Modrić arrived at the stadium as agreed, but he stood on the periphery of the crowd, in a relatively less crowded spot.
He didn't like chaotic places, and from here, he could get a better view of the entire field.
Modrić felt obligated to fulfill Suker's invitation.
Suker was Modrić's only friend in Bosnia, his shy and proud personality making it difficult for him to integrate into the surrounding environment and the team.
He wasn't good at socializing, couldn't express himself, and wouldn't take the initiative to start conversations.
Of course, there was also some arrogance at play; he thought the entire Bosnian league was terrible, with outdated tactics and poor player quality.
Therefore, Suker, who had developed a good understanding and cooperation with him, was someone he genuinely considered a 'friend'.
At this moment, the players from both sides were standing in their respective halves, with Mostar Wanderers kicking off first.
Suker and Mlinar stood together in the center circle.
The kickoff rules hadn't changed at this stage; after the kickoff, the ball had to roll forward once into the opponent's half before being passed back.
This operation required two people to complete simultaneously.
After the new kickoff rules in 2016, this requirement was removed, and it eventually evolved into the center forward taking the kickoff alone in the center circle.
Modrić looked at Suker in the center circle, stepping on the ball and waiting for the kickoff, and couldn't help but feel it was a bit comical.
Modrić's physical fitness was already considered weak in Bosnia, and Suker was at the level of a child, creating an almost discontinuous visual difference with the surrounding players.
In the Bosnian Premier League, Modrić struggled due to his physical limitations.
He was curious how Suker, who was even weaker than him, solved this problem.
At this moment, with the referee's whistle, the match officially began.
Suker gently kicked the ball diagonally forward, and Mlinar immediately passed it back.
The two of them ran, one in front and one behind.
Suker went straight to the opponent's defensive line, while Mlinar retreated to support.
As soon as Suker arrived at the opponent's defensive line, Unković immediately stuck to him.
This guy stuck close to Suker, pushing him with his body, while also revealing a sly smile.
Suker turned his head and gave the opponent a disgusted look; was this guy crazy?
Suker didn't stop and started running.
Once he started running, Suker wouldn't stop.
Continuous shuttle runs from left to right, although not very fast, were relentless.
At first, Unković could keep up, but soon he entered the defensive area of another center back and had to return to his own defensive area, where another center back, Mate, took over the marking.
At the same time, Mostar Wanderers were patiently passing the ball around.
Modrić watched the scene on the field and nodded slightly.
The rhythm was right.
As for Suker, he was doing what Modrić expected, using running to overcome his weakness in physical confrontation.
Modrić felt a little happy, feeling that they had thought of the same solution.
He had also solved it this way.
But what followed was the key.
At this moment, the ball was passed to Mlinar's feet, and Suker was still running horizontally, but the frequency increased.
The next second, he suddenly turned ninety degrees and surged forward.
This forward burst was very fast, instantly shaking off Unković's defense, but unfortunately, Suker ran into empty space, and the ball wasn't passed to him.
Suker shook his head and retreated, his expression indifferent, without any emotion.
In contrast, Modrić on the sidelines punched the barrier post.
"Why didn't you pass!"
Modrić muttered through clenched teeth.
His tone was full of regret.
Just now, the entire defensive line had been pulled to the left wing by the forward run, and Suker was running horizontally towards the right, while also surging forward at a ninety-degree angle.
At this time, the center back's entire body was already leaning towards the direction of Suker's forward run, and it was clear that a through ball could have been played directly, hitting the center back's blind side and creating a one-on-one opportunity.
If he had been the one passing the ball, Suker's clever forward run wouldn't have been in vain.
But soon, Modrić realized that this wasn't an isolated case.
Suker's awareness of forward runs was so sharp that it frightened him.
Drifting around the defensive line, after shaking off the center back, he immediately sprinted towards the open space.
Several times, Modrić didn't even react; he only realized it after Suker had already run.
"This guy..."
Modrić blinked, his eyes filled with a trace of shock, and also a glimmer of light.
He couldn't help but recall his own predicament at the club.
At Zrinjski Mostar, others couldn't keep up with his thinking, but now he found that he couldn't quite keep up with Suker's awareness.
"It's coming!"
Modrić whispered, clenching his fists, his whole body exerting force, as if he were the one passing the ball.
But soon, he saw Suker suddenly decelerate during the run.
"Passed it short!"
Modrić held his head.
"What a waste of such a brilliant escape and forward run! Can't even pass!"
Modrić immediately felt that Mlinar was a pig!
In the match, Mostar Wanderers' waves of attacks made Leotar's rhythm extremely passive.
However, they were still persevering with good discipline.
Unković stared at Suker, his eyes a little red.
In this match, he still hadn't been able to completely contain this short guy who was jumping up and down.
Flexibility was one aspect, but more importantly, Suker's timing for choosing forward runs was too good, making it difficult for him to keep up.
Fortunately, Mostar Wanderers' passing quality couldn't keep up with Suker's forward runs, which prevented Suker from unleashing his full potential.
However, Suker's expression didn't show any dissatisfaction; he still looked so focused.
"Mlinar's passing is becoming difficult!"
Compared to others, Suker understood his teammates better.
He knew that Mlinar's passing quality wouldn't be this bad, and the decline in quality was largely due to the opponent's defensive pressure.
In other words, Mlinar was under too much pressure to hold and pass the ball.
Sure enough, the moment Mlinar received the ball, two Leotar players instantly double-teamed him from the left and right.
Faced with such a change, Mlinar was also a little flustered.
He looked to the left and right, finding no passing angles, and when he looked forward, Suker had already started to retreat, extending his index finger and pointing it downwards, indicating a pass.
Mlinar decisively passed the ball forward.
Suker actively retreated to receive the ball, gently touching it with his right foot, circling his left foot above the ball, and lowering his left shoulder, pretending to break through from the left.
Unković, who was following up on defense, indeed followed up to the left.
But the next second, Suker flicked the ball to the right, and Unković, unable to maintain his balance, quickly pulled back, suddenly stretching his leg to the right, regardless of whether he touched the ball or tripped Suker, as long as he disrupted the opponent's attack.
But at this moment, Suker, who had turned around, suddenly stopped with a step on the ball.
The clumsy Unković, due to his unstable center of gravity, slowly fell backwards with his legs in a 7 shape.
"Beautiful!"
Modrić couldn't help but cheer softly.
This series of feints was very cool, and he dodged the opponent's violent foul; most importantly, he had tricked the opponent into falling.
The moment Unković fell, Suker calmly passed the ball to the right.
At this time, everyone's attention was on Suker, and they didn't see Mlinar running forward.
Mlinar sprinted from Suker's side, pulling the defensive line diagonally from left to right.
Suker followed one step behind, striding straight forward.
When the defensive force was attracted by Mlinar, Mlinar further passed the ball to the winger Maslozičić on the wing.
Maslozičić met the ball and, without stopping it, swept it directly towards the center.
This was a triangular pass, and the ball just happened to come to Suker, who was running forward from behind and was completely in an open position.
Suker gently led the ball forward.
At this time, the opponent's goalkeeper had already come out and rushed towards Suker.
Suker pretended to go to the left to get past the opponent, inducing the goalkeeper's center of gravity to shift to the left, but the next second, Suker used his toe to poke the ball to the right.
The ball flew past the goalkeeper's left ankle and quickly drilled into the goal.
In the 21st minute, Mostar Wanderers took the lead.
This goal silenced the audience.
The residents of Mostar town stared at the field with wide eyes; was this smooth cooperation, this wonderful goal, really scored by Mostar Wanderers?
Not only on the Mostar side, but even the coaches of the opposing team were gaping.
This smooth offensive cooperation, was this still the Mostar Wanderers who only knew how to play simple forward tactics?
The most important thing was that short No. 9.
This guy... actually started passing the ball!
Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!——
The fans in the stadium erupted in cheers.
Although there were only a little over 100 people, it was much livelier than usual.
They cheered for this beautiful goal.
They cheered for this smooth cooperation.
When Mlinar was besieged, they thought they were going to lose the ball again.
But Mlinar actually passed the ball forward, and Suker's continuous swaying and turning feints tricked the opponent's center back Unković into falling, and he passed the ball to Mlinar, who was running forward.
From this point on, Mostar Wanderers' offensive thinking became very clear.
Mlinar ran forward from left to right, attracting the defensive force.
At the same time, he further passed the ball to the wing to attract the opponent's defensive attention.
Maslozičić also didn't take credit, and a triangular pass gave the ball to Suker, who was following up from behind.
And Suker's shot was also very brilliant.
It can be said that this was a very perfect goal cooperation, so perfect that even Suker and others couldn't believe it.
"Well done!"
Orić raised his hands on the sidelines and shouted excitedly.
"Beautiful! Beautiful! So damn beautiful!"
Regardless of the goal, this cooperation itself was very beautiful, and it also resulted in a goal, which was simply pleasing to the eye.
It can be said that this gave Orić, as an Arsenal fan, great psychological satisfaction.
His team could also play the same beautiful football as Arsenal under Wenger.
Of course, there were certain lucky factors involved.
But who cares!
This goal was beautiful enough and was definitely a season TOP-level goal.
In contrast, Leotar had been shocked by this wonderful goal.