Chapter 57 - 55: Sarajevo’s Nightlife

At Fihatovic Stadium, the Sarajevo fans were already starting to leave.

The more than three hundred Mostar Zrinjski fans in the stadium were still celebrating.

"Modric!!"

"Suk!!"

"Modric!!"

"Suk!!"

"Modric!!"

"Suk!!"

The 300-plus Mostar Zrinjski fans were endlessly chanting the two players' names.

In this match, Suk and Modric were without a doubt the biggest contributors to the win.

The two of them had maintained the team's pressing and organization by running tirelessly all over the field.

Modric scored a brace, and Suk had two assists and one goal!

It could be said that these two youngsters had single-handedly dragged victory over to their side with their outstanding performance.

The players pushed Suk into the stands, where he was immediately swarmed by the fans. They lifted him up and began tossing him into the air, catching him, then tossing him up again.

All that could be heard was Suk's terrified screaming.

While Mostar Zrinjski celebrated, the faces of the Sarajevo players on the other side were dejected.

"We lost!"

Suq Bazhi felt awful.

It wasn't that they had never lost before, but this was no simple defeat.

Mostar Zrinjski and Sarajevo were already competing for the top spot on the league table. Now that Mostar Zrinjski had defeated them, they had taken that top spot.

For Sarajevo, they could let any other team lead the table, because they were confident they could catch up.

But this Mostar Zrinjski team was extremely difficult to deal with.

"Don't lose heart. Next time, it'll be our turn for revenge."

Tolister said, patting Suq Bazhi on the shoulder.

Suq Bazhi nodded lightly, his gaze passing over the crowd to land on Suk—a player who shared his name and position, yet had a completely different style.

Before this, he had indeed looked down on Suk. 'A guy who's only 160 cm tall, how could he possibly play well?'

But reality had dealt him a resounding slap in the face. Suk didn't just play well; he was the main reason they had won the match.

It was clear that in the matchup between the two Suks during this game, the other one had performed better.

Suq Bazhi let out a breath, his gaze turning sharp. He turned and headed for the locker room.

Tolister was right. Next time, it would be their turn for revenge.

「...」

Mostar Zrinjski had defeated Sarajevo. It was a hearty, satisfying match, but most importantly, they had gotten their revenge.

Previously, Mostar Zrinjski had always been suppressed.

Whether in the league or in cup competitions, they were thoroughly dominated by Sarajevo.

They played well against other teams, but whenever they faced Sarajevo, they almost always lost more than they won.

That made this victory all the more precious.

Of course, the Sarajevo players were still very skilled. It was just that they weren't yet familiar with Mostar Zrinjski's tactics and couldn't find a suitable way to counter them in such a short time.

This led to them having a very difficult time from the start of the match. All the way to the end, Sarajevo was on the back foot.

But just like with the goal at the end of the first half, the moment Mostar Zrinjski eased up on their midfield and forward pressing, the opposition could create a scoring threat.

Tolister, Meškapeci, and Suq Bazhi were all very strong players; their skills were by no means weak.

In the end, however, the winner was still Mostar Zrinjski.

After returning to the hotel, Van Stiake was in high spirits. He decided they would head back the next day, meaning they could stay the night in Sarajevo.

This decision made the players, who hailed from the small town of Mostar, restless with excitement.

"How about we go to the old town tonight?"

Mashovich said, his face full of excitement.

Sarajevo's old town was full of places for leisure and entertainment, but most importantly, it had plenty of bars and young women.

At Mashovich's suggestion, everyone immediately agreed.

After returning to the hotel, everyone excitedly started getting dressed up.

Around 7 o'clock, they gathered in the hotel lobby.

There were nine of them in total.

Kosopech, Mashovich, Hajdari, Kerpic, Haskic, Suk, Modric, Stelk, and Billiar.

Kosopech and the others wore dress pants with open-front shirts or crew-neck T-shirts, dressed relatively plainly.

Suk and Modric were also in shorts and short-sleeved shirts.

Meanwhile, Billiar, as the one with rich nightlife experience, was wearing an expensive and flashy tracksuit with a tight, orange short-sleeved shirt underneath. He wore a green baseball cap backward and had a gold chain hanging around his neck. His style was very... unconventional?

"Hey! You can't be serious?" Billiar said, astonished, upon seeing how everyone was dressed. "If you go out like that, no girl is going to say hello to you."

Kosopech looked down at himself and asked, "What's wrong with this?"

Billiar gestured emphatically. "You have to show yourselves off! You need to give girls the impulse to want something to happen with you."

Modric retorted, "A girl isn't going to want something to happen with you just because you're dressed like a rainbow-colored ladybug!"

PFFT!

The group couldn't help but burst out laughing. Modric really had a sharp tongue.

Suk nodded in agreement. "Your fashion sense is at least a few hundred years ahead of its time."

In other words, no one could appreciate it right now.

Billiar was a bit dejected from being roasted.

"You guys have no taste," Billiar grumbled, then quickly added, "Let's head to Rose Street in the old town first. There are a lot of restaurants there. After we eat, the real nightlife begins!"

Good food and nightlife—these were things their small town of Mostar couldn't offer.

Perhaps only in a big city like Sarajevo could one find such a lively scene.

On a weekend night, they took a taxi to the old town. The streets were filled with a constant stream of young people, and both sides were lined with small food stalls and restaurants, with surprisingly cheap prices.

The people of Bosnia and Herzegovina love high-calorie food: all kinds of grilled meats, super oily, and all kinds of desserts, super sweet.

Considering that Slavs are the "Fighting Nation," high calories are true love!

The food street was still bustling under the night sky.

After wandering around for a bit, Suk and the others finally found a popular local spot.

Of course, the popular spots of this era were spread by word-of-mouth, far superior to some of the fake "viral" spots of the future that would be propped up by online traffic.

There was a long line of people, but the group wasn't in a hurry, so they waited.

After about half an hour, it was finally their turn.

"Let's go, let's go!"

Suk couldn't wait any longer; his stomach was practically rebelling from hunger.

Once the group of nine walked in, they were led to a long table at the very edge of the main hall.

The restaurant didn't have a concept of private seating; several different groups of strangers might end up eating together at one long table.

Suk plopped down into a seat, and when he looked up at the people across from him, things immediately became awkward.

Before him was a group of five.

It was the Sarajevo players they had just competed against a few hours earlier.

The Sarajevo captain, Ivan Krich, along with Suq Bazhi, Tolister, Meškapeci, and Jorijak.

The five of them looked just as surprised to see Suk.

Tolister and Meškapeci let out a soft "Oh," a hint of amusement on their faces.

Jorijak suddenly covered his mouth, his stomach churning.

Suq Bazhi stared intently at Suk, not expecting to run into him here.

After the others had all taken their seats, the noisy hall seemed to quiet down around this long table at the edge of the room.

"The atmosphere is a little tense!"

Billiar watched as Kosopech and Ivan Krich stared each other down, a clear sense of confrontation in the air.

"This is a battle of wills between the captains. Whoever looks away first, loses!"

Suk snarked, "But it's completely unnecessary. You're a vice-captain, what are you trying to prove by staring down their captain? You're not even on the same level. He probably lost some face from being dominated in the last match and wants to get it back here."

"Get it back my ass!" Kosopech turned and snapped, then said through gritted teeth, "You're too loud!"

Suk froze for a second. "Was I that loud?"

Billiar said, "...Everyone could hear you."

Across the table, Tolister couldn't help but cover his mouth to stifle a laugh.

Meškapeci called out, "Hey! Suk."

"Huh?"

"What is it?"

Suk and Suq Bazhi turned their heads at the same time.

Meškapeci grinned, pointed at Suk, and said, "I was calling him."

Only then did Suq Bazhi turn back, pouting slightly.

"You guys played really well today." Meškapeci knew how to talk to people, and his words helped to ease the tense atmosphere a little.

As the saying goes, you can't hit a smiling face. Suk immediately replied, "You guys just weren't familiar with our new tactics. Otherwise, you wouldn't have been on the defensive so much."

Meškapeci smiled. "But losing wasn't all bad. Suq Bazhi has decided to stay."

"What do you mean?" Suk asked, confused.

Tolister, who was beside him, explained, "The Moscow Central Red Army from Russia had invited Suq Bazhi to join them. He was hesitating for a long time, but after losing today, he decided to stay."

Suk looked at Suq Bazhi with a disgusted expression. "Don't tell me you're staying because of some cringey teenage fantasy about getting revenge, are you?"

Suq Bazhi retorted irritably, "Of course not. My agent is working his contacts in the Five Major Leagues to see if there's a chance for me to go straight there."

Tolister pointed to Suq Bazhi and Meškapeci. "We all have the same agent. He has some connections to promote us to the Five Major Leagues."

Suk finally nodded in understanding.

"Well, here's to your success," Suk said, raising his glass.

Hearing this, Suq Bazhi also raised his glass, and the two clinked them together lightly.

"At first, I really did underestimate you. But you guys played an outstanding game. We have no excuses for losing."

Suk smiled happily and waved his hands. "No, no! You guys played great, too."

As Suk started chatting with the other group, everyone began to warm up to each other, and the dinner gradually became more lively.