The Bosnia and Herzegovina Cup is an unrestricted cup competition.
It is a competition initiated and directly managed by the Bosnia and Herzegovina Football Association, theoretically open to teams from all league tiers.
As a Second Division team, the Mostar Wanderers were naturally eligible to participate.
Thanks to the Cup's special, unrestricted format, they were drawn in the first round against Mostar Zrinjski—a formidable team from the Super League.
Mostar Zrinjski is a club of considerable size in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with not only a football team but also basketball and handball divisions.
But the most prominent, without a doubt, was the football club.
But compared to their glory days in the 1950s, Mostar Zrinjski had been hit hard by the dissolution of the Former Yugoslavia and the subsequent turmoil. Since the establishment of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Super League, they had consistently been overshadowed by the Sarajevo Club.
The Bosnia and Herzegovina Super League was now in its sixth season, but Zrinjski's best result had only been a second-place finish; they had never won the title.
In the 2001/2002 season, they brought in a Dutch Head Coach, Fania Van Stiake, who began to instill a brand-new tactical philosophy in the team.
Fania Van Stiake was a Head Coach who championed the Dutch "Total Football" philosophy.
To implement his philosophy, he made a series of tactical changes at Mostar Zrinjski and overhauled the lineup, deciding to rebuild a championship-caliber team around the Croatian prodigy, Modric.
But ideals are one thing, and reality is another.
The implementation of Van Stiake's philosophy at Mostar Zrinjski did not go smoothly.
From the very beginning, they hit one wall after another. It even led to them recording their worst-ever league finish last season, ending in fifth place.
It was, arguably, Mostar Zrinjski's worst season since the club's founding.
This result left many fans dissatisfied, but the club stood by Van Stiake's coaching philosophy, arguing that it had only been one season and that the Head Coach needed more time.
The higher-ups at Mostar Zrinjski were clearly patient, which gave Van Stiake some breathing room.
Even so, Van Stiake was still plagued by a splitting headache.
On the day of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Cup match.
Jirinsky Stadium, home of Mostar Zrinjski.
Compared to Pasture Stadium, the environment here was much better. It even had spectator stands, and the pitch was leagues above the pitted, nearly-cow-chewed turf of their home ground.
Of course, the quality of the turf here was also terrible, but only when compared to the pitches of the Five Major Leagues. To Suk and his teammates, at least, everything here seemed immeasurably better.
"Welcome to the first round of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Cup, featuring Mostar Zrinjski against their crosstown rivals from the Second Division, the Mostar Wanderers! This match also marks the start of the new season. Last season..."
The announcer's voice boomed from the stadium speakers as the surrounding fans let out organized cheers, their songs filling the air.
These well-drilled fans were a stark contrast to the ragtag bunch supporting the Mostar Wanderers. 'At least, that's how it looks to me,' Suk thought. 'Our fans, all wide-eyed and clueless... they look completely pathetic.'
And it wasn't just the fans; the players also seemed out of their element.
Overwhelmed by the noisy stadium and the thunderous cheers, the Mostar Wanderers players, who had never experienced such a big stage, were visibly low on morale. Some even looked intimidated.
Several of them were so nervous they'd put their socks on inside out, and they were all breaking out in an anxious sweat.
Not far away, a camera was pointed at them, causing the Mostar Wanderers players to flash stiff, awkward smiles, unsure of where to even put their hands.
'Pathetic!'
Suk shook his head. 'Their mental fortitude is too weak. If they get this scared by a scene like this, what hope do they have of playing in the Super League?'
In contrast, the bald goalkeeper, Buckqi, was handling it much better.
He calmly put on his keeper's jersey, pulled on his gloves, and clenched his fists.
"Suk, take a couple of shots at me. I need to find my form!"
At his teammate's words, Suk immediately got up, and the two walked onto the pitch.
Suk took two consecutive shots. They were just warm-ups, so he didn't put much power behind them, nor were the angles particularly difficult.
Buckqi made the saves easily.
Tossing the ball back, Buckqi tightened his gloves again. "Put some more power into it! Give me a real shot to save!"
Hearing this, Suk immediately adjusted his position, put more force into his kick, and sent the ball flying toward the left post.
Buckqi shuffled to his left, launched himself with a powerful leap, and executed a perfect diving save, plucking the ball out of the air.
"Beautiful!"
Suk couldn't help but yell out.
Ever since their victory against Leotar, Buckqi's form had been excellent. He wasn't fumbling the ball as often and was frequently making spectacular saves.
Buckqi was also clearly pleased with his own save.
This scene seemed to give the other Mostar Wanderers players a bit of a confidence boost.
Just then, the Mostar Zrinjski players started to come out onto the pitch to warm up.
ROOOOAR!!!!!
The crowd erupted as the Mostar Zrinjski players lined up and began their warm-up drills in unison.
Their matching kits, powerful builds, and confident expressions gave them an undeniably intimidating air.
And these were just the substitutes.
That's right. Mostar Zrinjski had no intention of wasting their starters' stamina on a match like this.
The starters wanted more rest, so the team was fielding a full lineup of reserves.
But even against a team of reserves, it would still be an uphill battle for the Mostar Wanderers.
On the Mostar Zrinjski bench, Suk spotted Modric. Modric looked back at him and gave a slight nod in greeting.
Sitting beside Modric was a tall figure with sandy-brown curly hair, a prominent nose, and a large 190 cm frame.
This was Kosopech, Mostar Zrinjski's towering center-forward and the team's top scorer.
Of the 18 players on Mostar Zrinjski's roster for the match, only a few were starters; the rest were all reserves.
Clearly, Mostar Zrinjski believed they could win the match even with an entire team of substitutes.
Such was the confidence of a Super League team. After all, there was a huge gap in skill between the Super League and the First Division, let alone the Second Division.
Of course, due to a league restructuring, the Mostar Wanderers had already been promoted to the First Division, but their strength was still on par with a Second Division team.
They didn't believe for a second they would lose.
The starting lineups for both teams.
Mostar Zrinjski (4-3-3):
Goalkeeper: Pakovic.
Defenders: Stelk, Morajic, Bokachi, Lovich.
Midfielders: Banifaji, Periatic, Barton.
Forwards: Boamei, Bastlov, Ben Mais.
...
Mostar Wanderers (4-5-1):
Goalkeeper: Buckqi.
Defenders: Kotic, Rotensmarchi, Kobaro, Rosen.
Midfielders: Vitolic, Buster, Mulinar, Kostorec, Maslozic.
Forward: Suk.
"Mostar Zrinjski is fielding an entire team of reserves. Clearly, Head Coach Van Stiake doesn't consider this a match worthy of his attention."
"This is the first time we're seeing the Mostar Wanderers. They're a team from the Second... pardon me, the First Division, known for their ferocious attack. Their top scorer is a forward named Suk, who shares a name with the legendary Croatian striker Davor Suker. Suk is only sixteen this year, a center-forward with a height of... 150 centimeters?"
The commentator's voice was tinged with doubt; the height issue clearly perplexed him.
His words carried throughout the stadium, and many fans now noticed the pint-sized Suk. They were amazed by the little guy's height. After all, in the Bosnia and Herzegovina League, even a player with Modric's build was considered frail, let alone someone of Suk's diminutive stature.
"Asshole! It's 155 centimeters! I grew!"
Suk roared in anger, shaking his fist in the direction of the commentary box.
But his voice obviously didn't carry that far, so he could only turn away, grumbling under his breath.
Meanwhile, the starting players for Mostar Zrinjski looked over at the little pipsqueak Suk with curiosity.
A center-forward of his height was clearly quite a shock to them.
Down on the coach's bench, Van Stiake also stared at Suk in surprise. He suddenly remembered their chance encounter in the bar—the boy who had brazenly recommended himself.
He'd found it amusing at the time but had forgotten about it almost immediately. Clearly, Van Stiake hadn't thought Suk had what it took to play in the Super League.
But now, looking at such an unconventional player, his gaze was involuntarily drawn to him. He found himself curious to see how Suk would perform in the match.
Soon, after the captains' coin toss, the teams took to their respective sides of the pitch.
Mostar Zrinjski had the kickoff.
Oripé was yelling from the sidelines, constantly stressing the need for a tight defense.
Before the match, Oripé had already gotten word that Mostar Zrinjski would be fielding their reserves, and he had planned his tactics accordingly.
He had even analyzed the opponent's substitute players' traits based on the limited information available.
During the preparation period, Oripé had been extremely diligent and professional, and his hard work meant the Mostar Wanderers knew their opponents well.
As for Mostar Zrinjski, however, the Mostar Wanderers were a complete unknown.
You could see it in their opponents' dismissive glances; they hadn't even bothered to give Suk and his teammates a proper look.
Those looks didn't sit well with Suk and the others.
'Just you wait. We'll show you what we're made of!'
Suk vowed to himself.
The referee backed out of the center circle, and the Mostar Zrinjski forwards immediately kicked off.
The match was underway.
As soon as the ball was in play, Suk burst into motion, charging straight for it.
Seeing Suk sprinting towards them, the Mostar Zrinjski players weren't worried. He was just one man; he couldn't possibly disrupt their passing game.
The ball moved continuously from player to player, while Suk kept running, relentlessly applying pressure.
His teammates dropped back into their own half, waiting for the opposition to advance.
Soon enough, Mostar Zrinjski began an attack down the flank.