Chapter 59: The Decoy

Sarajevo, Grbavica Stadium. This is the home ground of FK Željezničar Sarajevo, a club founded and still supported predominantly by railway workers. True to their name, the club enjoys a solid fanbase drawn mainly from the working class. The stadium has over 30,000 seats, and today nearly 10,000 fans have turned up to watch the match. Amidst the passionate cheers of the fans, FK Željezničar Sarajevo and HŠK Zrinjski Mostar are locked in a stalemate. Thirty minutes into the game, the score remains 0-0. Željezničar Sarajevo is playing defensively, focusing on counterattacks. Zrinjski Mostar has enjoyed more possession and is pressing harder in attack. However, the match has proven to be particularly tough for Suker. "Suker is down again. Since the start of the game, he's been subjected to a series of fouls. Željezničar Sarajevo is heavily marking this key playmaker of Zrinjski. Especially Vrhohvac—he's been constantly disrupting Suker's play." Suker picks himself up from the ground and spits out bits of grass. He turns angrily toward Vrhohvac. That guy again. Vrhohvac has been a huge nuisance. As a central defender, he's both agile and fast. Each time Suker tries to make a quick turn or run, Vrhohvac is there to break it up. More than once, Suker thought he had lost his marker, only to be chased down and knocked over by Vrhohvac. Unlike tall, bulky defender like Poschenoch, Vrhohvac is quick and nimble—just enough to stay with Suker and disrupt him. And for a defender, that's all that's needed. Suker's game relies on explosiveness and speed—pulling away quickly to break the defensive line. But he's aware: if he doesn't shake off his defender quickly, they'll use their physicality to bring him down. His physical weakness is his biggest shortcoming. Fame invites trouble. Right now, Suker is painfully aware of this truth. Previously, no one paid much attention to him. He was an unknown, unscouted player, and his movements often caught opponents off guard. But ever since that game against Sarajevo, he's become famous. Now, he and Modrić are being called the "Mostar Twins Stars," and with that fame comes increased scrutiny. Before, teams would prioritize marking Kosović or Modrić. Now, Suker is at the top of that list—likely even circled in red ink on the scouting reports. "Nice work!" Seeing Suker go down again, Poschenoch smirks. In earlier matches, he'd been repeatedly burned by Suker's high-speed runs. But now, with Vrhohvac back in the lineup, there's finally someone who can match Suker's pace and handle him physically—making him far less dangerous. And it's not just that. Every time Suker gets up, there's someone stuck to him. A young midfielder from Željezničar Sarajevo, whose specific skills Suker doesn't know—but his discipline is clearly top-notch. Why? Because this guy has been glued to Sukoer for 30 minutes straight, disrupting every touch and limiting every move. If Suker does get past him, Vrhohvac is right there to clean up. Under this layered marking, Suker has struggled to perform. "Suker's got a shadow!" Assistant coach Vandel frowned. Many young players hit what's called the "rookie wall" after a strong first season—when their second season is far less successful. The main reason? They've been studied and countered. Right now, Suker is experiencing that firsthand. And the rookie wall hit him hard and fast. Why? Because Suker's strengths and weaknesses are extreme and easily polarized. With the first half drawing to a close, Van Stoyak glanced at his watch. "We'll discuss it in the locker room." Tweet! The whistle blows. Halftime. Still 0-0. Zrinjski Mostar has been the more attacking side, but they've had few threatening shots. On the other hand, Željezničar Sarajevo has caused some real trouble with their limited counterattacks. Inside Zrinjski's locker room... "I'm being shadowed!" Suker complained, clearly frustrated. Everyone nodded—they'd all seen it. He'd been fouled countless times. Željezničar even picked up a yellow card, but they still succeeded in neutralizing him. "We need to figure out how to free up Suker!" Kosović said seriously. Their attacking play had suffered largely because one of their main creators—Suker—was tied up. Without his organization up front, their offense was stagnating. "Someone needs to make forward runs to draw defenders away from him." "I can push up occasionally." "Luka can't—he needs to control the tempo." "What about the fullbacks pushing up like before?" Everyone pitched ideas, trying to solve the Suker dilemma. But at the heart of the problem: freeing Suker. "No need to free Suker!" At that moment, head coach Van Stoyak interrupted. "If they want to focus on Suker, let them. The more attention they put on him, the more space everyone else will have." He paused, then added, "Suker, in the second half, do your best to attract Vrhohvac's attention. You don't need to touch the ball—just pull their center back and that marking midfielder away." "Fullbacks will push up. Modrić too, when appropriate. Boban will handle ball progression from the back. And you and Modrić can do more crisscrossing runs." Everyone immediately understood. They were going to use Suker as a decoy—to drag defenders out of position and create space for others. A thankless job, to be sure. They looked at Suker. He puffed up his cheeks, clearly displeased. But he had no choice. This was the coach's tactic—and their best shot at winning. Suker had to play the decoy, making runs to pull defenders out of position. "It's all on you in the second half!" "Kerpić, if Kosović has no passing lanes, try going for the far post. I'll have less pressure there." "Modric, be ready to follow up. And try to take long shots too!" After the tactical adjustments, everyone except Suker was excited. After all, they were getting more attacking opportunities. Suker could only accept his fate—sacrifice himself so others could shine. Second half. The teams switched sides. After the tense first half, both teams were looking for breakthroughs. Zrinjski Mostar now had a clearer attacking strategy. For Željezničar Sarajevo, their goal remained: shut down Suker. "Stick with him!" "He's going left!" "Follow him!" "I've got him!" "He's not getting away!" Suker kept running side to side across the opposing half. Inside, he was seething—but his only outlet was more and more lateral running to pull the defense out of shape. Željezničar thought their marking was working—thinking he was just running in vain. But they didn't realize: Suker's horizontal movements were clearing paths, and Modrić's eyes were starting to gleam. Now! With a sharp touch, Modrić broke free of his marker and surged forward with long strides. At the same time, Suker suddenly stopped. "Watch out—Modrić's going to pass!" Željezničar's No. 14, the young midfielder, immediately pressed in on Suker. He was ready to knock him down or at least disrupt him the moment Modrić passed. But Modrić didn't pass. He kept advancing. Suker darted left. The young midfielder instinctively followed. That one move opened a gaping hole in the center. "Danger!" Vrhohvac yelled, stepping forward to close it. Meanwhile, Suker and Kosović sprinted toward the center, dragging more defenders with them. Suddenly, the left side became a 3-on-2 scenario. For Zrinjski: Kosopeć, Suko, and Biliar. For Željezničar: only center-back Poschenoch and one fullback. "Left side! We're outnumbered!" Poschenoch shouted, but the defenders' attention was focused right. Kerpić surged up the left flank and crossed near the end line. Kosović moved first. Poschenoch followed. Suker was next to the fullback. With defenders collapsing in, Biliar cut inside. The fullback panicked, leaving Suker to follow Biliar. The cross came in—fast and high—past Kosović and Biliar. Right to the far post. Suker saw it and jumped lightly, arching back and locking his neck. At the moment of contact, he snapped his head forward. Suker's header! Excited, he turned to watch the ball. Then—two hands appeared out of nowhere. The goalkeeper punched it away. But danger wasn't over. The ball landed perfectly at Biliar's feet. Biliar sprinted and got there first—poking the ball past the keeper. Swish!! Goal. Minute 64: Zrinjski Mostar takes the lead.