Chapter 37 - 35: New Battle Boots

Chapter 37: Chapter 35: New Battle Boots

Due to their outstanding performance in the previous match, the Mostar Zrinjski players were given a short break.

For players who had matches every week, any break was incredibly precious.

For players with families, like Kosopech, a break basically meant reuniting with loved ones and taking the kids out.

But for Suk, the break began with buying shoes.

"Are you ready? We should get going!"

Suk swaggered into Skolc’s dorm room.

Based on their interaction yesterday, Suk had agreed to let Skolc join today’s outing.

Of course, the main event for the day was buying shoes.

Suk’s cleats already had holes in them, and the studs were so worn down they provided no grip whatsoever.

He could have run faster and made quicker stops and turns, but his gear forced him to hold back slightly.

Now that Suk had just gotten paid, he was ready to get himself a new pair of boots.

Modric still trailed behind Suk, having become his little shadow.

As his only friend in Mostar, Modric was incredibly loyal, sticking to Suk nearly every minute of the day.

When Skolc saw Suk and Modric, he quickly threw on a jacket and said, "Coming! Coming!"

His voice was exceptionally cheerful.

Across from Skolc, Boamei was silently packing his luggage with his head down.

Suk glanced at Boamei, who also saw Suk, but neither had any intention of speaking to the other.

Skolc finished getting ready quickly.

Skolc was a Black man of African descent with a buzz cut. He had a lean build with long, lanky limbs and thin calves, and he was wearing a brown cartoon t-shirt with black shorts.

Modric’s outfit showed a better sense of style. A simple black and white combination—a plain white t-shirt and black athletic pants—lacked any fancy design but gave off a clean and tidy impression.

As for Suk, he was just in his training pants and a training shirt.

Suk glanced at Boamei again, then turned and said, "Let’s go!"

With that, the three of them left the dorm, exited the training facility, and headed down the winding path toward town.

Along the way, the trio was still talking about yesterday’s match.

"That chip shot from Vukocic was too close for comfort. If it had gone in, the final score would’ve been up in the air!"

Skolc remarked with feeling.

Modric nodded as well. "If they had tied the score then, their morale would have soared, and we would have been in a tough spot."

Then Modric added, "That’s why Suk’s track-back was so crucial!"

Walking down the stone steps, Suk felt a flutter of excitement in his heart hearing his teammates’ praise. His steps became lighter, and he added a little bounce to his stride.

"The situation was that I lost the Ball upfield, so it was my responsibility to track back."

Suk said it casually, but Skolc and Modric were impressed.

It was easy to say, but at that point in the match, who could really make their legs move?

After all, they had already used up so much energy, and their bodies were exhausted.

Even if the center-forward didn’t track back, no one would have considered it Suk’s fault.

But he did track back.

That alone was enough to earn people’s admiration.

Unlike the other two, Suk didn’t think it was a big deal.

After all, in the future of football, total football would become a common tactic, and it would be very normal for a center-forward to track back.

It just seemed a bit out of place given the current tactical mindset.

Before long, the three of them arrived in town.

Following the Neretva River, they soon reached Jirinsky Stadium in the center of town.

The town’s sporting goods stores were almost all concentrated in the back alleys near the stadium.

The main street had the Mostar Zrinjski team store, while the back alleys were filled with sporting goods shops of all sizes.

When Suk and the others arrived in the back alleys, they found about seven or eight sporting goods stores.

Suk had never bought anything here before, and the other two were even less familiar with the town.

So, the trio decided to start browsing from the first shop.

"Welcome!"

As soon as they walked in, a chubby young man came out to greet them.

When he saw the three of them, he exclaimed in surprise, "Suk, Modric, and..."

Skolc said awkwardly, "...Skolc!"

"Hello, Skolc!"

The chubby young man was a fan of Mostar Zrinjski; in fact, most of the townspeople were.

It was just that, apart from important match days, not everyone came to watch their games.

Suk pointed to the shoe display on the right and said, "I want to buy some shoes!"

The young man smiled. "You’ve come to the right place. The quality of my cleats is the best, and the prices are fair. By the way, you can call me Vicki."

"Hello, Vicki."

Suk replied casually and turned his attention to the shoe display.

Right away, Suk spotted two classic cleats.

One was the Mizuno Wave Legend.

Mizuno cleats were a godsend for anyone with wide feet; for them, the comfort was second to none.

And these shoes were the signature boots of Rivaldo from the Brazil Team in the last FIFA World Cup.

Suk only gave them a passing glance, though. His feet were on the narrower side, and they would slide around in those shoes.

Then, Suk turned to another classic boot.

The Adidas Predator.

It had a black and red color scheme, with the red, fold-over tongue being the most popular design at the time.

After the FIFA World Cup, this type of cleat was selling like crazy all over the world.

"I’ll try this one."

Suk said, pointing to the Adidas Predator.

Vicki smiled and found a pair in Suk’s size from the stockroom.

Suk tried them on. They felt good.

However, he wasn’t a huge fan of the fold-over tongue design.

It looked like a unique design now, but Suk felt it would interfere with his control of the Ball.

He quickly looked at the other cleats but didn’t find any better options.

In the end, he chose the black and red Adidas Predator. As for the tongue, he could just cut it off later.

Suk bought two pairs of cleats, one with short studs and one with long studs, to adapt to different weather conditions during matches.

For rainy days, for example, the long studs were needed for extra grip to prevent slipping.

The two pairs of cleats cost Suk about 100 Marks.

With the shoes sorted, Suk and his friends left the stadium’s back alleys, sent off warmly by Vicki.

Since they had left late, it was already lunchtime.

Suk said, "My treat today. Let’s go eat. I know a great place."

Modric and Skolc had no objections.

The three of them immediately headed downstream along the Neretva River. After about a ten-minute walk, they arrived at a tavern.

The sign still read ’Buckqi’s Tavern’.

"Are we going drinking?" Skolc asked, looking eager.

Suk turned and replied irritably, "What are you thinking? This is a restaurant."

Skolc looked left and right. This was clearly a tavern.

But Suk had already pushed the door open and gone inside.

"Buckqi, you’ve got a customer!"

Suk yelled as he entered.

Soon, Buckqi came out from the back kitchen, wearing an apron.

But when he saw Suk, he couldn’t help but laugh and curse, "You rascal, back here to freeload again?"

Suk patted his pocket. "I’m paying!"

Buckqi couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

"What do you want to eat?"

"Three orders of pan-fried beef, three seafood paellas, and three glasses of milk."

"That’ll be 75 Marks."

Suk pulled the money from his pocket and handed it over.

Buckqi laughed and gave Suk a friendly smack on the head before turning back to the kitchen.

"It’s on me!"

Suk smiled and rubbed his head as the three of them sat around a table.

Skolc asked curiously, "Are you a regular here?"

"I used to work here," Suk said casually. "The owner is an old teammate of mine. Haven’t you met him? The goalkeeper for the Mostar Wanderers."

Skolc had a moment of realization. He thought the man looked familiar.

Just then, Buckqi poked his head out of the kitchen and shouted, "Suk, help me fix the TV. It hasn’t had any sound since you left."

Suk: "Leave it to me."

Skolc was surprised. "You can fix TVs too?"

Suk lifted his chin confidently, walked over to the support pillar under the TV, and climbed it like an agile monkey, perching himself on the crossbeam.

Suk first turned on the TV and confirmed there was no sound.

SPIT!

Suk spat into his right hand and smacked the side of the television.

BANG BANG BANG BANG!!

Huh?

It didn’t work?

Must not have been hard enough.

Suk put more force into it.

BANG!! BANG!! BANG!!

"...the Nem Port fishing fleet will set out tomorrow evening, as fishing season is about to begin..."

Hearing the voice from the TV, Suk clapped his hands in satisfaction. "Done!"

Below, Skolc’s mouth hung open.

You can fix it like that?

Just then, the food was ready.

"Coming through! Here’s the beef, the seafood paella, and three glasses of milk."

Buckqi brought the food to the table, then pulled up a chair and sat down beside them.

"Your performance in the last match was truly unexpected."

Buckqi said with emotion, "At the time, we were all worried about whether you’d be able to perform, but we never expected you to exceed our expectations like that."

Suk grinned. "I bet I surprised Oripé, didn’t I?"

Buckqi nodded. "Oripé was definitely surprised, but mostly he felt guilty. You clearly have the skill to play in the Super League, but you were held back by us."

"You can’t say that. The situation back then was that if you guys hadn’t taken me, no other team would have either," Suk said. "We helped each other out."

Buckqi smiled and nodded. "Now you’re on your way to the Super League. In the future, we’ll be waiting to see you on an even bigger stage."

"Like the Champions League?"

Buckqi laughed and cursed, "You’d be blessed by the Goddess of Fortune just to play in the Five Major Leagues."

Suk just smiled and said nothing.

"You guys eat up. I’m heading back to the kitchen."

Suk nodded.

When Buckqi came out again, Suk and his friends were long gone, leaving behind six empty plates.

Under one of the plates was a stack of bills, exactly 100 Marks.

A sentence was written on the top bill.

’I can play in the Champions League! I will!’

Buckqi grinned and shook his head. "What a stubborn mule, holding a grudge like that."