Chapter 88: The Rondo Game

June 1st, Training Camp Day. Davor Šuker got up especially early and headed to the training base at 7 a.m. Joining him were fellow Croatian national team veterans Jarni and Štimac. "Good morning!" "Good morning!" The three greeted each other. As former national teammates, they shared a strong bond. "It's rare to see you up so early," Jarni teased. "Are you planning to give those youngsters a wake-up call?" Davor shrugged. "I want them to see how hard us old guys are working. If we're grinding, what excuse do they have to slack off?" Štimac chuckled, "A little pressure will help them improve." The three chatted and laughed as they walked from the parking lot to the field. Along the way, more veterans joined them. Soon, there were seven of them—including Davor Šuker, Jarni, and Štimac—most of whom were retained from the previous generation of Dinamo Zagreb players by Bešić. As captain, Davor Šuker intended to assert his authority on day one. His plan was simple. Get up early and show the young players that they needed to outwork the veterans. He also wanted to plant a sense of awe and respect in their minds. But things didn't go quite as he expected. When the group of seven arrived at the training field, they found many players already warming up. Šuker, Modrić, Mandžukić, Vukojević, Pranjić, Srna, and Dujmović—all the newly joined youngsters—were already present. Some had even finished their warm-ups and started basic ball-control drills. Under the morning sun, with the field bustling, Davor Šuker fell silent. Jarni asked, "Is it just our generation that was too relaxed?" Štimac looked at Davor and asked, "Still planning on lecturing them?" Davor Šuker was speechless. Lecture what? These kids were way too eager! The word "grind" didn't exist yet in this context, but ever since Šuker started arriving before dawn, the young players felt challenged. Initially, it was just Šuker and Modrić. Within three days, all the newcomers started showing up early too. This made the mornings at Dinamo Zagreb's training base much livelier. "Good morning, Captain!" "Morning!" "Captain, good morning!" Each young player greeted Davor Šuker enthusiastically. With a forced smile and a bitter heart, He walked onto the field. The others followed behind, barely hiding their amusement. Clearly, they were enjoying seeing His's plan backfire. Frustrated at not being able to impose his authority, He quickly proposed, "Hey! How about a little game?" All the youngsters, including Šuker, turned to look. He pointed to the center circle on the pitch. "Let's do a rondo. Two players go in the middle and try to win the ball. If they succeed, they switch out. Passers can move freely inside the circle, but the ball has to stay within. Easy, right?" Davor Šuker stepped on the ball and smiled. "Who's up first?" Mandžukić and Vukojević jumped in eagerly. They couldn't wait to get started. But their lack of coordination showed immediately. Their pressing was chaotic, while the others—Davor Šuker and company—moved and passed with precision. Waiting for their turn, Šuker and Modrić watched intently. "The tempo is fast," Modrić said seriously. Inside the circle, it was almost all one-touch passing. Šuker and the others were reading passing lanes expertly and executing quickly. Mandžukić and Vukojević couldn't keep up, spinning in circles, getting dizzy from chasing the ball. Šuker observed their passing style, raising an eyebrow as if he noticed something. Eventually, after giving it their all, Mandžukić and Vukojević finally touched the ball. Time for a new pair. The two moved outside to become passers. But they couldn't keep up with the tempo of the passing. After two decent passes, they lost rhythm and were quickly dispossessed. "Why can't we pass it out?" Mandžukić exclaimed, sitting on the ground gasping for air. Vukojević, drenched in sweat, bent over, catching his breath. They were exhausted. Meanwhile, Šuker and the veterans, though sweaty, were still in much better shape. (imma just call him Davor now too confusing) Davor had a playful smile on his lips. "Next!" Srna and Pranjić looked at each other and stepped up. Both being fullbacks with defensive experience, they performed better during the pressing phase. But once they switched to passing, they faced the same problem. After just two touches, they lost sync with the group and were dispossessed. "Too slow to react!" "It's more about the delay in passing. There was space, but we just couldn't get the pass off," they said, disappointed. At this point, Modrić exclaimed, "I get it now." Šuker nodded. "It's not just about the passing speed." Modrić said, "It's about the timing of when you look up." "Let's go?" "Let's go!" Šuker and Modrić stepped forward. "We're the newbies. Can you guys ease up on us a bit at the start?" Šuker asked with a grin. Davor and the veterans exchanged glances and shrugged. "No problem." Immediately, Šuker and Modrić entered the circle. "These old guys are waiting to laugh at us," Šuker whispered. Modrić: "Let's show them what we've got." "Let's do it!" Šuker said firmly. The rondo resumed. Šuker and Modrić moved quickly. They had played on the same team before and shared experience with high pressing, so their coordination was seamless. They cut off passing lanes, then pressed forward together. Gradually, they squeezed the passing space tighter and tighter. "Oh," Jarni muttered, seeing the pressure coming. He tried to pull the ball back and chip it over. But Šuker surged forward, and Modrić retreated a step, jumping up and intercepting the ball. "Got it! Your turn to press!" Šuker shouted. Even the veterans were surprised. Previous attempts saw youngsters fail to intercept even after 10–20 passes. Šuker and Modrić took the ball in just seven passes—while pressing with perfect coordination. "These two kids are something else," Jarni whispered. Davor nodded. "But now comes the real test." Jarni and Štimac stepped in to press. Šuker, now outside the circle, stood on the ball and shouted, "Starting!" He passed to Davor, Who played it across and looked to return. Šuker was already moving into a new space, scanning both flanks, then with a backheel flick, he passed to Modrić and continued into another pocket of space. Modrić then shifted the ball out of a tight spot effortlessly. Davor looked on, surprised. "These two kids..." Bang bang bang bang! The ball zipped around the group. Šuker and Modrić blended in like seasoned veterans. Their tempo matched perfectly. There was no hesitation, no awkward pauses—just smooth, natural movement. Soon, Šuker was cornered. Jarni lunged. Šuker dragged the ball sideways—right through Jarni's legs! He sidestepped, passed with the tip of his foot to Modrić. "Nutmeg! One more round for you!" Everyone laughed. Davor grinned and shouted, "You two don't need to be in the rondo anymore—go train by yourselves!" Modrić protested, "We're just getting started!" "Go, go!" Davor said, half-annoyed, playfully kicking them in the rear. Mandžukić and the others were puzzled. Why couldn't they do what those two did? The rondo continued without Modrić and Šuker, until eventually, the exhausted group collapsed. Davor called the two back in. "Tell them—what went wrong!" Modrić answered bluntly, "It's the timing of scanning." Šuker nodded and explained further, "This drill tests whether you observe at the right moment—before receiving the ball." "For example, you guys usually stop the ball, then look up, then think, then pass. But by the time you observe, your marker is already on top of you—so your pass is delayed!" "The correct order is: look up—observe—then receive and/or pass. Early observation is the key. That's what this rondo is about." Davor nodded approvingly. "Observation is critical in football. Knowing when to look up is even more important." "In high-level leagues, everything is faster. If you're looking up after receiving, the opponent is already right in front of you. So pre-observation matters!" "It's about how much useful information you gather before you touch the ball." "When I played at Arsenal, Wenger required Bergkamp to scan 15–20 times before receiving the ball." The group was stunned. That many times? Modrić looked serious—but also fired up. "Good habits are essential. That's today's key takeaway. If you didn't win the ball, go run ten laps!" Mandžukić and the others groaned but got up and started running. Modrić and Šuker stayed behind—but not for long. Davor walked over and kicked them both. "You two—go run too!" "But we won the ball!" "We got it!" "Don't care—everyone runs ten laps!" Davorlaughed. And so, under the rising sun, Dinamo Zagreb's first day of training camp began—with a rondo.