For a full two weeks, Suker and Boa focused solely on passing and receiving drills.
Suker had beco more consistent at delivering curved passes. While he still couldn't match the effortless grace of De Bruyne, he was getting the job done.
To improve further, he would need not only innate talent but also the crucible of real match experience.
As for Boa, after nearly two weeks of essentially playing "ball boy," he had beco very adept at tracking Suke's passes.
Perhaps from seeing them so often, he had developed a good sense of anticipation. As soon as Suker passed the ball, Boa could roughly predict where it would land and imdiately start his run.
From this training period, Boa gained confidence that he could now best cooperate with Suke's passing style.
"That's it for today!"
Suker wrapped up the session early.
Boa looked at him in surprise—this guy usually trained late into the evening, but today he stopped on his own initiative.
"There's still half a month until the second half of the season starts. From now on, let's focus on recovery and reduce intensity a bit," Suker said. "Overtraining won't help us in the long run."
Training needed to balance effort and rest. Excessive physical strain ultimately backfires.
The body—muscles in particular—needed recovery ti. And good form often cos from good rest.
So, Suker decided to taper down the training intensity.
Since Suker was stopping, Boa—the training partner—would be temporarily "unemployed" too.
Still, the ti he spent training with Suker had given him much. Now, it was ti to show results in actual matches.
After tidying up the training equipnt, the two headed back to the dorms.
When they climbed the stairs to the second floor, they noticed the door to their dorm room was already open.
When Suker walked in, he found Modrić already inside.
"Suker, I'm back!"
Seeing Suker return, Modrić greeted him with a big smile.
Skolk, who was also inside, grinned and said, "You two went back to Croatia, and I was bored out of my mind these past two months!"
Suker asked Modrić, "When did you arrive?"
"This morning," Modrić replied. "I saw you were training, so I didn't interrupt."
Suker nodded.
Just then, Boa walked in. He greeted Modrić, but his gaze started shifting between Suker and Modrić with growing surprise.
"What's up?" Skolk asked, noticing Boa's odd expression.
Boa blinked, then pointed at Suke and Modrić.
"Look at their height."
Sterk turned to look and was shocked to find that the height difference between Suke and Modrić had all but disappeared.
Back in August, there had been at least a half-head difference between the two.
Now, standing side by side, the difference was barely noticeable.
"Did you grow taller again, Suker?" Skolk asked.
Huh?
Suker turned sharply. This was sothing he cared deeply about.
Skolk pointed at Modrić. "You guys are about the sa height now!"
Suker imdiately stood next to Modrić and straightened his back. Sure enough, they were nearly the sa height.
Suker was overjoyed.
The last ti he checked his height, he was 161 cm.
Before going back to Croatia for the break, he hadn't really paid attention to it.
Now, he pulled up his attribute panel:
Na: Suker
Height: 165 cm
Weight: 55 kg
Speed: 78 15
Agility: 85
Strength: 70
Explosiveness: 90
165 cm!!!
Suke was thrilled—he was just 5 cm away from the 170 cm mark.
Since joining Zrinjski Mostar and leaving behind a life of hunger, and with a daily intake of proper nutrition, his body had absorbed nutrients like a dry sponge.
How could he not be happy?
Of course, he still hadn't surpassed Modrić in height. The latter had also grown, now around 168 cm.
But visually, the two were nearly the sa height.
Not just in height—Suker had seen clear improvent in all his physical attributes.
With his developnt, he was faster, stronger, and more explosive than he was in the first half of the season.
He had gone from being knocked over easily to being able to stay on his feet under pressure.
Rounding up, he was close to 170 cm tall—and that made Suker feel fantastic.
"Let's go! Lunch is on !" Suker declared.
Skolk cheered.
"Boa! You're coming too!" Suker pointed. "If you say no, you're disrespecting . I'll ss with you the sa way Oliveira used to!"
Boa wanted to refuse, but hearing that, he fell silent.
Over the recent weeks, Suker had started to understand Boa's personality.
He wasn't a bad guy—just a bit stubborn from years of mistreatnt.
There's a difference between "stubborn" and "persistent."
The latter implies resilience and unwavering pursuit of a goal. That's Suker and Modrić—tough-minded but flexible. It's usually a complint.
But "stubborn" has a more negative connotation—more like a bull-headed refusal to listen or adapt. It often leads one to dead ends, and that was Boa.
Still, the guy had talent, and being young and full of energy, his pressing ability was even better than Biliar's.
Suker chose Bakic's pub for the lunch treat. Skolk half-joked that Suker was practically promoting the place.
That said, in a small town like Mostar, Bakic's cooking really was top-tier.
As the four of them sat around the table, it was usually Suker and Sko;k doing the talking, while Boa and Modrić kept mostly quiet.
"Did you watch yesterday's Serie A match? Juventus vs. AC Milan—Shevchenko scored the winner in stoppage ti! The whole San Siro erupted! Imagine how much Milan fans love Sheva!"
Back then, Serie A was still called the "Little World Cup." It was the most competitive of the five major leagues.
Juventus, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Napoli, Fiorentina, Parma, Sampdoria—the "Seven Sisters" of Serie A were all powerhouses.
"Serie A is tough, yeah. But I like Ronaldo more!" Boa suddenly chid in.
Modrić raised his hand. " too!"
Suker: " 1!"
Skolk: "So I'm the only one who likes Shevchenko?"
Suker laughed. "Hey, everyone has their tastes. Shevchenko can be your true love, but that doesn't an Ronaldo can't be your fling!"
Skolk blinked. "That actually makes sense."
Suker chuckled. In that era, Ronaldo was the heartthrob—the ultimate crowd favorite.
"Do you guys ever wonder what it'd feel like to play in a top-five league? Playing in front of tens of thousands of fans… intense clashes between giants… thrilling Champions League matches…" Skolk said with stars in his eyes. "I really want to feel what it's like to be a superstar!"
Modrić had already finished eating. He put down his fork and said, "I don't know what it feels like to be a superstar. But my coach once told : The road to becoming one is never easy. For most average players, the top leagues are the ultimate goal. But to go beyond that, you need talent to match."
"The football we play now—honestly, the intensity is pretty low."
"Besic once said: If you haven't played in Serie A, you don't know what chain defending is. You'll never truly grow."
"If you haven't played in La Liga and experienced their short-pass, fast-play style, you won't realize how poor your technique really is."
"If you haven't played in the Premier League, you'll never know what intense physical battles and lightning-fast transitions feel like!"
That left the table in silence.
Suker also put down his fork and wiped his mouth.
"We're challengers staring into the distance. We must dream of the future, but also keep our feet on the ground."
"No one knows what the future holds, but if we don't fight, if we don't try to challenge those leagues, we'd be betraying all the training we've put in day after day."
"What we've seen is only the tip of the iceberg in the football world. I believe there's far more brilliance waiting to be discovered."
On February 20th, players began returning from their vacations.
After three months of rest, their bodies were fully recovered, and injuries were a thing of the past.
Kosovic, Boban, and others returned one after another.
This ant that Zrinjski Mostar still had the potential to fight for the championship in the second half of the season.
Yes—
This season, Zrinjski Mostar was no longer content to play the supporting role. They were determined to beco the brightest flower on the field.
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