On the highway back.
Davor Šuker didn't take the bus; instead, he rode in Boban's car.
Boban also traveled all the way to Hajduk's match to watch the game.
For the young player Davor Šuker praised so highly, Boban was quite curious.
"How was it?"
Davor Šuker turned and asked.
Boban said nothing but gave a thumbs-up.
With Davor's high praise, Boban already had some expectations.
But Šuker and Modrić's performance still exceeded his predictions.
The match was exhilarating to watch!
The others were one thing.
But Šuker and Modrić — their overflowing talent amazed him.
Davor was right.
These two kids had already reached the level of the top five European leagues.
And they were still skyrocketing at an incredible speed!
"I recorded the match. Tomorrow I'm heading back to Milan."
Boban was serious this time.
Anyone who saw Šuker and Modrić's performance would be amazed.
"How about on your side?"
Boban asked.
Davor Šuker smiled, "Arsenal was the fastest to move!"
Boban smiled back, "The professor still likes youngsters. Bergkamp is old, and Šuker's style suits that position perfectly."
"Yes!"
Davor Šuker nodded. "But I hope they can play here for at least one season!"
"I still have a lot to teach them. At the very least, until this season ends!"
Boban drove while joking, "You're the one who wants them in the top five leagues, but you're also the one holding them back. You're the most overprotective guy."
Davor Šuker grinned, "Their talent is outstanding, but there's no doubt that the benches of the big clubs are tough. I have to make sure they grow smoothly!"
Boban was silent for a moment.
"That kind of pain and unwillingness, we've had enough of it!"
"You know... if I had passed that lob, could we have reached the final?"
Davor Šuker sighed, "Who knows?"
The highway was pitch black, and the car was eerily quiet.
Back at the training base, Davor Šuker invited, "They should be doing a match review now. Want to go listen?"
Boban's interest peaked.
"Let's go!"
When they arrived at the tactics room, they saw everyone sitting neatly in their chairs. Head coach Bešić was leaning against the window, and Šuker was standing on the podium.
Šuker was speaking confidently.
"The foul was mainly a tactic to divert attention. I wasn't sure if it would work, but we had to try!"
Šuker glanced at Bešić.
Bešić nodded, "Go on."
Šuker smiled wryly. After returning to the tactics room, Bešić singled him out to explain the remedial measures after the foul.
Davor Šuker and Boban exchanged a glance, surprised.
They remembered the incident, thinking it was luck, but it turned out it was deliberate?
The two found a seat in the back row, quietly listening like everyone else.
With the atmosphere set, Šuker had no choice but to speak.
He organized his words: "Vuković's tackle was a foul, which should have been a yellow card!"
"For us, even though we were leading, Vuković was the defensive midfielder responsible for sweeping. If he got booked, he'd carry a huge risk and could cause us to lose."
"At that moment, there was no room for leniency. Vuković's tackle on Pelekčić was a yellow card!"
"But Mateo did something stupid!"
"Of course, his intention was good. He wanted to escalate the situation, pressure the referee, and get more favorable calls, maybe even a red card!"
"To do that, he provoked Vuković to make things worse."
Šuker paused, looked at the serious faces below, and smiled: "He wanted advantage, but also gave us a chance."
"The referee wanted to settle it with a yellow card, but Mateo's persistent provocation annoyed the referee. So…"
Mandžukić suddenly said, "So, you told me to insult him!"
Šuker cleared his throat and nodded, "Exactly, I asked you to insult him, to provoke Mateo, to divert the referee's attention."
"But it's still a foul," Mandžukić said.
Šuker nodded, "So, I turned the foul into a conflict!"
Mandžukić suddenly understood: "Then I punched him twice, and he slapped me back!"
"Why didn't you provoke him yourself?"
Šuker said nothing.
Everyone looked sympathetically at Mandžukić.
"Then both sides clashed, the referee wanted to calm things down, and his attention was drawn to the conflict between you and Mateo, so he gave each a yellow card."
Šuker sighed, "There were many uncertainties, so I couldn't guarantee success, but it was better than watching Vuković get booked!"
He then looked at Bešić.
Bešić smiled with admiration.
He clapped his hands.
Soon, the room filled with applause.
Bešić told Šuker to sit down and took the podium.
"Šuker did very well, even better than I expected. What I want to tell you is, use your brains more during matches. Football has fixed rules, but people interpret those rules, so there are loopholes!"
"Football consists of many parts. Rules are important, but how to use them is more important!"
"We can't break the rules, but we should exploit them to gain advantage where possible. This is what you all should think about going forward."
At the back, Boban shook his head in admiration.
"Brilliant! This kid's brain is sharp!"
Davor Šuker couldn't help laughing.
"What should have been a yellow card for the defensive midfielder turned into two yellows for the opposing winger and our striker!"
Boban: "We really cashed in!"
Boban's arrival caused a small stir.
As a respected Croatian national team captain, he was very popular among the players.
Especially Modrić.
Compared to Šuker, Modrić was more of a fan of Boban.
After photos and autographs, Boban addressed everyone.
"You did well, keep it up!"
He paused, then added, "I look forward to seeing you wear the checkered jersey!"
Šuker immediately felt a fire ignite in everyone around!
Perhaps, this is the power of an idol!
Back at the dorm, after showering and feeling refreshed, Šuk locked the door and opened his personal panel.
Diamond Card (Special) - Inzaghi's Awareness
Yellow Card (Skill) - Vampeta's Dribbling
Yellow Card (Special) - Sobotzlai's Left Foot
Yellow Card (Skill) - Mata's Passing
Red Card (Special) - Andrei's Flying Legs
Red Card (Skill) - Status Recovery Card
Šuker's passing had improved greatly recently, mainly thanks to the Mata Passing yellow card.
At first, he was surprised that Mata's passing was only a yellow card.
But in the all-powerful Spanish team, Mata's passing was just average.
Attribute panel:
Name: Šuker
Height: 168 cm
Weight: 57 kg
Speed: 79 + 15
Agility: 87
Strength: 73
Explosiveness: 91
Looking at his 168 cm height, Šuker was pleased.
He grew another centimeter!
Though still far from his goal, the continuous growth made him very happy.
Finally, Šuker opened the card draw page to claim today's match reward.
With the familiar sound of shuffling cards, five cards appeared.
Three red cards!
Without looking, Šuker knew they were the usual three status recovery cards.
He flipped the others and saw:
Red Card (Skill) - Kahn's Roar — The roar of the Lion King Kahn can intimidate any opponent, and even teammates!**
PASS!
Yellow Card (Skill) - Mata's Shooting — As a Spanish national team substitute, Mata's abilities are balanced, and he has good shooting skills!**
Šuker: "..."
Was he stuck in a Mata loop?
Two consecutive yellow cards related to Mata.
But this shooting skill looked desirable!
He reopened his personal panel and fiddled with his cards.
Diamond Card (Special) Inzaghi's Awareness
Yellow Card (Special) Sobotzlai's Left Foot
Yellow Card (Skill) Vampeta's Dribbling
Yellow Card (Skill) Mata's Passing
Yellow Card (Skill) Mata's Shooting
Yellow Card (Special) Boschenočić's Interception
"Yellow card set!" Šuk laughed and clapped, "Feels much better!"
At that moment, a click sounded next to his ear.
His personal panel suddenly flipped to a completely unknown page.
"What is this?"
He was stunned to see that the previously locked page was now open.
The page was completely empty except for a shape in the middle resembling a "pouty fish mouth," or a disc slot.
Šuk blinked, puzzled, and randomly inserted a white card into the slot.
The next second, a line of text appeared at the bottom:
White Card (Skill) Roberts' Dribbling — [100%]
Šuker: "!!!"
It absorbed it?
He tried inserting another white card.
White Card (Skill) Lesten's Shooting — [100%]
It really absorbed!
He inserted another white card.
Pop!
It spit it out.
Šuker flipped the white card.
White Card (Skill) Mike's Core — [Not matched]
Was it due to insufficient attributes?
Indeed, the core of a fitness expert was no joke!
He then tried a red card.
It absorbed.
Red Card (Skill) Torlist's Passing — [97%]
Šuker raised an eyebrow.
So his original passing ability was already close to Torlist's.
He quickly inserted all red cards he could absorb.
Finally, he summarized the absorption rules:
Can absorb skill cards with matching attributes only.
Can only absorb skill cards.
Special cards cannot be absorbed.
Even so, this benefited Šuker a lot!
Watching the progress bars on the cards, Šuker planned to test the absorption speed tomorrow.