Arriving once again at the main pitch beside the farm, it was still dilapidated, and the field hadn't been maintained at all.
Although Mostar Wanderers were a B-league team, the saying still held true that the only remotely professional thing in all of Bosnia and Herzegovina was the Super League; everything else was amateur.
Many Mostar Wanderers players had their own primary jobs, meaning they didn't have much time for training.
Their only weekly training session was their process of gelling as a team.
And on this day, the players would put aside their other commitments and gather at the pitch.
Around one in the afternoon, the players gradually arrived.
Mostar Wanderers only had 12 players, so during team training, they could only manage a 6v6 scrimmage.
However, today was a bit of an exception.
"Bakic said he needs to take leave; he seems to be having some health issues today," Mlinar said to Oripe.
Oripe rubbed his forehead, a hint of helplessness on his face.
Too few players meant a low capacity to handle risks.
In the B-league, matches were sometimes canceled because the team couldn't muster enough players, let alone training sessions.
"It's alright, I'll fill in for him for now."
Oripe took off his jacket; the coach was going to have to play.
The group gathered together, and Oripe began explaining the tactics.
"Alright, lads, we're going to switch up our style of play today," Oripe said. "Before, our only playmaker was Mlinar, but this time, we're going to add another one."
"Me! Me!" Suk immediately jumped out, saying, "I'll be the attacking playmaker."
Everyone looked at Suk in surprise, even Mlinar.
"Can you do it?" Mlinar asked curiously.
Suk raised his thumb: "If it works out, how about you play for another half-season?"
Mlinar paused, scratching his cheek.
Normally, seeing someone else's difficulty would be enough to make him give up.
But Suk persisted: "Just half a season; if you still feel it's not working out after half a season, then I'll leave with you."
Mlinar looked at Oripe, who pursed his lips and said, "Can you hold on for half a season?"
Mlinar thought for a moment before sighing, "Alright, just half a season; that's the limit."
Hearing this, smiles appeared on everyone's faces.
Mlinar was too important to the team; Suk was confident that in half a season, he could become even better and take over the reins from Mlinar.
"Let's get started!"
Suk waved his hand, and everyone began walking onto the pitch.
At the same time, a hooded figure walked through the archway at the edge of the pitch.
"Is there a match here?"
Modrić walked in curiously, and soon he saw the Mostar Wanderers players who were training.
There was a huge gulf between the Bosnian Premier League and the First League, which meant that those promoted teams would return to the First League in a very miserable state every year.
And the Second League was even worse.
After watching for a short while, Modrić shook his head.
"Poor discipline, insufficient teamwork, not tight enough defense..." Modrić commented.
A disorganized mess!
However, some of these players were still pretty good.
For example, that number 10 in midfield, despite being old, had a very solid foundation, smooth passing, and relatively reasonable distribution, but he lacked overall vision and held onto the ball too much, causing the team to miss counter-attack opportunities.
As for that short guy up front, what was he running around blindly for?
Modrić stood on the sidelines, curiously watching Suk's position, which looked somewhat familiar from a distance.
At this moment, Suk suddenly yelled at the top of his lungs, "No! No! That's not the feeling!"
Suk stopped the game, walking towards Mlinar and saying, "Boss, pass the ball to me! Don't pass it forward, pass it to my feet."
Mlinar smiled wryly: "Can you hold onto it? Roten Maraskic is behind you."
Suk turned his head to look; the 6'3" Roten Maraskic raised his eyebrows at Suk, flexing his pecs as if showing off.
"Don't worry about him, just pass it to me."
Mlinar shook his head: "Alright, I understand."
The game restarted, and Suk kept moving back and forth. When he saw Mlinar moving forward, Suk immediately retreated.
Mlinar also saw Suk and immediately passed the ball.
Suk received the ball and continued to dribble backward.
He didn't stop in place or turn around, but wanted to go around in a big circle, using his agility to get past Roten Maraskic's defense.
When he finally got around and was about to pass the ball, the front was empty.
"Where is everyone?"
Suk shouted loudly.
When he turned his head to look, the two wingers were standing parallel to him, and Mlinar didn't move forward after passing the ball.
Suk was so angry he almost spat blood.
But he could only grit his teeth and carry on, and was eventually brought down by the defenders.
And this scene kept happening.
The others didn't know what Suk was trying to do, but Modrić on the sidelines found it increasingly strange.
Why weren't they moving forward?
That little forward had already helped them pull the defense out and was also attracting the defense to the flanks.
But the wingers didn't fill in the middle, forming a triangular attacking formation with the little forward.
The passing midfielder also had no intention of moving forward at all.
This was going to exhaust that little guy.
Suk didn't give up; he kept running and constantly shouting, directing his teammates.
However, the situation became more and more chaotic.
Suk was full of fighting spirit; he firmly believed that if they continued to work together, they would still have a chance to win the game.
But while Suk could persist, Oripe couldn't.
Blegh!
A vomiting sound came.
Suk stopped the ball and turned his head to look, only to see Oripe squatting off the field, his body shaking violently.
Clearly, he had consumed too much energy and had thrown up from running.
After everyone gathered around, Oripe's face was flushed, and he was panting like a bull.
"I can't do it anymore, can't... can't run anymore."
Oripe couldn't even speak properly.
Obviously, this amount of exercise was too difficult for Oripe.
Everyone looked at each other; how could they continue training with one less person?
"There's someone over there!"
Suk suddenly pointed to the sidelines.
Everyone turned their heads to look.
At the same time, Modrić also saw this scene.
Soon, Suk dashed over.
"Hey, play a game with us, we're short a person!" Suk said simply and clearly.
Modrić was about to refuse, but Suk directly pulled him over.
"I..."
Modrić was dragged all the way to the front of the crowd. Suk shouted loudly:
"He agreed!"
Modrić's eyes widened.
He didn't remember agreeing!
But Suk had already started arranging things.
"How about you play midfield? You don't have the build to play defender!"
Modrić's build was on the slender side, only slightly taller than Suk.
Modrić's personality was a bit shy, and he nodded lightly.
It wasn't a match, just playing for fun, there was no problem.
Besides, he was also quite bored training alone.
Most importantly, he was curious about what this guy in front of him was trying to do.
Modrić had already recognized that this was the boy who dived at the Old Bridge, but he didn't expect him to play soccer.
"Aren't you going to take off your jacket?"
Suk pointed to Modrić's windbreaker covering his face and asked.
Modrić shook his head lightly: "No need."
His tone was calm and understated, but with strong confidence.
Soon, Oripe came off the field, and Modrić stood behind Suk.
When the game restarted, Modrić immediately threw himself into the game.
Modrić's movements weren't as intense, but he always kept his head up, which contrasted sharply with the majority of people on the field who were looking down at the ball.
And Modrić's first touch, he simply passed the ball to the right flank and didn't hold onto the ball.
However, the next second, he didn't stay in place but ran forward.
"Pass!"
Seeing that his winger was being restricted, Modrić immediately called for a pass.
Vitolich, leaning against the opposing full-back, immediately passed the ball over.
At this time, the center-back had already started to move forward.
Modrić saw all this, slightly moving his foot backward, actually letting the ball pass through his legs.
The whole process was understated and very relaxed.
"Wow!"
Off the field, Oripe, who was sitting on the ground, couldn't help but exclaim.
Even Mlinar on the field couldn't help but exclaim, "Beautiful!"
When they turned their heads to look, Suk had already broken through the two center-backs and quickly dribbled into the penalty area, fiercely swinging his right foot to shoot.
However, the ball didn't have enough power and was saved by the goalkeeper.
Ah ~ ~ ~ ~! ! !
Suk rubbed his head frantically, his face full of regret.
But in the end, he still gave Modrić a thumbs up.
"Great pass."
Modrić nodded lightly.
This level of scrimmage had no difficulty or pressure at all.
After all, he looked down on even the Bosnian Premier League.
After seeing Modrić's brilliant performance, the teammates also began to trust him and started passing the ball to him frequently.
Suk also took the initiative to retreat.
Seeing Suk, Modrić immediately passed the ball over.
The speed of this pass wasn't fast, and Modrić originally wanted to play a one-two with Suk.
But Suk stopped the ball with a horizontal cut, turned to stand sideways, and faced Modrić with his back.
He wasn't planning on cooperating with him.
Modrić frowned slightly.
But the next second, Suk fiercely passed the ball downward.
The ball went through the gap between center-back Kobaro and full-back Bastoji, accurately reaching the empty space on the wing, and was taken down by the winger Masložić, who had completed the forward run, and immediately broke into the penalty area.
"Wow!!!"
This second pass once again made Oripe exclaim and couldn't help but stand up.
The expressions of the others were also similar.
After all, this pass was very beautiful from any point of view.
And for Modrić, the shock of this pass was also great.
Not only the pass itself, but the vision and overall awareness of the little guy in front of him were key.
Using himself as bait and passing the ball to the more threatening side.
If it wasn't a coincidence, then this was definitely the vision talent of a top midfielder.