Chapter 74 - 72: Poor Man’s Messi Dribbling

Chapter 74: Chapter 72: Poor Man’s Messi Dribbling

Atgeni was instantly intrigued.

If his mood at the start was the placid, professional calm of a still well, then the moment the Rainbow Pass appeared, it was like a super bomb had been dropped into his heart.

As a scout, Atgeni’s job was to observe young players, to read their abilities and talent from their matches.

In his many years of work, he had seen a few geniuses, but far more were young players with mediocre talent.

For this reason, when a diamond in the rough appeared, few could understand the irrepressible excitement he felt.

Atgeni closed his notebook.

’This thing is useless now!’

Scrutinizing a true genius wasn’t done through dull data, but through... feeling!

Atgeni watched the game with great interest. He saw Suk drop back once again.

’Organizing the attack?’

Atgeni was quite expectant; he wanted to see Suk get more touches on the ball.

But Suk didn’t receive the ball. Instead, seeing the ball move to the other side, he pushed forward into the open space not far from the opposing defensive midfielder.

From this position, Suk couldn’t receive a direct pass.

But Modric would solve that problem for him.

When the ball was back at Modric’s feet, Suk suddenly dropped back to receive it, his movement drawing Me?kapeci away with him.

Modric passed the ball to Suk and then made a high-speed run forward himself.

Suk tried to turn, but he was completely blocked by Me?kapeci, with no channels to pass or thread the ball through.

Having no other choice, Suk continued to drop back, performing a crossover run with Modric. He passed the ball back to the center-back and then ran toward the flank again.

Modric also dropped back to reorganize the play.

Sarajevo’s defensive positioning in this match was very disciplined. Their man-marking was particularly tight, giving the impression of a high press, but it wasn’t thorough or intense enough.

Just then, Modric was suddenly surrounded.

Initially, it was only Tillemannqi pressing him, but in an instant, Suq Bazhi and Tolister were on him as well.

Seeing Modric struggling to hold on, Suk immediately dropped back.

"Pass it here!"

Modric heard Suk’s voice. He didn’t even have a chance to look up; he could only chip the ball over the top toward him.

The pass was a bit short, but Suk used his powerful Explosive Power to close the distance in an instant. Before the ball landed, he hooked it toward himself, faked a breakthrough forward to shift Tillemannqi’s center of gravity to the left, then cut the ball back with his foot, using his agility to get past Tillemannqi.

After shaking him off, Suk finally passed the ball to a safe area.

"Brilliant!"

Atgeni clapped from the stands.

Modric’s pass wasn’t good, but Suk still managed to reach it first with his Explosive Power and secure possession. His subsequent handling of the situation was extremely calm, successfully neutralizing the danger.

If Sarajevo had gained possession in that position, with the abilities of Tolister and Suq Bazhi, it could very well have been converted into a goal.

Suk and Modric were also shaken by the close call.

They needed to be more vigilant when handling the ball.

However, this also served as a warning: Sarajevo was increasing its forward press.

’Is this a high press?’

Suk frowned. It felt like a half-baked attempt.

The overall pressure wasn’t cohesive, and the distance between their midfield and defense was too great. It was a sign that they weren’t functioning as a single unit.

’Using an immature tactic?’

’They’re asking for it!’

That was Suk’s assessment.

Immediately, his eyes locked onto the gap between the opponent’s midfield and defense.

’This is the perfect spot to cause some trouble.’

Once Suk had identified his target, he couldn’t be bothered with probing anymore.

Suk moved into an open space and called for the ball, and Modric immediately passed it to him.

After receiving the ball, Suk passed it directly to the wing for the overlapping wing-back, Kerpic.

"Take it to the byline!"

Suk roared, and Kerpic immediately took the ball and sprinted forward.

Kerpic’s Speed was high, but the opposing wing-back stuck close to him.

This young player was a speed-type wing-back.

’He’s probably here specifically to counter the forward runs from me and Kerpic.’

Kerpic reached the vicinity of the byline, but his forward passing lane was blocked.

Fortunately, Suk was available for a pass near the acute angle of the penalty area line.

When the ball reached Suk’s feet, he flicked it, turned, and began to dribble horizontally along the line of the penalty area.

As Suk dribbled sideways, Kosopech also prepared to make a forward run.

The defenders immediately closed in but didn’t commit to a tackle.

’Commit to the tackle! If you don’t, I’m just going to charge straight through!’

Suk screamed internally.

But these guys were too patient.

Master Kapechi dropped back and immediately stuck out a foot, trying to make an Interception.

But Suk’s feet were greased lightning; he executed a la croqueta. Just as he was about to get past Me?kapeci, the guy reached out and tugged on the back of Suk’s collar.

Suk’s body lurched slightly backward, but the next second he surged forward again.

Suk stayed on his feet!

"Suk wasn’t pulled down!"

Suk was still cutting horizontally along the penalty area line. As he approached the front of the goal, the opposing defenders still showed no intention of stopping him.

’If you won’t stop me, then I’ll just have to shoot!’

Suk swung his right foot back powerfully. His body coiled, chest slightly down, hips forward, and his right leg whipped through the ball.

The ball was curled up into the air with fierce spin, bending around the defensive line and flying toward the top-right corner of the goal.

"Suk shoots!! The ball!!!"

The commentator, Basodachi, leaped to his feet.

The scout Atgeni’s eyes lit up as well.

’That curling shot after cutting in and dribbling horizontally... excellent!’

DING!!

But he was just a hair short on luck.

The ball struck the post and rebounded into the penalty area.

In an instant, the entire penalty area descended into chaos.

In the middle of the crowd, Sarajevo’s captain, Ivan Krich, desperately cleared the ball away.

"Don’t let him get a shot off!"

The goalkeeper, Ivanqi, roared in lingering fear, "Close him down! Don’t let him dribble like that on the edge of the box!"

The Sarajevo players broke out in a cold sweat.

Suk’s curling shot had been absolutely lethal.

The angle was devilishly precise; he was just missing a tiny bit of luck.

Suk also felt extremely frustrated.

’But, it had the desired effect.’

’After this, let’s see if they dare to let me dribble like that again.’

"Suk’s Dribbling on the edge of the penalty area is so threatening, and his curling shot gave Sarajevo a real scare."

"But this also highlights a problem: the gap between Sarajevo’s midfield and defense is too wide, which gives Suk a great channel for Dribbling."

"This is the first time Suk has dribbled like that along the penalty line, but his threat is already apparent. Will Sarajevo dare to let Suk continue his horizontal Dribbling?"

The answer, of course, was no.

’Keep that guy quiet!’

Ivan Krich was panicking inside.

Suk’s Dribbling this time had truly caused them too much trouble.

"He’s too agile, I can’t catch him!"

Me?kapeci said, his head aching.

He had already tried pulling him back, but Suk had powered right through it.

Although he had kept the pull minimal to avoid a card, letting go instantly, in the past, Suk would have already gone down.

’This guy’s core strength has gotten stronger too.’

Me?kapeci felt that this was becoming even more difficult to handle.

"Whatever you do, don’t let him shoot. We’ll press forward, you guys drop back and apply pressure. We absolutely cannot let him keep dribbling like that."

That was easier said than done.

When Suk got the ball near the penalty area again, all the Sarajevo players immediately tensed up.

Suk instantly took off, once again beginning to cut across the penalty area line.

"Me?kapeci!"

Ivan Krich roared.

The two of them, one from the front and one from behind, charged toward Suk.

Seeing them closing in for a pincer attack from both sides, Suk immediately lowered his head, accelerated, and used his pure speed to burst right through them.

The two failed to trap Suk, and the entire defensive line was drawn to the right by his movement. Billiar received Suk’s pass and sent a Long Pass toward the far post.

Kerpic charged forward with all his might, jumped, and headed the ball back to Modric behind him.

Modric met the ball with a furious shot!

BANG!

Sarajevo’s goalkeeper, Ivanqi, made an alert save, parrying the ball away.

After this defensive play, the Sarajevo players looked at each other.

’Why can’t we stop him?’

"His step frequency is too fast!"

In the stands, Atgeni stared at the field without blinking.

He had seen Suk’s last two dribbles very clearly.

The characteristics of Suk’s Dribbling were his foot frequency and stride. His quick footwork allowed him to change direction multiple times in a short period.

Unlike others who dribbled with long, flowing strides, Suk could use his high foot frequency to make multiple touches in a short time. The only drawback was that his movements seemed a bit stiff, perhaps because his ball control wasn’t perfect. He lacked the ability to stop and change direction abruptly while at high speed, needing to slow down to maintain his rhythm.

However, Suk’s Speed was already very high to begin with. In a match with the tempo of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Super League, this was more than enough to be a deadly weapon.

Suk felt a bit of regret as he watched the goalkeeper save the shot.

But inwardly, he was ecstatic.

’This ’budget Messi Dribbling’ of mine is actually pretty useful.’

[Andre’s Flying Leg] was a step-frequency type of Speed Card. When he got this card, Suk had wondered if he could replicate Messi’s Dribbling.

But that was obviously wishful thinking!

While dribbling at low speed, Suk could control his stride and foot frequency to make his Dribbling a threat, but he couldn’t replicate Messi’s perfect ball control while dribbling at high speed.

So, this was the budget version of Messi’s Dribbling!

But even so, the effect these few dribbles had produced was a pleasant surprise for Suk.

The most infuriating thing about this kind of Dribbling was...

You slide tackle me, it’s a foul!

You pull me, it’s still a foul!

Stick a leg out and you’ll be beaten. Don’t stick a leg out and just wait to be toyed with!

And this very characteristic gave the Sarajevo defenders a massive headache.