Chapter 31 - 29: Making the Main Roster

Chapter 31: Chapter 29: Making the Main Roster

Kosopech’s house was on the bank of the Neretva River, a small two-story villa with a little garden.

A rich aroma of barbecue was wafting from the garden.

Today, Kosopech had really splurged, buying a huge tub of beef for the barbecue.

That’s right, it came in a tub!

Watching the beef SIZZLE and glisten on the grill, the rich, meaty aroma filling his nostrils, Suk’s eyes were practically glued to it.

SNIFF!

Suk chewed on his fork and turned his head to the chef, Kovapechi, asking anxiously, "Is it not ready yet?"

Seeing Suk’s impatient expression, Kovacic said with a smile, "Almost ready."

After Kovacic flipped the beef, it was finally grilled to perfection, accompanied by an intense aroma.

"It’s ready! Time to eat!"

Kovacic shouted, and the four guys who had been playing video games inside came running out in a flash. Modric also appeared from some corner, plate in hand, and they all lined up, waiting to be served.

Kosopech dished out portions of beef to everyone, giving a little extra to Suk and Modric.

Modric looked at the two thick slices of beef on his plate and couldn’t help but say, "This is too much. I can’t eat all this."

"Too much?"

Suk immediately looked up and speared one of the slices with his fork.

"I can!"

With that, he ran straight to the table and began to wolf it down.

Suk had a fixation on food. Perhaps it was because he’d gone hungry too many times, so he could never resist when faced with a delicious meal.

Suk was extremely satisfied with his life these past few days.

Not only had he joined Mostar Zrinjski and could play in the Bosnia and Herzegovina Super League, but he could also eat his fill at every meal—and eat well at that.

This was something Suk had never even dared to dream of before.

Everyone sat down. There were seven of them in total, all starters for the team.

The four starting defenders: Haskic, Mashovich, Hajdari, and Kerpic.

One midfielder: Modric.

Two center forwards: Kosopech and Suk.

Many people wonder why the names of Croats often end in "-ic."

In fact, among Croats, "-ic" means "son of." For example, Modric means "son of Modri."

Suk was tearing into his beef, head down, eating furiously.

The others, however, chatted as they ate.

"We’re playing the Sarajevo Railway Workers tomorrow. Those guys are tough," Hajdari added. "Last season, we played them three times—one win, one draw, one loss. We nearly lost the last match against them too."

"Their central axis is strong: Mejic, Vukocic, and Vulic."

"Right now, three rounds into the Super League, besides Sarajevo and Tuzla Slobođa who have won all three matches for 9 points, the other five teams, including us, are all tied at 4 points with one win, one draw, and one loss."

"It would’ve been a lot easier if we’d taken down Sarajevo last time."

"Sarajevo studied us; they knew how to play against us. Kosopech was completely shut down. With their two tall center-backs, he couldn’t win any aerial duels."

Besides their alias, HSK, Mostar Zrinjski also had the nickname "the Heading Specialists," implying they only knew how to score with headers.

Because of this, many teams started using two High School Guards to counter Mostar Zrinjski, locking down the airspace and, at the same time, neutralizing Kosopech.

Chewing on his meat, Suk chimed in, "So what if they bring out two High School Guards tomorrow?"

Everyone froze for a moment, and Kosopech’s brow furrowed slightly.

Ever since Sarajevo used this tactic to shut him down, it seemed like many teams were starting to copy it.

During the previous match against Velez, those guys used the same tactic, but their High School Guards weren’t strong enough, and Kosopech managed to find an opening.

Kosopech let out a breath. "That’s why tomorrow is up to you."

Suk pointed at himself. "Me?"

Kosopech: "The Head Coach wants to develop a second set of tactics precisely for situations like this. After all, our previous strategy was too simple. High School Guards are effective against me, but they might not be as effective against you."

Hearing this, Mashovich and the others couldn’t help but laugh.

As defenders themselves, they knew how annoying it was when the opposing team fielded a center forward with a completely different style.

Moreover, unlike Kosopech’s playstyle which focused on Power, height, and Shooting, Suk combined Speed, agility, and passing attributes.

If he got the chance, the kid could even use his clever forward runs to tear the opponent’s defensive line wide open.

At this point, even the usually quiet Modric chimed in, "If the Sarajevo Railway Workers really think that way, then they’re going to lose badly tomorrow!"

Suk blinked. It felt like this group of people had more confidence in him than he had in himself.

Suk quietly reminded him, "Captain, I’m your rival, you know."

Kosopech couldn’t help but chuckle.

"What kind of rival are you? We’re completely different types of players, meant to serve two different tactical systems." Kosopech grinned. "Or do you think your jumping ability is better than mine?"

Suk fell silent.

He probably couldn’t jump as high as Kosopech could just by standing.

"After we eat, you all should head back early and get a good night’s sleep. Especially you, Suk. Tomorrow is your debut," Kosopech reminded him.

Suk immediately nodded. "Got it!"

Around 6 o’clock, Suk patted his full belly and wobbled up the winding path with Modric.

Suk was still feeling incredibly excited the whole way.

"Debut’s tomorrow. I’m a little nervous!"

Modric turned to look at Suk. "Don’t be nervous. I’ll help you."

"You’re a true brother!"

Suk patted Modric’s shoulder. "You don’t have to go out of your way to help me. We’ll see how the game unfolds. It’d be great if I get a chance to score, but if not, I’ll create more opportunities for your forward runs."

Modric nodded, showing he understood.

The two returned to their dormitory and quickly washed up.

Suk hung the jersey he would wear for tomorrow’s match on a hook, staring at it for a long time, a faint starlight glinting in his eyes.

This was his battle uniform for the Bosnia and Herzegovina Super League.

Number 99!

「The next day. Match day.」

Around noon, the players began to gather in the locker room.

Compared to usual, the atmosphere today was much more somber.

After all, Mostar Zrinjski’s recent matches hadn’t gone particularly smoothly, so the overall mood wasn’t very lively.

The entire first team gathered in the locker room as Head Coach Van Stiake announced the 18-man roster.

Suk could clearly feel how nervous the substitutes were. After all, making the roster was extremely important to them.

First, all 11 starters were selected, followed by the seven substitutes.

"Suk!"

Suk froze. He hadn’t expected to be the first substitute Van Stiake announced.

But he was also overjoyed. He had made the roster right after joining the team.

However, other substitutes shot him looks of envy and jealousy.

"Congratulations, Suk!"

"Hahaha! Didn’t I tell you!"

"Go get ’em!"

Kosopech and the others offered their congratulations.

Modric was also quietly happy for his friend.

Of course, the happiest of all was Suk himself.

In the end, the seven substitutes were decided: Suk, Boamei, Barton, Stelk, Lovich, Periatic, and the substitute goalkeeper, Pakovic.

With the 18-man roster confirmed, everyone boarded an old bus that went CLANKITY-CLANK down the road toward Jirinsky Stadium.

Jirinsky Stadium was located in the center of town, a very prime location.

From the stadium, you could even see the scenery of the Old Bridge of Mostar.

However, the stadium didn’t belong to the club but to the town government. Through their partnership, profits were shared according to a certain ratio.

There weren’t too many fans in attendance, only about five or six hundred, but to Suk, that was still a lot of people.

As soon as they arrived at the stadium, the players were ordered to head to the locker room immediately.

Van Stiake was very strict.

Once in the locker room, Van Stiake began to announce the starting lineup.

There were no surprises; it was the full starting lineup as usual.

Van Stiake had no intention of starting Suk.

But this was understandable. It wouldn’t make sense for a player to start a match right after joining the team.

Moreover, Suk was still in an adjustment period. Although he’d made some progress, a more stable tactical system was better suited for an official match like this.

During warm-ups, the starters were led by the assistant coach.

Meanwhile, substitutes like Suk warmed up on their own.

Suk was very diligent in his warm-up routine; after all, he might get to play in the match.

After finishing his warm-up, Suk went to a corner and pulled up his personal panel.

Personal Panel:

[Diamond Card (Special Class) Inzaghi’s Awareness.]

[Red Card (Skill Card) Tolister’s Short Pass.]

[Red Card (Special Class) Andre’s Flying Leg.]

[Red Card (Skill Card) Status Recovery Card.]

[White Card (Skill Category) Roberts’ Dribbling.]

[White Card (Skill Category) Tony’s Interception.]

attribute panel:

[Name: Suk]

[height: 156 cm]

[Speed: 74+15]

[Weight: 48.5 kg]

[Flexibility: 80]

[Power: 61]

[Explosive Power: 78]

Looking at the attribute panel, Suk felt a small surge of joy.

His height had finally surpassed 155 cm. Even though it was just 1 cm, it was still good news.

In addition, his Speed attribute had also increased by 2 points.

’The only explanation must be that I’ve gotten taller and my legs have gotten longer.’

After all, he hadn’t done any specific training for it.

His Weight had also gone up by half a kilogram, and his Explosive Power and Power had both increased by one point.

As his body developed, these stats were constantly rising.

For Suk, this was a very enjoyable process.

As for his cards, they were still the same ones.

After the last match against Mostar Zrinjski, he had been rewarded with two Status Recovery Cards; the other three cards he’d received were all White Cards that he couldn’t equip.

But he was still very satisfied with those two Status Recovery Cards.

After all, at this point, this card was incredibly useful.

Having checked everything to make sure it was all in order, Suk finally went to the substitutes’ bench and sat down.