Lahm felt the world spinning, intense pain shooting through his right leg.
His mouth tasted salty with sweat, the scent of fresh grass wafted near his nose, and waves of shouts and angry screams buzzed in his ears.
"You damn bastard!"
"I'm going to kill you!"
"Filthy butcher!"
Lahm saw the Croatian players glaring at him like demons.
If looks could kill, he felt like he was pierced by countless arrows.
Suddenly, Mandžukić shoved Schweinsteiger hard, breaking free from his hold, and charged fiercely toward Lahm.
Smack!!!
His cheek burned from a slap.
Before Lahm could react, Mandžukić pushed him violently to the ground.
Only then did Ballack rush over to pull Mandžukić away.
Mandžukić still raged at Lahm, even spitting at him.
Lahm was dazed, his cheek burning and his leg throbbing unbearably.
He felt wronged.
At that mont, the team doctor hurried over; Lahm pointed blankly at his leg.
"My leg…"
Whoosh!
The doctor ran straight ahead, ignoring Lahm.
Following their movent, Lahm turned his head.
He saw a figure lying sideways on the ground, clutching his lower back, trembling all over.
From the jersey number and na, he recognized it was Šuker.
"What happened to him?"
mories suddenly flooded into his mind.
Lahm's face instantly went pale.
"What have I done?!"
"Killer! That German is a killer! That was such a dangerous tackle! If anything happens to Šuker, I swear I will make that damn German pay!"
Kraushvić shouted angrily.
The German comntator said gravely:
"This is definitely a malicious incident. Šuker was clearly past the defender, yet Lahm made such a harsh foul from behind and even raised his knee—this was a retaliatory move! But it's done; now we can only hope Šuker isn't seriously hurt."
Šuker lay sideways on the ground, sweating cold sweat from the pain.
His tailbone was throbbing intensely.
When he fell backward, his tailbone slamd directly into Lahm's knee.
The worst part was that Šuker had already used a recovery status card.
Careless!The second half had just started less than 3 minutes ago—what the hell was going on!
The team doctor asked about Šuker's injury again.
Šuker gritted his teeth through the pain, forcing a weak smile.
"I… I'm fine!"
Van Stoyak shouted, "What ti is it? I know you want to keep playing, and you don't want to be substituted, but now you must accept examination and treatnt!"
"I…"
Duimović said, "Šuker! You've done great. Now trust us!"
"No, I just want…"
Modrić said, "Šuker, I swear, we will bring the European Championship trophy to visit you!"
"I'm not injured!"
Van Stoyak said, "Take him off!"
"I… I…" Šuker's tailbone ached even more fiercely.
Damn it!Just give 40 minutes!Just 40 minutes!
Once my recovery card cooldown ends, I'll be fine.
But now Šuker couldn't move; staff had to carry him off the field on a stretcher, straight to the ambulance waiting outside, heading to the nearest hospital for examination.
Šuker was carried off.
Lahm was sent off with a straight red card.
At this mont, the atmosphere in the stadium turned even heavier.
"Damn it!"
Mandžukić glared fiercely, "Three goals ahead—defend this lead to the death!"
"I promised Šuker!" Modrić's eyes blazed with fury, "Win the championship!"
Srna took a deep breath, "Until the last mont, Šuker wanted to keep fighting. Throughout the European Cup, we relied heavily on Šuker. Now we must hold steady—that's the best way to let Šuker rest easy and receive treatnt!"
"Next, we fight for Šuker!"
Modrić said solemnly, "Fight for Šuker!"
Everyone's tone hardened, and they shouted in unison:
"For Šuker!!—"
Bang!
Modrić shoved Schweinsteiger out of bounds.
Though smaller in build, Modrić was full of fighting spirit.
Germany threw a long ball.
Ballack received it and imdiately turned around; in the collision, Duimović was knocked down.
But Duimović, frantic, used his head to clear the ball wildly.
Ballack prepared to shoot but could only watch Duimović's crazy move.
"Is this guy nuts?"
Ballack frowned.
Duimović stood up, glaring: "Don't even think about passing!"
Šimunić risked banging his head on the goalpost but still cleared the ball.
Scenes like this kept happening.
Croatia's fighting spirit had fully erupted!
One by one, Croatian defenders beca steel-hard warriors.
They were determined to win!They wouldn't let Germany score a single goal!All players retreated to defense, ready to counterattack.
A three-goal lead was their foundation for victory.
With a nurical advantage, they could hold the situation steady, even mount counterattacks.
This was Šuker's last gift to them.
"Everyone get your damn spirits up!"
After clearing the ball, Srna wiped sweat from his forehead and yelled, "Destroy Germany!"
At this mont, Croatia's warriors were more spirited than ever before!
"The Croatian boys are fighting desperately. Despite the heavy physical toll of the Euros, they fiercely resist Germany's attacks, and on counterattacks, they keep moving their feet nonstop."
"At this mont, Croatia is showing true fighting spirit!"
"Šuker's injury has completely ignited these young n's anger. The 4-1 scoreline was created by Šuker, and they won't give an inch!"
Van Stoyak kept making subtle tactical adjustnts.
At 70 minutes, both teams made substitutions!
Croatia strengthened defense, almost fully retreating.
Three goals ahead!As long as they hold this score, in 20 minutes, they could lift the European Championship trophy.
They could fulfill their promise to Šuker.
So! They must hold firm!
No matter how tired! No matter how painful! They had to grit their teeth and hold on!
Croatia kept repelling Germany's desperate attacks again and again.
Croatia defended desperately, so even risking injury to defend.
In a VIP ward of a hospital near Happel Stadium,
Šuker lay on the bed, looking up at the TV.
Watching his teammates fight fiercely to defend, Šuker sotis strained himself, and each ti, his tailbone hurt terribly.
Šuker had completed the examination.
Tailbone fracture!He needed 3–5 months of rest and recovery.
Although Šuker resisted, the pain left him unable to move, forced to endure being put into various machines for examination.
Fortunately, the injury did not require surgery, only rest to recover.
But for Šuker, this ant he might miss most of the next season.
No way!If he didn't want to beco a dical miracle specin for study, he had to honestly rest for 3–5 months.
Sigh~~~~!
Šuker sighed.
But resting a while wasn't bad.
After all, even back at his club Milan, given their current state, the league and Champions League were both challenging.
Might as well rest well during this period and prepare for transfer matters.
Šuker's mind wandered to these thoughts, but his eyes stayed glued to the match.
His teammates were steady.
Germany's desperate attacks couldn't shake their defense, and the match entered injury ti.
Šuker slowly exhaled.
"It's over!"
A faint smile appeared on Šuker's lips.
"2008 European Champions! Injured, but it's great!"
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Three whistles sounded on TV.
The stadium erupted in thunderous cheers.
Croatian players ran wildly across the field, celebrating fiercely.
Most touching was Srna taking a No. 9 jersey from the bench.
He faced the cara, repeatedly showing Šuker's number on the back.
"Šuker! We kept our promise! This championship is for you!"
"Rest well!"
"We'll co visit you soon!"
"We kept our promise!"
Watching the players jump around happily on cara, Šuker couldn't help but smile.
On June 30, 2008, after 90 minutes of fierce battle,
Croatia defeated Germany 4-1.
Following the 'Denmark Fairy Tale' and the 'Greece Myth', another miracle was etched in European Championship history.
Croatia Rhapsody!
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