Chapter 102: Blue Waves

Suker wanted to learn a lot, but he knew not to rush—he had to take it one step at a time, steadily and surely. Davor Suker was eager to coach Suker, even itching to pour out all his experience in one go. But that, too, required time and patience. On the other side of the training ground, head coach Besic watched the lively action on the field. So far, Dinamo Zagreb had performed well—two wins in two matches—but that didn't mean they had no problems. In fact, compared to Besic's vision for the team, the current Dinamo Zagreb still had a long way to go. Besic aimed to build a team that was balanced in attack and defense. At the moment, Dinamo Zagreb was undoubtedly strong in attack but had defensive issues. The back line lacked cohesion. There were also problems with coverage between the midfield and the defense. To give a simple example: Dinamo Zagreb's primary attacking play started from the left wing. Suker, Modric, and Srna formed a wing corridor that ensured a constant stream of attacks and crosses. But the problem was, once the three pushed forward, none of them were willing to track back. Typically, when Srna overlapped, Vukojevic was supposed to fall back and cover. Modric and Dujmovic would take up staggered positions in midfield. However, Modric often drifted closer to the edge of the penalty area, looking for shooting opportunities. Dujmovic wasn't eager to drop back either. Vukojevic, playing as a lone defensive midfielder, wasn't strong enough to make crucial tackles and interceptions during counterattacks. If a single defensive midfielder wasn't enough, then play with two. Or have Modric drop deeper and play as a deep-lying playmaker. Currently, Dinamo Zagreb's midfield positioning formed a "V" shape. Besic planned to flip that V—forming one central midfielder and two holding midfielders. This would both strengthen the defensive coverage and push the playmaker deeper. After all, Modric wasn't the one responsible for organizing the attack—that was Suk's job. This setup was also inspired by Modric's time playing in Bosnia with Zrinjski Mostar, where coach Van Stuyak had influenced him. The idea was to lift the heavy burden off Modric's shoulders and let him focus purely on midfield organization, tempo, and transitions. With that in mind, Besic called the three over. "Next week, we're making some positional changes. Luka and Vukojevic will play as double pivots, and Dujmovic will move up as the central midfielder." Dujmovic immediately lit up. Compared to defending, he preferred attacking. But Besic's next sentence quickly deflated him. "You'll need to cover a lot of ground up front, especially tracking back and pressing. Your job is to support Suker! And also, practice your long shots more!" Dujmovic was instantly discouraged. Supporting Suker sounded nice, but it was basically being Suker's bodyguard. Clearly, Besic wanted to solidify the structure between the front and back playmakers. Even though being a bodyguard wasn't exactly fun, Dujmovic didn't mind doing it for Suker. At the moment, Suker was clearly the best-performing player on the team. Aside from reputation, the two Sukers were the team's key players. Davor Suker's finishing ability, and Suker's explosive wing play, consistently delivered ammunition for the attack. Besic's current strategy was to first address positional rationality, and then slowly work on building chemistry across the back, midfield, and front lines. After all, they were a newly formed team—they couldn't expect instant results. August 2 – Croatian League, Round 3 Dinamo Zagreb hosted their third league match at home. Their opponent: Istra 1961. Istra 1961 was notoriously known in the Croatian League as a "toxic" team. Nicknamed the "Turtle Shell" and "Yellow Card Factory," they once set a record of eight yellow cards in a single match—without a single red, thanks to spreading the fouls across players. Istra 1961 loved to park the bus. Home or away, they deployed a deep defensive block in front of their penalty area, relying on lightning-fast winger Mlinar and tall striker Sovech for counterattacks. They had plenty of experience with parking the bus, and despite playing away, they made Dinamo Zagreb extremely passive. "...We're now in the 70th minute, and the score remains 0-0. Istra 1961 still has that bus parked in front of goal, not giving Dinamo Zagreb any real shooting opportunities!" Suker looked at the dense crowd in the penalty box and felt a headache coming on. All he could do was pass the ball to Modric. "Is this really football?" Suker grumbled. Regardless of opinions, Istra 1961 had successfully withstood the pressure. Dinamo Zagreb's attacks were repeatedly stopped. Even a striker as talented as Davor Suker was neutralized by sheer numbers, unable to receive the ball. So far, Dinamo Zagreb had 12 shots, eight of which were from long range! That showed how little space they were getting. The home crowd watched anxiously. They had no answer for the turtle shell defense. As time ticked away, Suker went on a frantic dribbling run into the box during injury time but was repeatedly fouled. Luck wasn't on Dinamo's side either—none of their set-pieces resulted in goals. At the end of 90 minutes, they had to accept a frustrating home draw. Final Score: Dinamo Zagreb 0:0 Istra 1961 Post-match Press Conference Coach Besic maintained a calm expression and told reporters: "It's disappointing we didn't win, but this match also showed us the direction we need to take. Professional football is like this—you can't win every time. We're a newly restructured team and need more time to build chemistry. Despite the draw, I believe we'll play better in the future." "I have no complaints about the players—they gave it their all. Even though we didn't score, they kept pushing until the very last minute." "There are still some tactical issues that need to be worked out, and we'll address those gradually." After briefly addressing the media, Besic returned to the locker room. The players were visibly frustrated after the draw. They had been suffocated by that ultra-defensive setup, and lacked the tools to break it down. Back in the dorms, Suker and the others gathered once more. "We're not playing as a unit." "There's not enough effective coordination." "Our luck was awful too—not one set-piece goal!" Srna and Dujmovic were clearly dejected. Modric said, "We didn't create a numerical advantage." Suker, holding a cup of water, nodded. "We were too spread out. If we pushed more players forward, we could've surrounded the box and bombarded them!" "Easier said than done," Srna sighed. Suker and Modric also let out a long breath. Team coordination doesn't happen overnight. It requires countless passes and time to build. This was still a newly assembled team—expecting instant chemistry was unrealistic. Just then, Mandzukic spoke up. "Actually, I have a dumb idea." Everyone turned to him instinctively. Mandzukic said, "I watched the whole game from the sidelines. Most of the time, you were all standing still!" Suker blinked. "Standing still?" Mandzukic nodded. "Yeah. Back in Germany's youth training system, I remember one of the coaches saying: football is essentially a game of movement. The most fundamental element is running. So, if you don't know what to do—just run. Keep moving, keep switching positions. That's when new things start to happen." Modric stroked his chin. "Use running to compensate for our lack of chemistry..." Suker looked at Modric, who returned the gaze. "Wanna try it?" Suker nodded. "Makes sense to me." Dujmovic clenched his jaw. "Run! Run till we drop!" Srna: "I'll overlap more!" Modric: "I'll increase my running distance too!" Suker raised a finger: "Starting tomorrow, in any match—no less than 8 kilometers of running per player! Run them to death!" The young players were fired up. They couldn't come up with a brilliant solution, and they were tired of being suppressed—so they'd try the brute-force method. Just run! Move their feet! The Next Day – Dinamo Zagreb Training Ground Davor Suker was sweating heavily when suddenly, Suker, Srna, and Modric appeared by his side. Srna wasn't a surprise. But Suker and Modric? They were supposed to be forwards—what were they doing in defense? Together, the three surrounded and stole the ball. Modric passed it to Suker—the fastest of the bunch when it came to driving the ball forward. "Guys! Time to charge!!" Suker roared. With that, Suker, Modric, Srna, Dujmovic, Mandzukic, and Pranjic all sprinted forward. One by one, they gritted their teeth and surged ahead! Their blue training kits flapped wildly in the wind. The players moved in a wave, like a giant blue tide crashing forward—a sudden storm rising from flat ground. "Holy sh*t—" Even seasoned veteran Stimac couldn't help cursing at the sight. The sudden numerical advantage overwhelmed the defense. Just two passes later, Suk blasted a left-footed shot into the net. The white net rippled—young players roared in celebration. Watching their spirited figures, Besic shook his head in awe and muttered: "I realize now—I was wrong." "What?" asked assistant coach Kleiman. "Van stuyak was right! I shouldn't have limited Suker!" Besic smiled. "I gave them structure, but also shackles. I kept saying I wanted them to grow wild and free, but I was still putting chains on them." "Look!" Besic's eyes lit up. "This is what youth should look like!"