The Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina is a tournament that began in 1997, and it has a brief history.
The second division of Bosnia and Herzegovina officially began operating in 2000, and it is currently the second tier, still in the process of development, so the schedule is not yet firmly established.
In early April, the game ended early, and the players also entered their holidays, starting their part-time jobs.
At the same time, there is a winter break standard, and the overall schedule isn't too stressful, creating more rest time for these low-income players to balance life and their professional careers.
Currently, the tournament has played 11 rounds, and the full schedule is more than halfway through.
The Mostar Rovers are in 4th place in the standings, still far from the promotion zone.
The Sarajevo FC, on the other hand, is in 3rd place and could be considered a rival that Mostar Rangers must beat to ascend.
"That little guy No. 9 who's looking to the other side!"
The captain of Sarajevo FC, Locke, said with malice to his new teammates.
Bazel, a 22-year-old German, came to Bosnia and Herzegovina due to his parents' work and joined the club with his previous football foundations.
Bazel, naturally, has the rigor of Germans, but when he looks at the little 150-centimeter tall bean-shaped guy, a series of question marks appear in his head. —"Him? Center? Number 9?"
Whether it's the thin mini figure or the chubby baby face, it gives people a childish impression.
This is a conceptual gap from his impression of people being tall, kicking over heads, and center-forwards being solid and tough.
"Don't underestimate him, that guy has played 11 matches and scored eight goals!"
—exclaimed Captain Locke seriously.
Upon hearing this, Bazel's face grew serious, and although the opponent's appearance was confusing, scoring eight goals in 11 matches says a lot on its own.
After both teams made their final preparations, they were led by the three referees onto the field.
"Let's go! Suker!"
"Show them how amazing you are!"
"I look forward to hearing the news of your victory!"
"Let's go! Warriors of Mostar!"
The fans in the stadium were still very enthusiastic, and although there were only more than 200 people, the entire stadium was extremely lively.
Suker followed behind the taller players, and visually, the whole team seemed to have a disadvantage.
During the high-five process, Bazel looked at the guy with his head held high and raised his fist, still with doubts on his face.
How the hell did this guy score goals? Eight more!
Bazel didn't understand, is the whole second division of Bosnia and Herzegovina full of rookies? Letting these little bean guys score?
After arriving at his own half, Mlinar hit Suker on the head with his shoulder and laughed, "That guy seems confused."
Suker puckered his lips: "After all, I'm very different from the traditional center-forward."
Mlinar smiled: "Don't worry, I'll pass you the ball."
Suker nodded slightly.
He took a deep breath, looked ahead, and murmured: "Blessed Number Nine!"
"Here! Pass!"
"Give it to me! Give it to me!"
"Pass!!"
The competition was extremely intense, not in terms of pace, but in terms of confrontation.
The rhythm of the game wasn't fast, the ball's advance and passing speed weren't fast either, and there were many problems transitioning between attack and defense.
But the point is that these players truly dared to go for the tackle!
Every time someone crosses the line or threatens, they'll definitely tackle, and often they don't run toward the ball, but straight to the person with the ball.
This is also a characteristic of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian League!
If the Premier League is the most confrontational league, the Bosnian-Herzegovinian league is undoubtedly the most brutal.
In the face of these tackles, the referee will not hesitate in the least.
Boom!
Mlinar and Locke were on opposite feet.
As captains of both sides, the two had no intention of backing down in the battle for the ball and took the initiative to confront each other.
This time, the ball was squeezed and flew with the right foot.
However, the two didn't stay where they were, but continued chasing the ball for a second foot battle.
Boom!!
This time, their feet clashed fiercely, and the sound of bones colliding made the people around smile and feel pain in their own feet, but both limped and continued chasing the ball, without the slightest intention of admitting defeat.
Finally, the ball flew to the feet of Mostar's full-back, Kotic, who passed it along the wing to his teammates ahead, while Suker moved towards that side.
Seeing Suker move, Bazel immediately followed.
Suker had his back to the defender and could feel Bazel's presence behind him. At that moment, Suker suddenly activated, spinning around and pushing forward.
Bazel also unconsciously turned around but quickly reacted.
"That's not right!"
Bazel silently thought to himself, the little guy was trying to get his attention.
Indeed, the opposing midfielder passed the ball directly to the center and aimed for a cutting pass.
However, Bazel wasn't fooled by Suker; he simply blocked the passing channel and intercepted the ball efficiently.
"Well done! Bazel!"
Encouraged by his teammates, Bazel calmly passed the ball to the opposite flank.
At that moment, he saw Suker slowly walking back.
Bazel looked at Suker, and Suker looked back at Bazel.
The two locked eyes, and Suker could see the growing confusion in Bazel's eyes, as if saying, "Did this guy really score 8 goals?"
"Yes, I've been inside!"
—said Suker.
Bazel was stunned for a moment and then said, surprised: "Do you know what I'm thinking?"
Suker swam left, and Bazel immediately followed.
The two kept talking while running.
"I've seen that look many times." Suker turned his head and said indifferently, "But they all got beaten by me."
Bazel frowned slightly: "That's because you haven't met me."
Suker shrugged and said nothing.
At this moment, both teams were still fighting in the middle of the field, and their offensive routines hadn't changed in the slightest, as if they were all just going through the motions.
But that's the norm in lower leagues!
Games in lower leagues are very rough, mainly due to player limitations, which prevent them from executing the complex offensive routines seen in higher leagues.
For this reason, teams in lower leagues have a set of tactics that are applicable, the kind that you use until the very end.
Mostar Rangers used to be a team that played pass-and-control football.
Based around Mlinar, the strongest player on the team, constantly passing and pushing the ball, looking for opportunities to break through gaps and score goals.
But such meticulous tactics are very difficult to pull off for lower-league teams.
It's due to the unequal skill levels of the players that prevent the effective passing control.
But Mostar Rangers couldn't help it, they didn't have a strong scoring point up front, they didn't have a strong defensive point at the back, and their defense was a sieve, which made things really hard.
This also kept Mostar Rangers stuck in the middle of the second division, unable to rise until Suker's arrival.
"Suker!"
—roared Mlinar suddenly.
Suker turned around and ran again, but the next second, Mlinar passed the ball to the gap on the side.
"Nice!!"
The fans in the stands suddenly erupted in loud cheers.
Mlinar was a little older, but his passing skills were still very solid, and this penetrating pass was the moment everyone had been waiting for. Mostar Rangers' winger, Vitolic, was about to reach the ball and complete the goal, when a figure suddenly shot out from the side and slid in with a clean tackle, sending the ball directly out of bounds.
The entire stadium fell silent.
This precise judgment of where the pass would land and the clean, orderly sliding tackle really made people feel a strong sense of pressure.
After Bazel stood up, he also roared angrily, venting his inner emotions.
In his opinion, this tackle was also very wonderful and timely.
—"Got it!"
Bazel suddenly said to Suker: "You're a decoy!"
Suker looked puzzled.
Bazel said confidently: "You're the decoy, so you're not directly involved in the attack. The wing is your most threatening advance, and the number eight is the initiator of your attack. You may have scored eight goals, your shooting skills may be really good, but as long as you cut the connection between you and your teammates, you're not a threat."
Bazel seemed to have seen through the truth, his face full of confidence.
In his opinion, this made sense.
After all, what impact can a 150 cm tall center-forward have, and the game had been going on for 20 minutes, and this guy hasn't even had the chance to touch the ball?
To put it bluntly, this guy is the bait to confuse the backline, and the real push comes from the wings.
Suker looked at him and blinked: "You think it's easy to deal with me?"
Bazel shrugged: "In Germany, you'd already be saying goodbye to football at your peak."
Suker fell silent for a moment, then suddenly remembered, "You should watch out for me, don't let me fool you."
Bazel wanted to say: 'Can you get rid of him?' But as he thought about it, it seemed a bit childish, and he didn't need to act like a brash guy.
Anyway, he had seen through Mostar Rangers' offensive nature, and the next step was defense.
At that moment, on the sidelines, Olipe narrowed his eyes: "They're starting to ignore Suker."
"It's hard to watch him all the time," said Rosen, Mostar's only backup defender, shrugging. "A short guy, a short guy who can't even look up and you can't see his figure, he'll always be overlooked."
Orich nodded.
At this point, Rosen continued: "But he's deadly!"
In the game, Mostar's attack moved to the left, and Sarajevo FC's general defense shifted left too.
Bazel looked at Suker beside him and saw that the guy hadn't moved much.
—"Did you give up?"
Bazel didn't know what the other side was thinking, but at this moment, he needed to pay more attention to Mlinar.
He was the biggest threat to Mostar.
But he didn't see the short guy who had been by his side slowly retreating, subconsciously moving about 4 meters away.
At the same time, Mlinar collected the ball at the penalty spot after shaking it past a defender.
Looking at the ball flying overhead, Bazel unconsciously moved to the left, trying to distract Suker from one side and signaling the goalkeeper to catch the ball from the other.
But he found that he hadn't touched Suker at all.
When he turned his head to look, Suker had already appeared behind him and was the first to bring the ball down.
—"When?!!"
Bazel was shocked.
The cheers from the fans exploded.
At that moment, Suker had started to slow down and adjust his footwork, during which he also glanced at the goalkeeper's position.
When the ball dropped, he had no intention of stopping it at all, and his feet leapt straight and fiercely pumped towards the ball.
The ball flew quickly towards the near post, showing a straight line, grazing the post, and entering the goal.
After Suker scored, he turned his head to look at the slow Bazel, as if saying:
'Told you, don't let me fool you!'
End of Chapter