Suk, however, was clearly an anomaly.

Suk came back out quickly, taking only five minutes. He had a backpack slung over his shoulder.

"All packed. Let’s go,"

Suk said cheerfully.

Van Stiake tilted his head. "Just one backpack?"

Suk nodded affirmatively. "Just one backpack."

"Alright, get in the car."

Van Stiake patted the roof of the wine-red Santana. Suk immediately came out of the house, locked the door, and got into the back seat.

Suk was visibly excited. After all, he was about to join Mostar Zrinjski, a team that competed in the Super League.

This meant he was on the right path.

Apart from the main roads, the streets in Mostar weren’t in great condition. The car bumped along until it finally reached a school on the east side of Mostar Town.

After a word with the security guard at the gate, Oripé, dressed in a blue tracksuit, quickly came out.

Oripé was all smiles as he shook hands warmly with Van Stiake.

After the handshake, Van Stiake pointed to the other man. "This is Valimchi. He’s handling the contract signing today."

Valimchi handed over a document. "Here are the papers. We’ve decided to sign Suk to a five-year contract."

Oripé nodded but didn’t take the document. He asked, "What’s the weekly salary?"

Valimchi said, "Since Suk is a new signing, his weekly salary isn’t high. It’s at the lowest tier—500 Marks per week. Of course, his salary will be adjusted based on future performance, and there’s significant room for it to increase."

He thought Oripé would complain it was too little, but to his surprise, Oripé just nodded and said, "No problem."

Then, Oripé turned to Suk. "And you?"

Suk nodded as well. "No problem."

Marks was pretty good. It meant Suk wouldn’t have to work a part-time job anymore and could focus all his energy on matches and training.

Besides, to Suk, even Mostar Zrinjski was just a stepping stone. There was no need to haggle over income here.

’Frankly, in the grand scheme of European football, Mostar Zrinjski is a tiny club. How much could they possibly pay?’

’The important thing is to play well, level up, and collect my stats!’

The signing process was exceptionally smooth, taking less than an hour. Van Stiake was very pleased with how direct and efficient Suk and Oripé were.

After all, his schedule was tight, and he really didn’t have much time to waste.

"Aren’t you going to say goodbye?"

Van Stiake was ready to head back.

Suk waved his hand again. "We’re in the same town. No need for goodbyes."

With that, Suk said to Oripé, "You guys will have to struggle through this season on your own. If you get relegated, you get relegated. Don’t stress about it."

Oripé retorted irritably, "Shut your jinxing mouth."

Suk chuckled and waved to Oripé. "I’m off."

"Go on."

Oripé watched as Suk, Van Stiake, and the other man drove away, disappearing into the distance in a cloud of dust.

Oripé looked up at the azure sky.

’A fledgling must eventually fly to the heavens. That’s where it belongs!’

...

Mostar Zrinjski’s facility was located on a mountainside south of Mostar Town. There were two roads leading to the training ground.

Besides the relatively flat main road, there was a winding mountain trail.

Since they were in a car, they had to take the main road, even though the trail was shorter.

As he drove, Van Stiake said, "There’s a file next to you with some tactical information. Take a look at it today. You’ll start training tomorrow."

Van Stiake was a man of action, so Suk wasted no time and immediately picked up the file to look over the tactics.

It was a standard Total Football system, with the center-forward dropping back to orchestrate plays, feeding ammunition to the two forwards, and coordinating with overlapping full-backs making forward runs.

Suk needed to find his role and passing intentions within this complex system.

At this time, tactical offenses were mostly based on a three-lane attack, a far cry from the future five-lane attack created by Guardiola, which made full use of the complex half-spaces.

From an offensive standpoint, it basically involved distributing the ball to the wingers, passing to the overlapping full-backs, and coordinating with cross-field runs and midfielders pushing forward.

A quick glance was all Suk needed to roughly understand it.

Suk already had a keen instinct for tactical systems. Moreover, due to his physical condition, he had studied these things while transitioning to a new role.

Suk suggested, "Can I get a file on our starting players?"

Van Stiake glanced at Suk in the rearview mirror and nodded. "No problem."

No Head Coach would refuse a player who was eager to integrate into the team.

Besides, every Head Coach has files like that on their players.

Before long, the car began to climb the mountain.

When they reached a flat stretch of road halfway up the mountain, they could overlook the entirety of Mostar Town.

Under the sunlight, the Neretva River shimmered, and the town on its banks exuded an air of peace and tranquility.

Halfway up, the road forked. One path continued up the mountain, while the other led to Mostar Zrinjski.

The car took the turn, and after about two more minutes of driving, a sheet-metal archway appeared before them.

The metal was a bit rusty, and most of the paint had faded, but you could still make out the Mostar Zrinjski crest and name printed on it.

Finally, the car stopped in front of a two-story row house.

"We’re here!"

After parking, Van Stiake led Suk into the dormitory building.

Suk trotted along excitedly the whole way.

After they went up to the second floor, Van Stiake pointed to the first dorm room on the left. "Luka lives here."

Suk said decisively, "This is the one!"

Van Stiake smiled and nodded. "Someone will bring by your training kit and your home and away match uniforms in a bit."

After nodding, Suk added, "And the player files."

Van Stiake nodded with a smile and then turned to leave.

Suk pushed the door open and went inside.

As he opened the door, a gentle breeze brushed against his face.

The whole dorm was very clean. Despite being a room occupied by a boy, there was no smell of sweat.

There were three bunk beds in total. The two by the window were made up with bedding, while the last one was being used as a clothes-drying rack.

A white jersey with red spots—the home uniform for Mostar Zrinjski. On the back was the number 8, representing the core midfielder, with the player’s name above it: ’Modric’!

As Suk was sizing up his new living quarters, a cheerful voice suddenly came from behind him.

"Suk, you’re here."

Suk turned to see Modric holding a basin of water with a rag in it.

Suk asked curiously, "What are you doing?"

Modric smiled. "I’m cleaning the dorm to welcome my new roommate!"

He then pointed to the bed on the right, by the window. "The bedding was delivered the day before yesterday. I washed it for you and just put it on today."

Suk walked over and took a sniff. The fresh scent of soap lingered. He couldn’t help but turn around and give a thumbs-up. "Luka, you’re my brother for life."

Modric scratched his head, a little shy.

Suk took the basin and rag from Modric’s hands. "What else needs wiping? I’ll help!"

Modric pointed to the wall above. "Just those posters."

Only then did Suk notice the wall was covered with posters of soccer stars.

"You like Ronaldo?"

Suk climbed up to wipe the posters.

Modric nodded. "He’s the Alien. No one can stop him."

Suk nodded. ’Ronaldinho at this point in time was just ridiculously good.’

"Who do you like?" Modric asked curiously.

Suk turned and pointed at the Ronaldo poster. "I like him too."

Modric’s smile grew even wider.

"See! We’ve always been on the same wavelength!"