Chapter 30 - 28: Modric Wants to Change

Chapter 30: Chapter 28: Modric Wants to Change

At the end of a day’s training, Suk felt incredibly fulfilled.

This was a Bosnia and Herzegovina Super League team, after all. Playing with them felt completely different from playing with the Mostar Wanderers.

Their discipline and passing coordination were far more in sync.

Their off-the-ball movement was also constant. The moment Suk received the ball, he could find plenty of passing lanes.

This greatly reduced the pressure on him to distribute the ball.

Of course, what Suk was most grateful for that day was how smoothly he had found his place on the team.

He hadn’t become *the* ’new guy’.

While he was technically new, no one dared to bully him under Kosopech’s protection.

Otherwise, he would have gotten the same treatment Boamei received today.

Suk was quite philosophical about it. ’It’s lucky I wasn’t bullied, but if I were, I’d just have to endure it.’

This wasn’t childhood, after all. On a professional team, no one was going to babysit you.

Van Stiake had recruited Suk, but that didn’t mean it was also his job to help Suk integrate into the team.

This was an adult environment; he had to face it on his own.

Bringing Suk onto the team was already more than enough. How he survived and made a comfortable place for himself was all up to him.

Fortunately, Suk had good social skills. If he were the quiet, introverted type, he probably would have been bullied mercilessly.

It was just like when Kosopech first arrived; Suk had greeted him and quickly gotten to know him.

That was why Kosopech had stepped in for him earlier. Otherwise, the man wouldn’t have cared whether Suk was bullied or not.

After a day, Suk had gained a basic understanding of the whole team.

First, the locker room was divided into two factions.

There were the two vice-captains: Kosopech and Oliveira.

Oliveira led the local faction, and was close with most of the substitutes, as well as Boban and Billiar.

He was also skilled at forming cliques and ostracizing outsiders.

Just like their bullying, it was a method of suppression.

Kosopech was more Zen-like, or rather, his group was more about mutual support. They were mostly Croats.

Even though Suk was Asian, the fact that he spoke Croatian and held Croatian nationality was enough to get his foot in the door.

Moreover, Kosopech wanted to use Suk to win over Modric.

In any case, they each had their own needs, so it was a mutually beneficial arrangement.

Suk rolled over in bed and saw Modric at his desk with the lamp on, writing furiously.

"What are you doing?" Suk asked.

Modric: "Writing a letter!"

Suk: "Who are you writing to?"

Modric: "My teacher in Zagreb."

Suk nodded. He knew Modric wasn’t the talkative type.

But Modric thought for a moment, put down his pen, and turned to Suk. His lips moved slightly before he finally spoke.

"How... how did you do it?"

"What?" Suk asked, confused.

Modric clarified, "You got on good terms with Kosopech and the others in just one day."

Suk raised an eyebrow. "It’s simple. Communication."

Modric pressed his lips together. "I’m not good at communicating."

Suk looked at the dejected Modric.

At this stage, Modric was at a low point in his life.

Being loaned out by Dinamo Zagreb to the Bosnia and Herzegovina League was one blow.

His beloved Head Coach being fired and him becoming a target for purging was another.

Under this double blow, his already introverted personality had become even more withdrawn.

Suk sighed, sat up, and leaned against the wall, looking at Modric. He said:

"You know, getting along with people isn’t that complicated. It’s really just about you asking me for a favor, me asking you for a favor, and after a bit of back-and-forth, your relationship naturally gets better."

"Sometimes when people invite you somewhere, do you feel like it’s a hassle? And so you refuse?"

At Suk’s question, Modric nodded quickly.

Kosopech had invited him out several times, but he’d always refused, thinking it was a bother.

"That’s the problem. You’re always turning down the goodwill people offer, so your relationships never move forward."

"The reason you feel it’s a hassle right now is precisely because your relationship with them isn’t that close, isn’t it?"

"If I invited you, would you think it’s a hassle?"

Modric thought for a moment, then shook his head. "No, I’d be very happy."

CLAP!

Suk clapped his hands. "That’s exactly it. The first time might feel like a hassle, and you might feel awkward, but after a few times, you get closer. Then it’s not a hassle anymore, and you actually start to enjoy it."

"It’s like when we play soccer. At first, it feels unfamiliar and there’s no coordination, but after a few tries, you slowly start to get a feel for it. Socializing is the same."

Modric thought for a moment and said, "Oliveira has invited me out, too."

Suk frowned.

"What do you think of him?"

Modric thought about it and shook his head. "I don’t like him."

"What about Kosopech?"

Modric was silent for a moment. "I don’t dislike him as much."

Suk smiled. "See? You already have your answer."

Modric considered this carefully, then nodded slowly. "I think I understand."

"Take your time, no rush!" Suk said with a wave and a yawn. "Social anxiety is hard to change!"

"What anxiety?"

Hhhh... hhhh...

Suk’s breathing became even and deep. He was clearly already asleep.

Modric blinked and whispered, ’He falls asleep so fast.’

With that, he began to write the end of his letter.

"Today was a wonderful day. My good friend, Suk, became my teammate. He had a great performance in his first day of training, and I’m very happy for him."

"There is much I need to learn from Suk. For example, he managed to build good relationships with so many people in just one day. Yes, that’s very important in football. Perhaps... I should also try to start conversations."

Modric sealed the letter in an envelope, then turned to look at the sleeping Suk, a slight smile appearing on his face.

Even though he was lonely in Bosnia and Herzegovina, he still had a good friend.

...

The next day, Kosopech walked into the locker room.

"Morning, Chief!"

Suk, sitting on the bench, gave a casual wave.

Kosopech didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as he nodded.

Just then, a quiet greeting came from beside Suk.

"Good morning, Kosopech."

Kosopech looked toward the voice and saw Modric timidly raising his hand.

After they made eye contact, Modric immediately dropped his arm and looked away.

Kosopech: "!!!"

This was the first time Modric had ever greeted him.

"Good morning, Luka!" Kosopech burst out laughing.

As the other players walked in, Kosopech gestured excitedly. "Luka said good morning to me today! He initiated it!"

Hajdari: "!!!"

Mashovich: "!!!"

Korpic: "!!!"

The three of them whipped their heads around to look.

They saw Modric let out a breath and slowly raise his hand. "Good morning."

The three immediately raised their hands and said in unison, "Good morning, Luka!"

Sitting to the side, Suk couldn’t hold back his smile.

The second day of training focused on short-range passing drills and high-pressing as a unit.

For the past two days, Van Stiake had been drilling a Total Football tactical model, while also helping Suk integrate into the team as quickly as possible.

Suk’s performance was also very good. He actively worked with his teammates, practicing his passing and receiving coordination.

However, compared to the others, the coordination between Suk and Modric was much more in sync.

Furthermore, Suk’s presence greatly increased Modric’s threat on the offensive end.

Previously, Modric had mainly focused on organizing play from around the midfield, but with Suk on the team, he had the freedom to make forward runs and attack.

Sometimes, after the two made overlapping runs, Suk would even take over the playmaking duties for a short time.

Having two playmakers up front made Mostar Zrinjski’s passing game in the attack increasingly fluid, and their threat level gradually rose as well.

Although they were still a ways off from having perfect chemistry,

it was already starting to form the basis of a brand-new tactical system.

When Kosopech, the tall center-forward, couldn’t break through and score, they now had other ways to tear apart the opponent’s defense.

This was what excited Van Stiake the most.

After all, a full year after he started coaching Mostar Zrinjski, he had finally established the prototype for a Total Football system.

But training was just training. How it would actually perform still needed to be tested in a real match.

To that end, August 7th was a very important day.

The moment of truth for Suk and Mostar Zrinjski’s new tactics would arrive.

"Come over to my place for dinner tonight. We can celebrate Suk joining the team,"

Kosopech suggested.

Suk, of course, had no problem with that, and the others nodded in agreement.

At that moment, everyone looked at Modric.

Kosopech also looked at Modric and asked, "Are you coming?"

Modric still felt a little hesitant, but he remembered Suk’s words from the previous night. The thought that Suk would be there also put him at ease, and he couldn’t help but nod.

A smile instantly spread across Kosopech’s face.

That evening, the group packed their bags and began to leave together.

Just then, Suk saw Oliveira’s group driving away from the club in a beat-up old jeep, kicking up a cloud of dust as they swaggered off.

"Ptooey, ptooey!"

Hajdari spat, getting the dust out of his mouth, and cursed, "Those guys are off to Nem Port again."

"Nem Port?" Suk blinked. He was familiar with the place.

"Are they going there to work?" Suk felt like he’d just asked a stupid question.

Hajdari sneered. "Oh, they’re working, all right. On top of some women."

The realization dawned on Suk.

As a port, besides the fish trade, Nem Port was most famous for its red-light district.

After all, sailors were often at sea for months at a time. When they returned to land, they always needed to blow off some steam, so a vice industry naturally flourished.

"Don’t mind them. We’re not on the same path. No drinking tonight, just some barbecue."

Suk’s eyes immediately lit up.

"Barbecue! I love it!"

Hajdari threw an arm around Suk’s neck and laughed heartily. "Let’s go, our little center-forward! There’ll be more than enough meat tonight!"