Chapter 55: The Mostar Twin Stars

"Suke is charging down the flank, pressing Sarajevo's defense, Jorjich steps in! Beaten!!" "Suke again! He's been incredibly active in the second half, still pushing down the wing. We rarely see Jorjich this helpless." "Zrinjski Mostar is now focusing their attack on the left side. Suke has become their primary weapon against Sarajevo's defense." Suke! It's Suke again!" Since the second half began, Suke has repeatedly launched attacks down the wing against Sarajevo's defense. After using a stamina recovery card, Suke was back at full strength, and in that state, he became incredibly active. Compared to Suke, Jorjich was in a terrible situation. Already exhausted, he now had to endure Suke's relentless sprints. By Suke's third attack, Jorjich was already retching from fatigue. "Ugh!!" "UGHHH!!!" Suke dashed in front while Jorjiach trailed behind. At this point, Jorjich's face was pale, his lips bluish, dry heaving continuously. Despite chasing from behind, he clearly had no fighting spirit left. Suke reached the byline and crossed into the penalty area, but the delivery was poor and was intercepted by defender Ivan Kric. "Suke is a huge threat. Sarajevo's full-back Jorjich is facing a serious challenge." The camera zoomed in on Jorjich, who rushed to the advertising boards, squatted down, and started vomiting uncontrollably. "Did Jorjich... puke from running?" Professional players do sometimes throw up from physical exhaustion, but it's rare to see it during a match. This time, Jorjich clearly couldn't continue. The referee looked at him in shock, then turned to Suke, his eyes full of disbelief. He had refereed in the Bosnian league for years but had never seen a player like Suke. This guy could run. Not only that—he could dribble, too. He completely overwhelmed the full-back to the point of causing a physical breakdown. That was truly impressive. The Sarajevo bench urgently signaled for a substitution, and only then did the referee stop the match. Suke, being closest, walked over and patted Jorjich's back. "Ate too much, huh? Can't eat too much before a game." Jorjich vomited sour fluid, tears and snot all over his face. Thanks a lot! As other players came over, Suke pointed at Jorjich and said, "He ate too much." Sarajevo captain Ivan Kric looked at Suke strangely. It wasn't surprising Jorjich puked. Anyone facing Suke's intense wing runs would end up the same. And it was the second half! Did this guy never get tired? Not just Kric—even Zrinjski Mostar's bench was silent. Coach Van stoyak stared at the puking Jorjiach and suddenly said, "Fitness coach Hatbac once did a physical test. Kosovic got a B+, Boban and Krpic scored an A, Modric was an A+. Do you know what Suke score is?" Assistant coach Vandir asked, "What?" "A mule!" "..." Suke helped lift Jorjiach up and even covered the vomit with paper, waiting for someone to clean it. Only after doing all that did he return to the pitch. By now, everyone looked at him differently. But Suke didn't care. Sarajevo was forced to make substitutions, swapping out both full-backs due to their extreme fatigue. Not only Jorjiach—Bakrov on the other side was struggling too, though less dramatically. Zrinjski Mostar also made a change. Kosovic came off, Boame came on. Boame ran straight to Suke. "Coach wants you to play center forward." Suke nodded and immediately shifted to the middle. Ivan Kric watched Suke move beside him, his face now extremely serious—more than ever before. He was already fatigued and unsure if he could keep up with this perpetual-motion machine. In truth, Suke was also a bit tired, but still in much better shape than the rest. The chaos over, the match resumed. Now playing as center forward, Suke remained the most active player on the field. Making runs, dropping deep, organizing, distributing—Suke showed a completely different style than Kosovic. Which greatly increased the pressure on Kric. Kosovic used brute strength and height—no thinking required. But Suke was different. Once he had the ball, his head moved like a sprinkler—constantly scanning the field. When pressured, he'd instantly pass. If you pushed up too far, his speed became a nightmare. Multiple styles, multiple options—while defenders were fatigued and their minds dulled, facing Suk became even more difficult. When Suke dropped back to receive again, Kric followed closely. Just as Suke got the ball, Kric charged forward to apply pressure. At that moment, Suke stepped over the ball to the right, letting it go past while poking it left with his toe, trying to outrun Kric around the outside. "You're not getting past me!" Krkic turned and sprinted, pushing into Suke to deny him space. But Suke still gained a slight lead thanks to his speed. Seeing Suke about to break free, Krkic lost his head and gave him a shove from behind. Suke cried out and fell to the ground. "Come on, kid! Try getting past me again!" Krkic shouted angrily at the fallen Suke. But Suk rolled over, covering his face. Through Suke's fingers, Krkic saw the faintest smirk. What's he smiling about? Suddenly, it hit Krkic! He looked around—his face turned pale. They were in the penalty area. He had just shoved Suk from behind inside the box. BEEP!! The piercing whistle made Krkic flinch. The referee ran into the box and pointed to the penalty spot. Minute 79: Suk had drawn a penalty. "Ivan Krkic! A reckless shove from behind results in a penalty for Zrinjski Mostar! And Krkic is booked as well!" "This is a devastating blow to Sarajevo, who were already in a tough spot!" Suke picked up the ball and handed it to Modric. "Here, your first hat trick." Modric looked down at the ball and shook his head. "No. This is your first league goal." "You're giving it to me?" Suke asked, surprised. Modric nodded. "Go. You've got this." Modric gave him a firm push into the box. Dazed, Suke found himself at the spot. The crowd fell silent. Suke could see the nervous faces of Sarajevo fans. In front of him, goalkeeper Ivancic waved his arms wildly, trying to intimidate him. Behind, the players on the edge of the box breathed heavily. Suke took a deep breath. He knew this could kill the game. He pulled up his player interface. Only five cards left. He had already used one [Stamina Recovery Card]. Now, he slotted in another [Stamina Recovery Card] and replaced [Boscevic's Interception] with [Vukocic's Shooting]. He wanted to ensure his first league goal. Suke avoided looking at the goal too long, fearing Ivancic would read his mind. At the whistle, Suke ran up. "Suke approaches—this shot—" Commentator Basodachi drew out his words. The fans' hearts pounded in suspense. Suke pushed the ball low, into the left corner. The keeper dove right. "Bottom left corner—GOAL!! Suke sends the keeper the wrong way. Zrinjski Mostar extends their lead!" "They're now up 3-1 away from home. This might be the killer blow to Sarajevo!" "Zrinjski Mostar has put on a brilliant performance, especially Modric and Suke! These two stars from Mostar!" "Modric with a brace, Suke with two assists and a goal! They've secured the victory!" "They'll leave Sarajevo with three points!" "These twin stars from Mostar have dimmed Sarajevo's skies, overshadowing even Suker Mazic himself!" The 300 away fans erupted in wild celebration. They were the only victors in the capital's Vojvotović Stadium. Meanwhile, Sarajevo fans held their heads in disbelief. Down 3-1. Was there any hope left? Van stoyak wouldn't give them any. In the final ten minutes, he subbed in two fresh defenders, and Zrinjski Mostar went full defense. Fueled by victory and revenge, they fought bravely, morale high. Goalkeeper Kisch made several crucial saves against Sarajevo's long-range efforts. Suker Mazic kept attacking, but with fired-up defenders like Masovic and Hacic, and his own shaken confidence, he lost his edge—his calm gone, shots misjudged. As the sun set, the final whistle blew over Vojvotović Stadium. BEEP BEEP BEEP!! The 14th round of the 2002/03 Bosnian Premier League concluded. Sarajevo 1:3 Zrinjski Mostar—defeated at home in this key match. They also lost their top spot in the standings! But most importantly, this was the night Suke and Modric—the twin stars of Mostar—rose to fame! They became the brightest stars over Sarajevo that night!