Chapter 45 - 43: It’s Great to Be Young

Chapter 45: Chapter 43: It’s Great to Be Young

Suk’s enthusiasm for training was incredibly high, and it began to rub off on the other players.

The first to be affected were Modric and Stelk, Suk’s two little shadows. The three of them were stuck together all day.

So when Suk made a change, these two were the most affected.

Modric had his own training plan, but seeing Suk training with all his might, a sense of urgency was stirred within him, and he soon joined Suk’s regimen.

It was the same for Stelk. With both supernovas acting this way, what reason did he, a substitute, have not to work hard?

This kind of intense internal competition didn’t have a name back then.

But thanks to Suk’s efforts, many of the main players felt a subtle sense of pressure, and the overall enthusiasm for training soared even higher.

With the players training so hard, the happiest person was, without a doubt, the Head Coach.

Lately, whenever Van Stiake and the rest of the coaching staff arrived at the field, the players were already there, having finished their warm-ups. They could jump straight into the morning’s training program.

This saved a great deal of training time and increased their efficiency.

Van Stiake was extremely pleased with this change.

The birth of every championship team is no coincidence.

A championship is the culmination of many factors.

Hard training, outstanding performance, and a little bit of luck...

And what every championship team needs most is that drive—or you could call it morale.

"Awesome, Captain!"

Kosopech lunged for a header, smashing the ball past Kish and into the goal.

Suk gave him an enthusiastic thumbs-up from a distance.

Every time he saw Kosopech leap up and power a header over someone’s head and into the goal, Suk’s heart filled with envy.

’That feeling of dunking on an opponent’s head...’ Suk had never experienced it, but it must be amazing!

It was just that his own mini stature made it impossible to imitate.

But Suk had his own way of playing.

As Modric passed the ball toward Suk, Suk turned his body and feigned a run, but instead, he lightly flicked the ball up with the tip of his boot.

At the same time, Modric sped past Suk. Suk lifted his right foot, bent his leg back, and struck the airborne ball hard with his heel.

"Whoa!!!"

Cries of admiration rose from the field.

And Modric didn’t waste Suk’s brilliant pass, accurately striking the ball into the goal.

CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP!!

Over on the coaches’ bench, all four coaches were applauding.

They were clapping for the goal, but even more for Suk’s backheel pass.

"His passes are getting more and more imaginative!"

Assistant Coach Fandier remarked, shaking his head in amazement.

From the time he first joined Mostar Zrinjski until now, only three weeks had passed, yet Suk’s performance had been constantly improving.

The guy was like a treasure trove you could never empty!

Of course, part of the reason was that Suk’s coordination with the team was becoming increasingly fluid.

Just like this time: after Modric passed the ball to Suk’s feet, Suk received it with the side of his body but didn’t pass immediately. Instead, he waited a moment.

He was waiting for the winger, Billiar, to pull back a few steps and then launch into a run.

The moment Billiar took off, Suk casually threaded a pass between the center-back and the fullback, then jogged slowly toward the penalty area.

By the time Billiar reached the byline, the opposing defensive line was in a state of confusion.

Boamei was pressing up front, Suk was in the middle, and Modric was closing in at the far post.

Three open players, all stretching the defense.

The rest was simple.

Billiar made a cut-back pass to Suk, who met the ball and easily tapped it into the net.

"Brilliant!"

Suk ran toward Billiar, bouncing with excitement.

Billiar pointed back at Suk from a distance, his face filled with glee.

Billiar and Suk’s relationship had warmed up quickly recently, perhaps due to their seamless coordination on the field, or maybe because Suk kept feeding him the ball.

In any case, for Billiar, playing these days felt great.

In the past, he had always played a supporting, sacrificial role.

He would actively draw defenders to create shooting space for Kosopech.

But now, with Suk at center-forward, Billiar had become a primary attacker.

Three matches, two goals, one assist.

Billiar had achieved a KPI he couldn’t hit in seven or eight matches last season, which felt incredibly satisfying.

"You could have passed it back to me just now," Billiar said excitedly. "We could have disrupted their defense even more."

"Too slow!" Suk said, waving his hand dismissively.

"Just give it a try!" Billiar slung an arm around Suk’s shoulders, pinching the baby fat on his cheeks with a cheerful tone.

"Ewww~" Suk pushed him away in disgust.

Billiar just roared with laughter, hugging Suk tightly, switching from pinching to kneading, and continuing to torment Suk’s face.

Suk finally escaped from his clutches, rubbing his own face with a gloomy expression.

He had to admit he had good skin. Even though it was a bit tanned, it was soft and elastic.

But getting his cheeks pinched by a bunch of guys all the time still made Suk feel very uncomfortable.

Billiar was still teasing Suk, laughing happily.

Until Oliveira arrived.

"Are you happy?"

Oliveira suddenly said, looking at Billiar.

Billiar’s smile froze. He gave a dry cough and said, "We scored a goal. I should be happy, right?"

Oliveira was silent for a moment, then said, "Going to Nem Port tonight? My treat."

In the past, Billiar would have happily agreed.

But this time, Billiar hesitated.

"Captain, I don’t feel like my form has been that great recently. I need to rest up, and the pressure from the recent matches has been intense..." Billiar said with a laugh. "You know how it is."

’Like hell I know!’

Oliveira’s expression darkened.

He didn’t like being rejected.

But what annoyed him most was that Billiar, who used to be so close to him, was starting to distance himself.

Oliveira gave Billiar a deep look. "Hope you have a good game."

Billiar gave an awkward laugh.

He didn’t let out a slow breath until Oliveira had left.

Billiar shook his head, trying to clear the chaotic thoughts from his mind. He looked up and shouted, "Suk, let me pinch your cheeks again!"

A furious roar came from the distance.

"Get lost! As far away as you can!"

Hahahaha~

Billiar just chuckled, not minding at all. In fact, he looked quite happy.

...

At four in the afternoon, the day’s training ended.

The players began to leave one by one.

"The training load has been insane lately," Mashovich said, giving Suk a sidelong glance. "All because of a certain little brat."

Suk rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "You guys were too lazy. I’m just adding some intensity for you."

Hajdari smiled. "But it feels great. Very fulfilling."

The others smiled as well.

Hard training plus a two-game winning streak had boosted their collective confidence. They were full of motivation during practice, feeling as if they had an endless supply of energy.

BANG!

Oliveira suddenly slammed his locker door shut.

The room fell silent, and all eyes turned to him.

Oliveira slung his duffel bag over one shoulder and left the locker room alone.

The locker room only came back to life after he was gone.

"Oliveira’s been having a rough time lately," said Mashovich. "He was a sub in the last match and got put on the reserves’ side in the scrimmage too."

Hajdari added, "I feel like Boamei has consistently performed better than him. He plays more aggressively and is willing to cooperate with his teammates."

"A just cause attracts much support, an unjust one finds little," Suk commented. "He brought this on himself."

Although Oliveira had never given Suk any trouble, Suk still strongly disliked him.

Oliveira wasn’t a disciplined person; he would run off to Nem Port to have fun the day before a match, something Suk found intolerable.

In the beginning, as the ’new guy’, he had been a bit more reserved.

But now, as his performance gained recognition and he built good relationships with his teammates, he didn’t care if Oliveira was the captain or not. He just ignored him.

Just then, the locker room door opened again.

Pakic, the equipment manager, opened the door and called out, "Suk, I brought you the key."

"Coming!"

Suk shouted and scampered over.

Pakic handed a spare key to Suk, saying with a smile, "This is the spare. Take good care of it. You’ll be responsible if you lose it."

"No problem!"

Suk nodded immediately with a smile.

Suk was arriving early and leaving late every day, which meant he always had to bother Pakic, the equipment manager, to lock up. To make things easier for both of them, Suk had tried asking for a spare key, and to his surprise, Pakic had agreed immediately.

Pakic ruffled Suk’s round head. "Train in moderation. Don’t get injured."

Suk nodded right away and said sweetly again, "Thank you, Grandpa Pakic."

Pakic smiled, the wrinkles on his face blooming like a chrysanthemum.

He was very fond of polite and hardworking kids like Suk.

After Pakic left, Suk started putting his gear back on.

The others looked at each other in confusion.

"You’re going to train more?"

Without looking up, Suk said, "Just another half hour. You guys can go ahead."

With that, Suk got up and walked out of the locker room.

Kosopech watched Suk’s retreating back and couldn’t help but sigh with admiration. "He’s so dedicated!"

He, for one, was genuinely too exhausted to train anymore.

CLICK!

CLICK!

CLICK!

A series of clicks from closing lockers.

Kosopech turned his head and saw that among the players who had been about to leave, many were now closing their lockers and pulling their jerseys back on.

Among them were main players like Modric, Billiar, and Camnal, as well as substitutes like Stelk, Barton, and Boamei.

As if following in Suk’s footsteps, they filed out of the locker room one after another.

Watching the young men’s dashing figures leave the locker room, a trace of envy appeared in Kosopech’s eyes.

’Youth! It’s a wonderful thing!’