2003 was a special year.
Too many stories were brewing that year.
In Portugal, Sporting Lisbon, a player named Cristiano Ronaldo transferred to Manchester United for £12.24 million, officially settling into Old Trafford Stadium.
Porto won the Portuguese league title, and the 'Special One,' Mourinho, displayed his fangs for the first time, pushing his ambition across Europe.
In Spain, Catalonia, a genius player named Lionel Messi joined Barcelona's first team, beginning his professional career.
A talented midfielder from La Masia, Cesc Fàbregas, arrived at Arsenal at the age of 16.
For Atlético Madrid, 'El Niño' Fernando Torres scored 13 goals in a single season, helping Atlético Madrid return to La Liga.
Brazilian talent Kaká joined AC Milan for 8.5 million euros, landing on the Apennine Peninsula and beginning his Rossoneri journey.
Also in this year, Šuker and Modrić embarked on their journey to Zagreb.
"You're all leaving!"
Inside the dormitory of Zrinjski Mostar, Štelko watched Šuker and Modrić pack their luggage, preparing to leave.
His heart was filled with loss, frustration, and a hint of secret joy.
He felt a sense of loss as the distance between his two good friends and him grew larger.
At the same time, he was secretly delighted that their departure would reduce a lot of pressure on him in the first team.
Štelko was already starting to transition towards a winger, and Šuker's departure would inevitably free up a position for him.
Of course, his competitive environment was still very fierce.
"Good luck! Let's meet in the top five leagues!"
Šuker smiled and picked up his backpack.
Modrić also pushed his suitcase to follow.
The two had almost no nostalgia, as they were now more looking forward to playing in Zagreb compared to Mostar.
The three walked out of the dormitory together, where a car was already waiting.
It was still that burgundy Santana, with Van Steiak personally sending them off.
Kosor Peći and others also came to the dormitory entrance to see them off.
"The intensity of the Croatian league is much higher than here. You might not be used to it at first, but I believe you can put on an excellent performance."
Kosor Peći patted Šuker's shoulder, then patted Modrić's shoulder and said, "You're from Dinamo Zagreb, so take care of Šuker there. This guy is too playful and easily gets into trouble."
Modrić immediately nodded and said, "I'll keep an eye on Šuker."
"Hey! Hey!" Šuker protested, "Shouldn't I be the one taking care of him?"
Kosor Peći turned his head and said unceremoniously, "Take good care of yourself first!"
For Kosor Peći, Šuker would always be the kind of child-like character, although likable, he was also prone to causing problems.
Therefore, he entrusted the relatively calm Modrić to take care of him.
"Alright, that's it!"
After Kosor Peći finished speaking, Mašović and others also bid farewell.
"Goodbye! Šuker!"
"Goodbye! Modrić!"
"I'll be watching your games!"
"Good luck!"
Encouraged by his teammates, Šuker and Modrić got into Van Steiak's car, and the three left together.
After arriving at the train station, Van Steiak looked at the two and said, "I believe that with your talent, you will be able to perform well when you go to Dinamo Zagreb. I'll leave you here. I'm honored to have coached you."
Van Steiak hugged Šuker and Modrić respectively before turning around and driving away.
The two watched Van Steiak leave before walking into the train station.
"Aren't you going to say goodbye to Oripe and the others?"
"I already said goodbye!" Šuker waved his hand.
Modrić nodded.
"Then let's go to the station!"
Still the same route, the two were familiar with it.
First, they took a train to Sarajevo, then transferred to Zagreb.
The two were drowsy all the way, after all, the season had just ended, and their bodies were still quite tired.
Woo ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~!
The deep sound of the train whistle woke them up.
Šuker rubbed his eyes and found that the surrounding passengers were starting to get off the train one after another, seeing that the station sign had arrived in Zagreb.
"Don't sleep! We're here! We're here!"
Šuker shook Modrić awake.
Modrić yawned, and the two walked out of the train station with their bags.
As soon as they arrived at the exit, they saw scout Jatganići holding a sign and waiting.
"Here! Here!"
Jatganići waved to Šuker and Modrić, and the two immediately walked over.
"Hello, Neil!"
Modrić greeted him, he had met Jatganići many times, and they had a good relationship.
"Good afternoon, Luka!"
Šuker looked at Jatganići curiously.
The latter also looked at Šuker and smiled, "Hello, Šuker, my name is Neil Jatganići, and I work as a scout for Dinamo Zagreb. I was the one who submitted your information. I observed you in Mostar for a full two months."
After a pause, Jatganići shrugged and said, "Of course, your first game made me realize that you should be playing for Dinamo Zagreb. You performed great!"
Šuker immediately became happy.
"Thank you for your recognition!"
Jatganići: "Let's go to the club first."
The two immediately nodded.
Dinamo Zagreb's training base is in the suburbs, about five kilometers away from the stadium.
Although it's called the suburbs, it's more like a small town.
The overall commercial facilities are complete.
Shopping malls, supermarkets, restaurants, hotels, etc. are all available.
While driving, Jatganići introduced the club's situation.
"Due to the destruction of the Mamić brothers, the team barely managed to stay in the league last season. At the same time, a large number of transfers were made in the summer window. Many players were sold, and many new players were welcomed!"
Jatganići said, "That's right! It's a rebuild. Bešić never thought about keeping the old lineup, but directly overturned and rebuilt!"
Hearing this sentence, Šuker's eyes lit up: "Then can I choose a jersey number?"
"Of course! Many jersey numbers are vacant."
Just as Šuker shouted 'I want number 9,' Jatganići added, "Except for number 9!"
Šuker immediately froze.
Modrić on the side couldn't help but laugh.
Modrić smiled and said, "Number 9 is Kalinović!"
Kalinović, Dinamo Zagreb's number 9 center forward.
Jatganići shook his head and sighed: "No! Kalinović was sold to Lokomotiva Zagreb!"
Modrić was stunned for a moment.
"I remember when I came back last time, he was still playing for Dinamo Zagreb."
"Winter transfer window! He was sold before Bešić took over, the contract was signed!"
Modrić sighed: "That's terrible, he's a very good center forward."
Šuker blinked, being able to gain Modrić's recognition, this center forward named Kalinović should be very strong.
"Then who does number 9 belong to?"
Šuker asked the key question.
Jatganići looked at Šuker through the rearview mirror and said, "Davor Šuker!"
Šuker: "!!!"
Modrić: "!!!"
Davor Šuker, Croatian superstar, the leading star of the Croatian golden generation, has played for Real Madrid, Arsenal and many other giants, known as 'the left foot can play the violin' also known as 'Golden Left Foot'!
Before, Šuker still had fantasies about the number 9, but as soon as he heard it was Davor Šuker, he probably wouldn't be able to compete for it in a short time.
"In addition to Davor Šuker, Jarni and Štimac have also joined us, of course, there are more young people, about the same age as you, you will see them in a while!"
As he spoke, the car had already arrived at Dinamo Zagreb's training base.
There is an arch at the entrance, with the 'Dinamo Zagreb team emblem' printed on the arch.
On both sides are sprawling fences, with dense branches and leaves spreading on the fences, giving people the feeling of a manor entrance.
Entering from the entrance, there is a small roundabout with a total of three forks.
"The left leads to the first team's training ground and dormitory, the middle goes to the office building, and the right is youth training."
Jatganići acted as a guide, he was telling Šuker, Modrić was relatively familiar with this place.
Along the middle intersection, the three went directly to the office building.
After parking, they arrived at the head coach's office.
Bešić's office is very simple, a small space with a desk, with many documents on it.
An old-fashioned TV and DVD are placed in the right corner, apparently used to watch game tapes.
The entire office is relatively tidy.
When the three walked in, Bešić also greeted them warmly.
"The team is still in the process of rebuilding, so many things are still being explored and debugged, but the training equipment has been updated, you can use it during the holidays."
After a pause, Bešić asked, "Do you still want to live in the dormitory?"
Modrić shook his head and said, "My parents want me to go home!"
Šuker: "I want to live in the dormitory!"
The welfare home is too far away, and Šuker living there would also add to the burden of the old dean.
For him, living in the club is the most comfortable.
Of course, he can also rent a house, but he is still reluctant to spend the money.
"Okay, I'll arrange a dormitory for you right away. You will report here tomorrow for a physical examination!"
The two immediately nodded.
Bešić didn't keep the two for long.
Šuker and Modrić walked out under the leadership of Jatganići.
"Let's go to the dormitory first!"
Now the first team is short of staff, Jatganići even shoulders the role of team manager, after all, Bešić fired too many people as soon as he came up.
His so-called reconstruction is really a thorough reconstruction.
After receiving bedding, toiletries and other daily necessities, they went to the dormitory.
Dinamo Zagreb's dormitory is more than just a little better than Zrinjski Mostar's.
A single two-story building, divided into upper and lower floors, can accommodate two people, each floor is 60 square meters, it is still very good to live alone.
It was also here that Šuker met his first roommate at Dinamo Zagreb.
A young man with short, neat hair, about 180 cm tall, slightly dark skin, but very strong, walked over.
"Hello! My name is Mario Mandžukić!"