Diving performance earned Suk a lot, enough that he didn't have to worry for a full half month.
The impact of diving was almost negligible.
Although he wasn't very tall, his physical fitness was excellent. He had hardly ever caught a cold or had a fever since he was a child, making him very easy to raise.
Otherwise, during the chaotic years of the Croatian War, triggered by the Yugoslav Wars, being sick almost meant dying.
The lives of children in orphanages were worthless; everything depended on fate.
In the words of the old dean, Suk was a child blessed by God. After all, among his batch of children, only a few survived the war.
"Food money!"
Suk swaggered in, slamming the money on the table, turning around, and running wildly before Bakic could speak.
By the time Suk ran out of the restaurant, darted into the alley, and disappeared, Bakic rushed out in a fit of anger.
"Damn it! Five marks short!"
Suk's figure was nowhere to be seen on the empty street. Bakic shook his head helplessly and couldn't help but smile.
In fact, they took very good care of this little guy, Suk.
Although they were always arguing and bickering, they knew how hard it was for an underage child like Suk to play football here and take care of his own life.
Perhaps it was because they had all experienced the war-torn years, witnessed too much life and death, separation, and tragic disasters, that seeing a sunny teenager like Suk seemed to smooth out the scars in their hearts.
They sought peace and comfort in the midst of laughter, scolding, and anger.
In fact, many Croatians living in Bosnia and Herzegovina had fled there during those years.
Suk turned left and right in the alley, seemingly able to navigate the intricate pathways with ease. He moved through them very smoothly, eventually arriving at a house on the edge of town.
The small house was about 80 square meters in size, with white walls and red tiles, built along the Neretva River like the surrounding houses.
It looked clean and tidy from the outside, but the moment Suk opened the door, a mixture of smoke, alcohol, and a strong armpit odor wafted over him.
Suk seemed used to this, and he took a pair of football shoes from the tool rack by the entrance.
These were Suk's football shoes. Although they were very old, they were cleaned carefully.
Suk then rummaged through a plastic box on the ground and found something that looked like a football.
Why say "looked like a football"? Because it was a completely black cloth ball.
The white leather that was originally glued to the top of the ball had completely fallen off, leaving a black cloth layer. The ball now looked soft and limp.
Suk gently squeezed it. He didn't dare to squeeze too hard, afraid that the small, broken ball couldn't handle it and would burst.
Feeling that there was still enough air, Suk immediately hugged the ball, turned around, and left, shouting towards the room at the same time, "Orippe, I'm going out!"
There was no response from inside the room. Suk didn't care, turned around, closed the door, and left.
After walking about 1000 meters, Suk arrived at an open area.
This was an abandoned factory.
During the time of Yugoslavia, this area had a long coastline and many ports.
At that time, Mostar was also very prosperous, becoming a land transit point for cargo transportation.
But with the disintegration of Yugoslavia and the independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina, only one port remained in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and eventually, this transit area was abandoned.
Untended for many years, the entire factory was overgrown with weeds, some as tall as Suk.
However, one area had been poured with cement, making it relatively flat.
Suk sat on the ground, put on the pair of old football shoes that had almost worn away the studs, and then picked up the small, broken ball and walked to the center of the field.
Suk took a deep breath. Since the last card draw, he hadn't personally felt the power of that red card.
[Torres' Short Pass]!
As the number 10 core player of the Sarajevo club, Torres was undoubtedly their undisputed star player.
His short passes were extremely penetrating and very threatening.
Torres, who played as an attacking midfielder for the team, was known for his breakthroughs and passes. His dribbling was a powerful weapon to disrupt the opponent's defense, and his passes could tear through the opponent's defense like a knife.
Suk had seen Torres' games on Bosnian Premier League broadcasts.
At that time, Torres became Sarajevo's core point for advancing passes, scoring after 14 passes from the backcourt to the frontcourt.
And in these 14 passes, Torres had 8 passes and receptions.
It can be said that Torres used his passes to connect the team's attack and score goals.
And his short pass stability was this kind of advancement weapon.
Of course, passing is not only a consideration of passing skills, but also coordination with awareness.
Although Suk didn't have Torres' passing awareness, he had Inzaghi's off-ball awareness and was extremely sensitive to gaps and dense positioning.
Passing the ball to the side with less pressure, passing the ball to a safe area, or directly using gaps to pass a pass that tears through the defense.
These could all become Suk's weapons!
A center forward can't only shoot!
In the current football world, when choosing a center forward, due to the influence of tactical thinking, they will choose center forwards who are fast, tough, and ruthless.
Of course, there are also Demonic Sword-like Inzaghi, but Ronaldo is the mainstream.
Suk aspired to become Ronaldo, but with his current physical condition, he could only choose a path that suited him.
The current center forward needs to impact the defense and needs to shoot.
But the center forward of the future will highlight all-around ability!
Be able to shoot, pass, and tackle.
When tough, you have to be like Drogba and become the team's battering ram.
When soft, actively retreat, organize attacks, and distribute the ball to both sides.
The body has to be active, and the feet have to be even more active!
Thinking of this, Suk put the ball in front of him and felt the changes in his body.
Since it wasn't a match, Suk couldn't practice passing combinations, but he still noticed significant differences in the feel of passing.
The power, precision, and angle of the ball's trajectory, once a vague concept, suddenly became clear.
At that moment, Suk raised his right foot and abruptly chopped down on the ball.
This was a chop pass.
By cutting into the ball with the instep from top to bottom, the ball was compressed and rolled forward, spinning violently on the ground.
After traveling a certain distance, the friction from the spin would cause a noticeable deceleration.
This type of pass, when coordinated with a player running forward, could create the effect seen on television, where the ball seems to curve back towards the player's feet after being passed.
After experimenting with the chop pass, Suk switched to his other foot.
Torres was two-footed. If he inherited Torres' short passes, could he also become two-footed?
But Suk was clearly overthinking it. Watching the ball fly into the bushes, Suk could only abandon the idea of becoming two-footed.
It seemed he still needed to practice slowly!
However, Torres' short passes had brought him a significant change in experience.
In future matches, he wouldn't need to run left and right to avoid opponents' challenges. He could completely drop back to receive passes from teammates and, when the opportunity arose, launch a secondary attack.
Mostar Wanderers' offensive initiation point was only Mlinar, which made their offensive routines monotonous and easily predictable.
But with Suk's addition, they could form a secondary attack in the frontcourt.
They could even coordinate Suk and Mlinar in overlapping runs, further disrupting the opponent's defense. If used well, forming a dual-core playstyle wouldn't be impossible.
Thinking of this, Suk became even more enthusiastic about practicing.
Finding a suitable path was crucial for him.
But due to his height limitations, becoming a center forward was simply unattainable, which always made Suk feel lost.
This also led to his immense excitement after seeing Torres' short passes.
His excitement was based on finding a path that suited him.
A center forward dropping back to orchestrate!
If necessary, he could even play as a winger, after all, his speed was quite good.
A winger combining forward runs, passing, and pressing to disrupt the opponent—this type of player wasn't common now, but would be highly sought after in the future.
In the evening, Suk returned to Oripe's house.
The house was dimly lit, and Oripe was sitting in front of the television, intently watching a soccer match, as if he didn't see Suk.
Suk went to the bathroom, took a quick shower, changed his clothes, and came out of the room. He took four slices of bread and thick slices of ham from the refrigerator, warmed them all up, sprinkled a generous amount of ketchup, and began to devour them, one in each hand.
"What match is this?"
Suk walked behind Oripe.
Oripe didn't turn his head. "Arsenal versus Liverpool in the FA Cup."
Suk glanced at the score and saw that Liverpool had scored first, leading 1-0.
"Who scored?"
Suk asked.
Oripe looked bitter. "Owen, that guy is too fast!"
At this time, Owen had just received the 2001 European Ballon d'Or, his aura shining brightly, a veritable superstar.
His ability and performance were terrifying, and his talent was plain to see.
Owen at this point in time was unrealistically strong.
His speed was frightening, and combined with Liverpool's attacking lineup, they constantly launched attacks on Arsenal's defense.
But Arsenal wasn't to be trifled with either.
Watching Arsenal play meant watching their overall team play. The connection between Henry, Pires, and Bergkamp in the frontcourt, and the midfield, was excellent, and the connection between the midfield and the backcourt was also very smooth.
This was the reason Arsenal was able to maintain possession.
Suk ate his homemade sandwich while watching the match.
Relying on Inzaghi's awareness, he constantly observed the movements of the game.
Liverpool's attacks were fierce, but they were unable to break through Arsenal's defense again, which led to them suffering great physical exhaustion in counterattacks. At the same time, under passive defense, the pressure increased sharply, further expanding the consumption of physical energy.
At this time, Arsenal was like a gentle stream, constantly pushing the attack forward.
"Liverpool is in danger."
Oripe frowned. "Liverpool has the advantage."
As soon as he finished speaking, Arsenal midfielder Vieira made a sudden, fierce tackle, knocking down Owen, ball and all, before he could even start moving.
At the same time, Arsenal launched their attack.
If Liverpool's attack was violent aesthetics, then Arsenal's was a moving tango.
The ball was constantly passed between Arsenal players, especially Bergkamp, who became the core of Arsenal's passing in the frontcourt.
The entire advance was like a swarm of butterflies flying in a flower bush, incredibly beautiful, but also extremely dangerous.
Arsenal advanced, Liverpool retreated, and when they realized the danger, Bergkamp had already dribbled into the penalty area.
Facing the opponent's press, Bergkamp feigned a shot, deceiving the opponent into blocking, then used his heel to flick the ball sideways.
The ball passed through the crowd and accurately reached Henry.
Facing an empty goal, Henry easily completed a push shot, scoring.
"Beautiful!"
"Perfect!"
Suk and Oripe exclaimed at the same time.
The entire goal was an example of extreme beauty. This was Arsène Wenger's Arsenal, a football club that played beautiful football to the extreme.