Chapter 59 - 57: Oliveira’s Disaster

Chapter 59: Chapter 57: Oliveira’s Disaster

The next day, after training camp ended, Suk sought out Head Coach Van Stiake.

After hearing Suk’s story, Van Stiake’s expression turned extremely grim.

"Are you sure the one who approached you was Porterach?"

Suk nodded and described him with gestures, "He was wearing a suit, about 175 centimeters tall, very thin, with high cheekbones and a slightly protruding mouth. He looked like a rat."

Listening to Suk’s detailed description, Van Stiake was convinced.

"That has to be him!"

Van Stiake stood up and said, "Wait here a moment."

With that, he left for a while. When he returned, there was someone with him.

Suk had seen this man yesterday. His name was Kelly Vikmanzhi, and he was the sports director of Mostar Zrinjski.

Vikmanzhi’s expression was just as ugly. He came up to Suk and asked directly, "The man’s name was Porterach, correct?"

Suk didn’t know why they were so focused on the name, but he still nodded and said, "Yes!"

After saying that, he described the man again.

As Suk continued his description, Vikmanzhi’s expression grew even more grim.

Van Stiake, standing to the side, said, "I told you we should have dealt with this problem sooner."

Vikmanzhi pursed his lips. "I’ll investigate. Give me two weeks."

"Alright!" Van Stiake nodded.

Before Vikmanzhi left, he patted Suk on the shoulder and said, "Good job, Suk. In the future, you need to report things like this to the club immediately. You don’t need to worry about the rest. We’ll handle it!"

Suk nodded. "Understood."

Suk was completely baffled. ’Why are they so sensitive about that name?’

After returning to the dorm, Suk learned some news from Modric.

"Porterach is vice-captain Oliveira’s agent. When I joined Mostar Zrinjski, Oliveira introduced him to me, but I was thinking about returning to Dinamo Zagreb, so I didn’t sign an agency contract with him."

It was only then that Suk understood. He realized why the club’s reaction had been so strong.

This was about the possibility of their vice-captain, Oliveira, being involved in match-fixing.

If Porterach had approached Suk so brazenly, then the chances that Oliveira—who had been working with Porterach for so long—wasn’t involved in match-fixing were very low.

This kind of problem was always extremely sensitive and troublesome, which was why the club was being so cautious.

Of course, Suk still didn’t understand. ’Why did that guy come to me? And to be so direct about it... Isn’t that just setting Oliveira up to fail?’

Suk didn’t know the specifics, but after training camp ended on the third day, he saw the sports director summon Oliveira away directly.

The sports director rarely appeared before the first team. Mostar Zrinjski had a very clear separation of duties.

The Head Coach was responsible for training, and the management wouldn’t interfere. To avoid any appearance of meddling, they wouldn’t even show up at the training ground.

But for the sports director to personally come and get Oliveira meant the situation was serious enough.

People are naturally gossip-mongers.

In the locker room, everyone had already started discussing it.

"Mr. Vikmanzhi looked furious. Is Oliveira in trouble?"

"It’s probably nothing good!"

"I’m curious what kind of trouble he’s in!"

Suk and Modric remained silent.

There was no need for them to spread the story. They just had to wait for the results.

Meanwhile, Oliveira emerged from the sports director’s office in a panic. He immediately got in his car and sped off, soon arriving at a graffiti-covered hangout in Nem Port.

It was a two-story building. Crouched downstairs were a group of bizarrely dressed guys who looked like young thugs.

Oliveira stormed up the stairs in a rage and burst directly into an office.

"You bastard! Look what you’ve done!"

Oliveira rushed in and saw Porterach lounging in a chair, wearing a floral shirt. He looked at Oliveira with a nonchalant, sarcastic air and said, "Well, if it isn’t our big star!"

"Did you contact the club?" Oliveira asked, his expression dark.

Porterach replied nonchalantly, "You could say that."

"The sports director came to me today. He’s going to investigate me," Oliveira said nervously. "We need to prepare."

"Prepare for what?" Porterach asked in surprise. "This is your problem. What’s it got to do with us?"

Oliveira froze for a second, then his face flushed red with anger. "Don’t forget! You’re the one who dragged me into this."

"Idiot!" Porterach sneered. "You’re the one who couldn’t resist the temptation. You could have refused back then, but you accepted. That was your decision, so this is your problem."

"Bastard! You bastard!"

BANG!

Oliveira slammed his hand on the desk in fury. His eyes were bloodshot, and he looked like a man-eating beast as he snarled,

"If I get caught, you’re going down with me!"

Porterach replied coolly, "Do you have any proof? We’re a legitimate soccer agency. Once you’re exposed, we’ll even have to demand a contract termination fee from you."

Porterach still wore that mocking expression. "You stupid fool!" he said.

Oliveira felt the world spin. His mind was in a complete daze.

The threats were useless, so he started to back down.

"I can still make you money. I can throw more matches. There’s still room for us to cooperate."

"Can you even get any playing time now?" Porterach said contemptuously. "How long has it been since you played in a match? Oliveira, you’ve lost your value."

"Get lost, you idiot!"

Oliveira walked out of the office, dejected and soul-crushed. His face was a mask of pure panic. He didn’t know what to do.

He began to regret his decision back then.

If he had resisted the temptation, he wouldn’t be in this state today.

The Oliveira of the past had been a renowned genius in Mostar Town. He came from the Mostar Zrinjski Youth Training, a player with a truly pure pedigree.

Once, he too had been full of passion, holding fast to his football dreams.

But at some point, he had gradually fallen, slowly beginning to live a dissolute life.

He began to chase fame, fortune, and money.

He started forming cliques in the locker room and pushing out those who didn’t side with him.

He even stooped to consorting with Porterach for more income.

And now, everything was exposed.

Yes!

The investigation was only a matter of time. Oliveira had too many stains on his record that wouldn’t stand up to scrutiny.

He had ruined everything!

In the night, Oliveira walked down the middle of the road like a soulless corpse.

His gaze was vacant, his mind blank, as scenes from the past replayed in his head.

Those passionate years, those innocent years.

They were beautiful memories. He tried to reach out and grasp them, but his hands closed on empty air.

Yes!

The past could not be changed!

Oliveira stood under a streetlight, his shadow stretching long behind him.

His shoulders began to shake, and tears streamed from his eyes. Fear, regret, helplessness—all these emotions flooded his heart...

...

After that incident, Suk and the others never saw Oliveira on the training ground again.

He was probably under investigation and in no mood to train.

The results of the investigation had not been announced yet, but news that Oliveira was suspected of match-fixing had begun to leak out.

The team members were furious about it. After all, while they were fighting desperately for a win, someone was stabbing them in the back. This was something that could not be tolerated.

Oliveira was finished!

Oliveira’s departure had a hugely positive effect on the locker room atmosphere.

Many players who had been bullied in the past began to feel liberated, especially someone like Boamei, who immediately stepped up.

Boamei had previously been competing with Oliveira for a spot, so Oliveira had put a lot of effort into suppressing him.

But ever since Oliveira left, Boamei had a high chance of becoming a starter.

Of course, his starting position was still being contested.

This was mainly because Suk was now playing as a wide midfielder, thus occupying a winger’s position.

Since this was key to the overall rhythm of the team’s organization, it was difficult for Boamei to compete directly with Suk. As a result, Boamei and Billiar ended up competing for the same position.

In this environment, the pressure on Billiar was also gradually increasing.

After all, since Head Coach Van Stiake had taken over, although he had kept the core starting lineup, there had been many changes. It felt like everyone had to compete for their job.

Currently, on Mostar Zrinjski, besides the goalkeeper, the backline, Modric, and Suk, there were no guaranteed starters.

Even Kosopech sometimes had to defer to Suk for tactical reasons.

In just over two months, Suk had gradually evolved from a complete rookie into the team’s dominant force.

"Tomorrow, we’re going to Sarajevo. Get ready!"

After training ended, Head Coach Van Stiake announced to the team.

The league had now entered its second round, and Mostar Zrinjski was facing two consecutive away matches.

The last match was against Sarajevo, and this one would be against the Sarajevo Railway Workers.

The Sarajevo Railway Workers were the opponents from Suk’s debut match. They had powerful players like Vukocic and Bosschenoqi.

The most crucial point was that they weren’t at full strength in that match.

Winger Mejic and another center-back, Vulic, couldn’t play due to injuries.

But after the first round ended, they had both returned, and the Sarajevo Railway Workers’ strength would have increased accordingly.

"Vulic is under 180 centimeters tall, but the reason he can play center-back is mainly because he’s fast and extremely agile. Most importantly, his style is very aggressive!"

Head Coach Van Stiake looked at Suk and said, "You need to be careful of Vulic. Compared to those tall center-backs, this guy is the type who can shut you down most effectively."

Suk nodded.

"As for Mejic, his speed is also very fast, maybe even close to Suk’s. The most important thing is he has great ball control, and he’s very good at cutting inside to take a sudden shot!"

"Mejic’s height is only 168 centimeters, just seven centimeters taller than Suk, but he’s very strong. His core is powerful, and it won’t be easy to knock him over."

Suk felt uncomfortable.

’Stop singling me out!’

"Mejic is very fast, so the wide midfielders will need to track back appropriately." After saying this, Van Stiake looked at Suk again.

After seeing Suk’s mule-like stamina in the last match, he had started giving more and more tasks to Suk.

After all, with great ability comes great responsibility!

The current Suk was truly an absolutely irreplaceable starter for Mostar Zrinjski.

After all, he was there for the attack, there for the defense, there for tracking back, and even there for organizing plays!

With one person taking on so many roles, who could possibly replace him?