"Approaching the Greek capital, Athens, ho to the beautiful Aegean Sea."
The voice from the broadcast filled the train carriage, yet inside it was completely silent.
Though a week had passed, the mories of their last encounter here were still vivid.
Those hateful shouts.
Those terrifying threats that made their hairs stand on end.
Those monts of tension and chaos.
In that terrifying match atmosphere, they had ultimately lost.
Because of that, when the young n of Dinamo Zagreb returned here again, their faces were filled with tension.
"Relax!" Suker patted Duimović's stiff body with a smile, "This ti it's our ho ground!"
Duimović gave a wry smile.
Led by the head coach, they walked out of the train station.
As soon as they reached the exit, a dense crowd of people appeared ahead.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Huge flags started rising, being vigorously waved left and right.
Tens of thousands of fans exploded into loud cheers.
Wowwwwwwwwwwwwwwww——
Duimović's body stiffened again.
But this ti, he quickly recovered.
"Don't be afraid! We're here!!"
"We're together!!"
"Co on!! Guys!!"
"We're coming!!!"
"Suker!! Suker!! Suker!!"
"Let's show those Serbs what's what!"
"Dinamo Zagreb!!"
"Dinamo Zagreb!!"
"Dinamo Zagreb!!"
Flags flapped wildly in the air.
The fans' passionate cheers filled the entire space.
Under these powerful voices, Duimović and the others' eyes sparked with fighting spirit.
That's right!
This ti it's all their people!
On the way to the hotel, the bus was followed spontaneously by these fans.
They drove alongside the bus, constantly making gestures and shouting slogans to cheer them on.
They kept spreading the belief in victory.
And repeatedly building their confidence!
Suker could feel the temperature inside the bus rise significantly, so players breathing faster.
Yes!
This ti it's their ho!
They no longer have to put up with that nonsense.
Here, everyone is on their side!
"This isn't Maksimir, but we're going to make this the hottest ho ground!"
"What are you waiting for?!!"
The do speakers broadcasted the fierce roar of Kraušević.
This veteran Croatian comntator was known for calmness.
But this ti, he didn't hold back.
Last week, they bullied our kids here — this ti, they're here to take back the territory.
Wowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww——
The venue was ignited by intense cheers.
On the south stand, first a red glow slowly rose, accompanied by smoke; red cold fireworks gently spread out.
Bit by bit!
Piece by piece!
In an instant, the entire stadium was dyed red.
The blue and white stadium was instantly painted with the color of rage!
Flas blazed!
Smoke billowed!
With each shout rising high and fierce, the stadium resembled the gates of hell.
Comntator Kraušević abandoned his usual calm deanor, his tone full of fury.
Every sentence he spoke was t with fierce roars from the fans.
"Charge!!——"
"Croatian boys!!!!——"
"Forward!!——"
"Dinamo Zagreb!!!——"
"Let's!!——"
"Embrace victory!!!——"
"Let's!!——"
"Reforge glory!!!——"
With each shout, the stadium trembled.
The players of Red Star Belgrade were clearly intimidated.
They stared blankly at the roaring Croatians, unwilling to et their gaze.
Seeing the posture of Red Star's players only made the fans more excited.
Kraušević shouted with all his might:
"This is the Nikolaidis Stadium in Athens, but now it's called—"
The tens of thousands of Dinamo Zagreb fans shouted back at the top of their lungs:
"Maksimir!!!!!!——"
Flas soared.
Through the smoke, the faces of Dinamo Zagreb fans were fierce.
They looked like demons from hell, ready to devour the Red Star players alive.
Yes!
They made it!
You bullied our kids!
Now, we'll bully you the sa way!
Suk and the others stared stunned at the scene.
They had never seen Dinamo Zagreb fans so passionate and furious.
Perhaps this Balkan derby had ignited the fury.
Or perhaps the frustration of last week's match had built up.
Now, they were using their loudest voices to cheer on their young warriors.
Suk felt a dry mouth, licking his parched lips.
"Is there a better ho ground than this?"
The teammates around him were deeply shocked as well.
The firelight illuminated their faces flushed with red.
With the temperature rising, the entire stadium's hearts began to race.
After warming up, they returned to the locker room.
Bešić looked at everyone and said:
"They've created the best ho ground; now we must give our best performance to repay the fans."
"Don't be affected by last match, our attack power is unmatched. Believe in yourself, believe in your teammates, believe in the team!"
Bešić stretched out his hand, and everyone imdiately gathered around.
They stood in a circle, stacking their palms together.
Bešić took a deep breath and shouted loudly:
"Glory belongs to—"
"Dinamo Zagreb!!——"
Everyone roared and then turned to leave the locker room.
When they reached the tunnel, the Red Star Belgrade players were already there.
Imdiately, the atmosphere thickened with tension.
For Suk and the others, this ti it's their ho ground.
They want to win this match here.
The second round of the Champions League qualifiers is not the end.
Their journey is far from over.
Starting Lineups:
Dinamo Zagreb (4-2-3-1):Goalkeeper: GrestečićDefenders: Pranjić, Jarny, Štimac, SrnaMidfielders: Valjević, Vukojević, Modrić, Duimović, SukerForward: Mandžukić
Red Star Belgrade (4-3-3):Goalkeeper: RanđelovićDefenders: Luković, Savić, Srnjačić, MarkovićMidfielders: Stančić, Janković, lenićForwards: Pantelić, Džikić, Bogavač
Modrić flicked the ball past Janković and sent it to the right wing. Valjević tried to break through, but Red Star's fullback Luković didn't give him a chance. The ball returned to Modrić, who hesitated — should he pass? A beautiful flick, he dribbled past, and then fired a long-range shot!! Ah~~~~ The goalkeeper managed to parry it away!
"That shot ca out of nowhere, but the keeper still reacted well!"
"Right from the start, Dinamo Zagreb have been threatening the opponent's goal thanks to Modrić's playmaking!"
"The only pity is that their most dangerous attacker, Suker, has run into so trouble."
All eyes turned toward Suerk.
At this mont, Suker was clapping at midfield.
Beside him was Red Star's midfielder lenić.
From the whistle's blow, lenić stuck to Suker like glue.
Wherever Suker ran, lenić's eyes never left him.
Whether in attack or defense, he just followed Suk.
For a full 20 minutes, Suker was tightly marked by him and couldn't shake him off.
"You following won't work. I'm not the main attacker this match."
Suker looked at lenić.
lenić turned his head, not even bothering to reply.
Suker ran to the wing, lenić followed step by step.
Suker pressed forward to the fullback position; lenić still on his tail.
Suker spun around and ran toward his own half.
He crossed the halfway line — and the guy was still on him.
"Are you crazy?!" Suker snapped, "I'm already in my own half, and you're still following? Don't you have to defend?"
He pointed ahead, where Modrić was orchestrating midfield.
"Why are you always sticking to ?!"
"The coach told to mark you," lenić finally spoke.
Suker rolled his eyes. "I'm back in our half, you still mark ?"
lenić: "The coach's exact words were: 'If he runs into the goal line, you run with him!'"
Suker: "."
This was extre man-marking.
Suker was annoyed: "Like sticking to , huh? Let's see how long you last!"
With that, Suker started sprinting forward.
Seeing Suk accelerate, lenić quickly followed.
Although slower, he wasn't afraid — he had teammates ahead.
Suker rushed near the opponent's penalty box.
Modrić sent a pass to the wing, but it was intercepted and a counterattack started.
Suker imdiately turned and sprinted back to his half.
He quickly caught up to winger Pantelić.
"Pranjić, go on him!"
Suker shouted.
Pranjić heard him and imdiately stepped forward.
The two tackled Pantelić down and reclaid possession.
Suker then sprinted forward again.
lenić just caught up when he saw Suker turn and dash back toward their half.
He gritted his teeth and followed once more.
However, this ti his steps weren't so nimble.
"It's not easy to mark Suker!"
Assistant coach Klen watched lenić chasing back and forth three tis and smiled:
"You need the stamina to keep up!"
Suker's stamina was like a mule.
This was no joke.
With abundant energy and recovery boosts, how could the other guy keep up?
Suker was determined.
Like sticking to ? Extre man-marking? I'll run you to death!
Reviews
All reviews (0)