Chapter 73: The Temu Version of Messi's Dribbling

Jategenich was suddenly intrigued. If his initial mood had been like a calm, undisturbed lake, then the moment that rainbow flick appeared, it was like a super bomb had been thrown into his heart! As a scout, Jategenich's job was to observe young players and read their abilities and talent through their matches. Over the years, he had seen some prodigies—but far more players with average potential. That's why, when a true diamond in the rough appears, the excitement that wells up is something few can truly understand. Jategenich closed his notebook. This thing was useless now! When it comes to evaluating a true genius, dry data simply doesn't cut it—what matters is instinct. With newfound enthusiasm, Jategenich focused on the game again, seeing Suke dropping deeper once more. "Is he organizing the attack?" Jategenich was eager to see Suker get more touches on the ball. But Suker didn't receive the pass right away. Instead, as the ball shifted to the other side, he advanced into open space just behind the opponent's defensive midfielder. From this position, Suker couldn't directly receive the pass. But Modric would solve that problem for him. When the ball returned to Modric, Suker sharply dropped back to receive it, dragging Meskapecic with him. Modric passed the ball to Suker and immediately made a forward run. Suker tried to turn, but Meskapecic blocked him tightly—there was no room to pass or thread the ball forward. Left with no choice, Suker dropped even deeper and executed a switch run with Modric, returning the ball to the center-back and making a run toward the flank. Modric also dropped back to reorganize the play. Sarajevo's defensive formation was tight, with man-marking that resembled a high press—but it wasn't quite complete or intense enough. At that moment, Modric was suddenly surrounded. Originally, it was just Tilemancic pressing, but Mazic and Torrist quickly joined in. Seeing Modric struggling, Suker immediately dropped back. "Send it over!" Modric heard Suker's voice—he didn't even have time to look up and just lobbed the ball over the top. It was a bit short, but Suker used his explosive burst to get there first. Before the ball could land, he flicked it toward himself, feinted a break to the front, tricking Tilemancic into shifting his weight left, then swiftly cut the ball back with his agile body and dodged Tilemancic completely. After escaping, Suker calmly passed the ball to a safe area. "Brilliant!" Jategenich clapped from the stands. Modric's pass wasn't great, but Suker got there first thanks to his burst of speed and coolly handled the situation, successfully defusing a dangerous moment. If Sarajevo had won the ball there, with Mazic and Torrist's ability, it could easily have turned into a goal. Both Suker and Modric were shaken. They needed to be more careful in possession. But this moment served as a wake-up call: Sarajevo was pressing more up front now. A high press? Suker frowned. It seemed like a half-baked attempt. Their pressure wasn't cohesive, and the distance between the midfield and defense was too wide—clearly, the team wasn't functioning as a unit. Using an undeveloped tactic? They're asking for it, Suker thought. Then, his eyes locked onto the gap between their midfield and defense. That was the place to cause chaos. Once Suker found his target, he didn't bother probing any further. He moved into the gap and called for the ball. Modric immediately passed it to him. Suke rreceived and quickly spread the ball wide to overlapping fullback Kelpich. "Take it to the byline!" Suker shouted, and Kelpich sprinted forward with the ball. Kelpich was fast, but the opposing fullback stayed close. This young fullback was clearly chosen to counter Suker and Kelpich's overlaps. As Kelpich neared the byline, his direct passing lane was cut off. Luckily, Suker was there near the corner of the penalty area to support. When the ball came to Suker, he took it, spun around, and began dribbling laterally across the top of the box. As he moved sideways, Kosovic also made a forward run. The defenders tracked back, but didn't stick out a foot. "Come on, stick a leg out! If you don't, I'll just go right through!" Suker screamed internally. But these guys were too patient. Meskapecic finally stepped in to intercept. Suker pulled off an step over into a Body feint (a classic dribbling trick) and got past him—just as he was about to go by, Meskapecic tugged at the back of his collar. Suker staggered back slightly but then surged forward. He stayed on his feet! "Suker doesn't go down!" Still dribbling along the box, approaching the goal, and no one dared challenge him. You're not stopping me? Then I'm shooting! Suker raised his right leg, leaned back, chest down, hips forward, and whipped the ball. The ball curled with fierce spin, bypassing the defense and heading for the top-right corner of the net. "Suker shoots!! This one—!!!" Commentator Basodachi stood up immediately. Scout Jategenich's eyes lit up. That lateral dribble followed by a curling shot—beautiful! Clang!! Just missed. The ball hit the post and bounced into the box. Chaos erupted. Sarajevo's captain Ivan Kric cleared it frantically. "Don't let him shoot!" Goalkeeper Ivanic shouted, still shaken. "Close him down! Don't let him dribble across the box like that!" Sarajevo's defenders broke out in cold sweat. That shot was deadly. The angle was sharp—just lacked a bit of luck. Suker was frustrated too. But the impact was there. After that move, would Sarajevo still dare let him dribble like that again? Of course not. "Shut this guy down!" Ivan Kric was rattled. Suker had caused them a huge problem with that run. "He's too agile—we can't pin him down!" Meskapecic was exasperated. He had already tried pulling Suker down, but the guy just powered through it. The guy's core strength had clearly improved. Meskapecic was getting worried. "Just don't let him shoot. We'll push up, you drop and press him—whatever you do, don't let him keep dribbling like this." Easier said than done. When Suker got the ball near the box again, all of Sarajevo tensed up. Suker kicked into gear—once again dribbling laterally across the box. "Meskapecic!" Ivan Kric yelled. The two converged from both sides. Seeing the pincer move, Suker kept his head down and accelerated, bursting right past them. They failed to contain him, and the defense was pulled right. Biliar received Suker's pass and sent a long ball to the back post. Kelpich surged forward, leapt up, and headed it back to Modric. Modric met it with a thunderous volley! Bang! Ivanic reacted quickly and saved the shot. After that play, Sarajevo's defenders exchanged anxious glances. Why can't they stop him? "His footwork's too fast!" In the stands, Jategenich watched without blinking. He had seen Suker's dribbling clearly now. Suker's dribbling was all about step frequency and stride length—his rapid footwork allowed him to change direction multiple times in a short span. Unlike others who rely on long strides, Suker could make frequent touches with tight control. The only flaw was some stiffness in his movements—likely due to less refined ball control. At high speed, he lacked sharp stop-and-go changes, needing to slow down to maintain rhythm. Still, Suker's natural pace was enough to devastate defenses in the Bosnian Premier League. Suker looked at the shot that had just been saved, feeling a bit of regret. But inside, he was thrilled. This "Temu Messi Dribbling" actually worked surprisingly well. The "Andre's Jet Legs" card boosted his foot speed. When he got it, Suke wondered if he could mimic Messi's dribbling. Of course, that was overly optimistic. At low speed, he could control step frequency and stride to make his dribbling dangerous—but he couldn't copy Messi's seamless high-speed control. So, this really was a downgrade version. Even so, the effect it had was incredible. This kind of dribbling is a nightmare for defenders: Slide tackle? Foul! Pull him? Foul again! Stick a leg out? Get beat. Don't stick a leg out? Get toyed with! No wonder the Sarajevo defenders were tearing their hair out.