Bazzer stared blankly at the ball resting peacefully inside the goal. He never imagined that the shorty had actually managed to get away from him under his watch.
’My prediction wasn’t wrong,’ he thought, ’but Suk really did get past my defense. I just don’t know where it went wrong.’
But more than that, his face was burning with embarrassment.
He had just been bragging, and the next moment, the opponent scored.
But what Bazzer found truly hard to accept was that this was the guy’s first touch of the entire match. And he scored on his very first touch. ’What kind of ability to seize an opportunity is that?’
However, Bazzer didn’t let it get him down. He believed he could still shut Suk down; he just needed to be a little more serious...
Meanwhile, Suk had already run to the stands to interact with the fans.
These Mostar Wanderers fans all adored Suk, especially the slightly older ones. They loved to pinch Suk’s round, baby-fat cheeks.
Just like now. As soon as he reached the fan section, he was swarmed.
A burly, middle-aged man in a tank top pulled Suk into a hug and vigorously ruffled his hair until his once-smooth black hair was a complete mess. Then, he pinched Suk’s chubby cheeks with his rough hands.
"Ow, ow, ow..."
Tears were about to well up in Suk’s eyes from the pain, but due to his physical size, he couldn’t resist at all.
The others just watched the spectacle with amusement.
"Suk! We have our own Golden Left Foot Suk now!"
A fan cheered with a loud laugh.
Of course, the Suk he was referring to wasn’t the 150-centimeter-tall Suk, but the Croatian superstar striker, the ’Golden Left Foot’ Davor Suker.
Taking advantage of the man’s laughter, Suk quickly wriggled free from his embrace. His cheeks were already pinched bright red, making them look even more tender and pink.
Suk rubbed his cheeks, a look of utter frustration on his face.
’I really don’t get why these big, burly guys love pinching cheeks so much,’ he thought. ’My skin might be nice and my baby fat might be elastic, but that’s no reason for them to be manhandling me.’
"Nice one!"
Mulinar ran over, hooked his hands under Suk’s arms, and lifted him straight up.
Suk felt extremely embarrassed being held up like that.
"Put me down! Put me down!"
Suk kicked his short legs frantically, but Mulinar didn’t budge and couldn’t help but roar with laughter.
This comical scene also drew good-natured smiles from the surrounding fans.
"You’re embarrassing me!"
Suk’s loud reprimand was once again ignored by Mulinar.
The guy even imitated the scene from the animated movie ’The Lion King’ where the old monkey holds up the young Simba, presenting Suk to the fans and drawing waves of laughter.
Unable to fight back, Suk could only cover his face, a gesture that made the fans’ laughter even more unrestrained.
These Mostar Wanderers fans were very fond of Suk, the little guy who, despite his small frame, was a prolific goalscorer.
On the sidelines, Head Coach Oripé also watched Suk with a smile.
In his view, even though Suk was a washout from the youth academy, his talent and abilities were more than enough to support a future career on a real professional stage.
Yes!
Oripé was absolutely certain of it.
The celebration ended, and the Mostar players returned to their own half of the field, laughing and chatting.
On the other side, the Sarajevo FC players’ faces were grim. Bazzer, in particular, glared at Suk as if his eyes were shooting fire, looking like he wanted to eat him alive.
"You’ve been targeted!"
Mulinar teased Suk.
Suk pulled up his fallen sock, readjusted his shin guard, then turned his head and grinned.
It was a very confident smile, as if silently declaring something.
Soon, at the referee’s prompting, Sarajevo FC kicked off again.
Now one goal ahead, Mostar Wanderers’ collective mood and form improved.
And with a goal in hand, they were no longer in such a hurry, instead beginning to defend steadily.
Meanwhile, Suk was indeed being marked tightly by Bazzer.
This time, Bazzer wasn’t paying as much attention to Mulinar, instead focusing as much as possible on locking Suk down.
The moment Suk touched the ball, Bazzer would quickly close in and use his body to challenge him, trying to make Suk lose possession through physical contact.
But Suk was clever. He knew his weakness. The size difference between them was too great, giving him no chance in a physical contest. Therefore, he almost always played one-touch passes to the wings before quickly turning to make a forward run, relying on his Flexibility.
And this made things increasingly uncomfortable for Bazzer.
Bazzer was a heavy-set center-back. He had a burly build and a height advantage, but this came at the cost of Flexibility.
Turning slowly is a common flaw for this type of center-back, and that was exactly what Suk was exploiting.
In the Bosnia and Herzegovina Second League, tactics were simplistic. Each position had its own fixed duties, with a lack of adaptability.
The full-backs wouldn’t cover for the center-backs’ mistakes, which ultimately exposed the center-backs’ slowness on the turn.
However, Suk wasn’t having an easy time of it either.
An enraged Bazzer would slam heavily into Suk during every confrontation, putting immense pressure on him.
Under the powerful impacts, Suk was knocked to the ground time and time again, but each time, he would grit his teeth and get back up.
Under this level of pressure, Suk’s knees were scraped raw, his jersey was stained green from the grass, and his arms were red and swollen from the collisions.
The referee didn’t call any fouls. This was just the standard of the Bosnia and Herzegovina League.
Its reputation as the most brutal league wasn’t just talk.
Suk could only endure this physical battle while looking for a chance to score.
At this moment, Mulinar had the ball and was dribbling forward. His Speed wasn’t great, but Sarajevo FC was also slow to press him.
By the time they closed in, Mulinar had already passed the Ball to Suk’s feet.
"Don’t even think about turning!"
Bazzer immediately charged over, and Suk heard the roar from behind him.
After controlling the Ball, Suk didn’t try to turn. Instead, with his back to the goal, he took a few more steps forward.
Bazzer wasn’t calm enough. Seeing Suk’s movement, he immediately gave chase, as if wanting to make the guy suffer even more.
But just as Bazzer was about to crash into Suk, Suk laid the Ball off to the right.
The moment they collided, Mulinar slipped past Suk’s side, collected the Ball, and completed his forward run, carrying it straight into the penalty area.
AHHHH!
Suk let out a pained cry as he was sent flying by Bazzer’s impact.
But this time, Suk didn’t just take it. He tightly gripped Bazzer’s jersey with his right hand, preventing him from turning to get back on defense.
"Let me go!"
Bazzer roared in anger, but Suk had no intention of letting go.
When Bazzer turned his head again, Mulinar was already in his shooting motion.
"Damn it!"
Bazzer’s expression was one of panic. He watched as Mulinar lashed at the Ball, sending it on an upward trajectory over the goalkeeper’s outstretched hands and smashing violently into the roof of the net.
Mostar Wanderers extended their lead again in the 36th minute.
A two-goal lead!
With a two-goal lead, Mostar Wanderers’ morale soared, and their attacks became even more ferocious.
For players at this low level, their discipline wasn’t very strict. They were incapable of shifting to a stable defense when they had the advantage.
Usually, they would press their advantage and try to crush the opponent in one fell swoop.
Especially after the start of the second half, Bazzer had completely lost his ability to contain Suk.
Although the guy was physically strong, Suk ran him around like a big, clumsy bear. Eventually, Sarajevo FC substituted the poorly performing Bazzer.
"I can stop him! Just give me a little more time..."
Bazzer was taken off the field, his face full of defiance.
In response, his surrounding teammates and the Head Coach just watched him quietly.
Head Coach Nesvis sighed and said, "You haven’t been disrupting him at all. This is football, not wrestling."
Hearing this, Bazzer’s face suddenly flushed red.
"Take a good look at that guy’s positioning!"
Bazzer turned his head and saw Suk constantly moving left and right in front of the defensive line.
Often, the kid would drift from the far left all the way to the far right, and he always managed to shake off their center-backs to create an opportunity for a forward run.
"That kid..."
Bazzer frowned slightly.
Head Coach Nesvis: "Do you see it now? The kid’s awareness of his positioning. He always shows up in the right place at the right time. Whether for a shot or a pass, his presence makes the Mostar Wanderers’ attack extremely threatening."
Finally, Head Coach Nesvis sighed. "His ability to read the game and his positioning are beyond the level of this league. That transcendent awareness compensates for his weak physique. It’s also allowed him to score 8 goals in the league—no, wait, it’s 9 now!"
On the field, Suk was still running tirelessly.
His head was constantly swiveling from side to side, observing the pitch.
The information he gathered formed a bird’s-eye view of all the players’ positions in his mind.
He could see the opponent’s defensive layout and the weak points in their line with perfect clarity.
Those bright, dark eyes, constantly glinting with light, made him like an eagle circling high above the pitch.
This was his greatest asset and his biggest ’cheat’!
[Inzaghi’s Awareness]
A ghostly elf on the forward line, Inzaghi was a man who lived on the offside line. His presence repeatedly tested the backlines of many powerhouse clubs.
And awareness was a huge help to his positioning.
Inzaghi himself once said that this kind of talent is innate. You either have it or you don’t; it can’t be developed later.
Therefore, in his current state, Suk’s vision and big-picture understanding of the game were on a completely dominant level in this match.
"Now!"
Suk first dropped back a few steps, then immediately turned and sprinted. His sprint was incredibly determined, his legs churning furiously as he charged forward with his head down.
He didn’t even look for the pass. This was based on his trust in Mulinar.
Besides, the fans around him were already reacting; their exaggerated uproar was the best proof.
The ball... was coming!
The moment Suk looked up, he saw the Ball was already above his head. He slowed down slightly, taking small, choppy steps to adjust his position, and got into a shooting stance to meet the descending Ball.
This motion prompted the Sarajevo FC center-back to suddenly slide in front of Suk, attempting to block the shot.
But Suk’s raised right foot came down slowly. With the outside of his boot, he nudged the landing Ball in the opposite direction, creating a perfect shooting angle for himself.
He adjusted his feet again and poked the Ball firmly with the tip of his toe.
The Ball shot rapidly toward the goal, and the next second, the net rippled.
Suk scored his second of the match, finding the net once more and simultaneously killing any suspense in the game!