Chapter 40 - 38: Unexpected Start

Chapter 40: Chapter 38: Unexpected Start

Friday’s practice match.

"Nice!!"

Suk used a feint to shake off his defender while simultaneously receiving a pass from Modric into the open space. The whole sequence was perfectly fluid.

Suk couldn’t help but cheer inwardly.

Seeing that he’d been shaken off by Suk, Barton immediately turned and charged back at him.

But just then, Suk flicked the ball with the outside of his foot, sending it right through Barton’s legs.

Tricked with a nutmeg, Barton’s face flushed red, and he charged forward even more ferociously.

Suk caught up to the ball and stopped it with his foot. As Barton charged at him again, he pulled the ball back, nutmegged him a second time, and sidestepped him.

The two consecutive nutmegs made the surrounding teammates let out a roar of approval. They all swarmed over, slapping Suk wildly on the back.

This was a ritual in the world of soccer to express admiration.

Suk was also smiling happily.

Of course, Barton was not happy at all. After all, he’d been nutmegged twice.

"Here! You okay?"

Suk extended a hand. This time, it was finally his turn to say those words.

Barton glanced at Suk and said, "You were definitely holding a grudge."

Suk chuckled.

He did indeed feel a thrill of revenge. After all, he’d been getting knocked around by Barton for nearly a week. This time, he’d finally turned the tables.

Suk pulled Barton up, and the practice match continued.

The overall atmosphere was still very relaxed. With Suk shaking off Barton, the first team’s offense became much more fluid.

On the sidelines, Van Stiake also watched this scene with a smile.

"He can finally receive the ball properly."

Assistant Coach Fandier also said with a smile.

For a whole week, Suk had been getting knocked around and was constantly adjusting, but his chemistry with Modric on the passes wasn’t quite there.

After continuous adaptation and adjustment, the two finally solved this problem, which was a very positive sign.

And for the coaches, they were also happy to see such a scene.

It wasn’t just the coaches helping the players solve problems; the players themselves were also putting in the effort to resolve these issues together.

In this atmosphere of thriving progress, Mostar Zrinjski’s team cohesion was also constantly improving.

He wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but it had only been two weeks since Suk joined the team.

But the changes in the team were visible to the naked eye.

The once somewhat lifeless team was now gradually brimming with vitality.

The players were smiling more on the field, and their communication with each other had become more frequent.

Most importantly, Modric was no longer so withdrawn and had started to actively integrate into the team.

It all seemed to signal a good start.

"That’s all for today’s training. Everyone get ready, we’re taking the evening train to Banja Luka!"

The 2002/2003 Bosnia and Herzegovina Super League season had reached its fifth round. Mostar Zrinjski’s opponent was the Banja Luka Warriors.

The moment that name was mentioned, the atmosphere on site became incredibly heavy.

Banja Luka is a city in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and it is also an autonomous city in the Serb Republic.

And throughout many historical events, the Serbs and Croatians went from being brotherly peoples to hating each other. The civil war in Former Yugoslavia, in particular, filled both sides with mutual hatred.

It could be said that this match was more than just the game itself; it was a head-to-head confrontation between the two ethnic groups.

The Banja Luka Warriors was a team composed mainly of Serbs.

Mostar Zrinjski, on the other hand, was composed mainly of Croatians.

For this reason, the matches between these two teams in the Bosnia and Herzegovina Super League were also called the ’Ethnic Derby,’ also known as the ’Bloody Derby’.

Van Stiake announced the 18-man roster. Suk was still on the list and would travel with the team.

Carrying a simple bag, Suk, Modric, and the others took the bus to the train station together.

They took the 6:00 PM train to Banja Luka.

The train moved slowly along the tracks. These old trains were notoriously slow.

Don’t expect Bosnia and Herzegovina to have high-speed rail. After all, at this point in time, very few countries in the world had such a thing.

Even his motherland, the "infrastructure demon," was still in its ramp-up phase.

The entire train car was almost empty, aside from the Mostar Zrinjski players.

This allowed Suk to find an empty spot, lie right down, and get ready for a long sleep.

Modric was like his shadow. Seeing Suk find a place to lie down, he came over and lay down across from him.

"Get some good sleep now. Whether you’ll be able to sleep tonight is another question."

Kosopech said.

Suk looked up and asked, "Why wouldn’t I be able to sleep?"

Kosopech shrugged. "Based on past experience, from the moment we arrive in Banja Luka, some Serbs will start following us around and cursing at us. They’ll stay outside the hotel all night making noise so we can’t sleep."

Suk blinked, then immediately shut his eyes.

"Then I’d better catch up on my sleep now!"

Around 9:00 PM, the train arrived in Banja Luka.

The team had already arranged for a local bus to pick them up.

The bus went directly to the train station’s underground parking garage. Clearly, Van Stiake had no intention of making a public appearance.

But even so, these clever Serbs still managed to find their bus, and they started driving alongside it, chasing them and shouting curses.

Suk watched the young men driving parallel to their bus, leaning out of their windows, spewing profanities, and making obscene gestures. He pursed his lips. ’I’d really love to punch that guy.’

"Me too!"

Skolc nodded. "They’re so annoying!"

When the bus reached the hotel, security personnel stopped those Serbs.

Suk instantly felt the whole world become quiet.

But soon, with a WHOOSH, a firework exploded with a BANG in the sky, startling Suk.

Seeing Suk flinch, Kosopech said with a laugh, "At night, they’ll set off a firework every once in a while to constantly disturb our sleep."

"What if we can’t sleep then?"

Suk asked, patting his chest, still shaken.

"Figure it out yourself." Kosopech chuckled, pulling out a pair of earplugs. "I usually carry these with me for away games."

Head Coach Van Stiake led the players to check in and get settled in the hotel.

The hotel wasn’t large; it was more like an inn than a hotel.

Two to a room, Suk and Modric were successfully assigned to a room together.

After the two got to their room, they put their luggage aside. After a quick wash-up, Modric took out a roll of tissue paper.

"You can stuff this in your ears. That way..."

Modric trailed off. He saw that Suk was already lying face down on the bed, smacking his lips in his sleep.

It looked like he was sleeping very soundly.

Modric couldn’t help but smile. He walked over, helped Suk take off his shoes and socks, and rolled him to one side. After pulling the blanket free, he rolled him back and covered him up.

BANG!

A firework exploded in the sky, accompanied by the jeers and cheers of the Banja Luka Warriors fans.

Modric walked over and drew the curtains, then turned to look at Suk.

Suk smacked his lips, rolled over, and continued to sleep.

He showed no signs of waking up at all.

’He’s such a heavy sleeper!’

Suk was a very good sleeper; he could fall asleep the moment he hit the bed.

When he was in a deep sleep, it was incredibly difficult to wake him.

And this ability proved to be remarkably effective at a time like this.

The next day, Suk woke up full of energy. He had slept soundly until broad daylight and felt extremely comfortable.

Modric yawned as he took the wads of paper out of his ears. Although he had fallen asleep later, he had also slept well.

"Let’s wash up and go eat."

Suk and Modric immediately went to wash up.

When they arrived at the dining hall, they found that many people were already sitting there.

Among them was Kosopech, his eyelids drooping, his eyes unfocused, and with dark circles under them.

"Morning!"

Suk grabbed his breakfast and plopped down next to Kosopech.

The latter merely nodded, listlessly took a bite of bread, and after swallowing, let out a huge yawn.

"Captain, you didn’t sleep well?"

Suk asked.

Kosopech felt a little dizzy. He shook his head and said, "I didn’t sleep at all."

"You didn’t sleep all night?"

Suk said in surprise, "But we have a match today!"

Kosopech let out a long sigh.

He couldn’t sleep. There was nothing he could do about it.

Soon, Head Coach Van Stiake walked over. His condition wasn’t very good either.

Van Stiake did a quick tally and found that a small number of players hadn’t slept well that night.

The ones who had slept well were mostly the younger players.

As for Kosopech...

"You don’t need to go to the pitch inspection later. Go get some sleep."

Van Stiake said to Kosopech.

The latter nodded.

He also felt extremely sleepy, but was too agitated to fall asleep.

Van Stiake glanced at the clearly out-of-sorts Kosopech, then turned to Suk and said, "Be prepared. If something unexpected happens, you might have to play the full match."

"Unexpected? What’s unexpected?"

Van Stiake didn’t elaborate.

However, when Suk and the others returned from the pitch inspection at the Banja Luka Warriors’ home stadium, they saw Kosopech in even worse condition.

Kosopech looked as if he had aged more than ten years. His steps were unsteady, and he was yawning from time to time.

’How could he possibly play a match in this state?’

Suk now understood. This was the so-called ’unexpected’ event.

Looking at Kosopech’s condition, Van Stiake had no choice but to adjust his tactics.

"Changing the lineup. Suk will start today’s match..." After a pause, Van Stiake added, "Suk and Boamei will start. Kosopech and Oliveira will be on the bench."

Oliveira’s eyes widened. ’Why am I on the bench?!’

’I rested just fine!’

But Van Stiake didn’t even look at him, speaking directly to the goalkeeper, Kish, "As the on-field captain, you need to be more vocal and raise morale."

Kish immediately nodded. "No problem."