At the last moment, they were almost forced to draw, which made the players of Dinamo Zagreb break out in cold sweat.
Even on the bus, they still felt waves of fear.
Modrić and the others all wore serious faces, feeling a strong sense of guilt over the unexpected mistake at the last moment.
If their defense had been a bit tighter, this slip-up wouldn't have happened.
They needed to demand more from themselves.
Šuker closed his eyes, recalling the problems in the match.
"Ah~~~ Ajax got knocked out of the Champions League again!"
Suddenly, a wail came from the bus.
Everyone turned to look.
Duimović was holding a tablet phone, scratching his head, looking regretful.
Šuker was surprised: "How do you know they got knocked out?"
In this era, mobile networks weren't widely available yet; mainly it was calls and text messages.
Duimović turned the phone around, showing a message.
"AC Milan 3:1 Ajax, Kaka 89th minute, long-distance sprint, winning goal!"
"My cousin sent me the message," Duimović said sadly.
Davor Šuker smiled, "Are you an Ajax fan?"
Duimović shook his head, "I'm an AC Milan fan!"
"Then why are you so upset?" Šuk joked.
"But that's Ajax! Last year's young storm!" Duimović pointed to the distance, then to himself, "They're a lot like us!"
Modrić said, "You're taking it personally."
Duimović nodded quickly, helpless: "Twice eliminated by AC Milan, quarter-finals in 2002/2003 season, this season out in the group stage early!"
"Too many players were called away!" Šuker said calmly, "Last Champions League, Ajax's young talents were like a supermarket wide open!"
"They really played great!" Duimović said.
Šrna, who liked to brainstorm, couldn't help but ask, "Do you think if we met AC Milan in the Champions League quarter-finals, could we win?"
The surroundings instantly quieted down.
Pranić joked, "Getting into the group stage is already historic for us."
"What if?" Šrna looked at Davor Šuerk, "Don't underestimate yourselves! With our lineup, can we get to the quarters?"
Davor Šuker didn't even look at him.
"You talk nonsense!" Duimović smacked Šrna's head.
Šrna was aggrieved: "Just thinking about it isn't a crime. Look at Ajax, they're young and got into the quarter-finals, why can't we?"
Duimović said, "Ajax has four Champions League titles, do we?"
The bus erupted into lively discussion about the Champions League.
Davor Šuker watched these young men and sighed, truly unaware of their own limitations.
At this moment, he noticed Šuker also deep in thought.
"You're thinking about the Champions League too?" Davor Šuk asked.
Šuker turned seriously: "Are we really not good enough?"
Davor Šuker was stunned.
He didn't expect Šuker to also be thinking about this.
Here, Davor Šuker was a Champions League veteran, with enough experience and insight.
Šuker wanted to know—where exactly were they lacking?
"How far are we from the Champions League?"
Šuker asked directly.
The whole bus quieted down again.
Everyone turned their heads to look at him.
Even the bus had stopped by the roadside.
In the dark, the bus flashed its hazard lights; the driver Kredivači stood in the aisle.
Coach Bešić peeked out.
Others also fixed their gaze on Davor Šuker.
Šuker asked the critical question.
Davor Šuker sighed, "Many things! Every aspect!"
"Attack! Defense! Transition! Rhythm! Coordination!"
Davor Šuker listed many items.
Just as everyone felt disheartened, Šuker suddenly said, "So, does that mean personal ability is not the problem?"
That was actually true.
Football is a team sport; proper tactics and enough chemistry can make up for many weaknesses.
Of course, strong personal ability is also important, but it's not the biggest factor.
A fierce fire suddenly flared in Šuker's eyes.
"That can all be trained!"
This sentence was like a spark falling onto gasoline, instantly igniting.
Before his eyes, a green pitch appeared.
The Champions League anthem echoed in his ears.
Countless cheers and applause mingled.
That was the Champions League!
The bus arrived at the training base, players got off one by one.
After Davor Šuker got off, he looked at his teammates' backs leaving.
"Will they really take it seriously?"
Davor Šuker felt a bit of regret.
The greater the hope, the deeper the disappointment.
These guys were still far from ready!
Bešić came down and smiled:
"You and Šuker, one pours oil, the other lights the fire!" Bešić smiled and walked away, "You take care of it."
"How am I supposed to take care of it?!" Davor Šuker shouted, "Impossible!"
Bešić suddenly turned around.
Davor Šuker saw a suppressed excitement on his face.
"No! Try! You just don't know until you try!"
Davor Šuker was speechless.
That night, it was destined to be a sleepless one.
Šuker's words completely ignited the hidden fighting spirit in these young men.
We have the same young talents!
You guys are the storm!
Are we just a passing breeze?
We have to storm too!
Back in the dorm, the TV was replaying the Champions League match: AC Milan vs Ajax.
Šuker and Mandžukić watched the full match carefully.
Perhaps it was that sentence that inspired them; although they didn't say much, their inner thoughts were clear.
Both said little and went back to their rooms.
Šuker sat on the bed, imagining himself playing in the Champions League, excited and thrilled inside.
Of course, he knew it wouldn't be easy.
But every beautiful thing required enough effort to achieve.
Perhaps too excited to sleep, Šuker was about to do the card draw after today's match.
Strangely, in the past month, not a single yellow card had appeared.
Usually, half a month would bring at least one yellow card, but recently, it was all red cards.
This also led Šuker to accumulate a big pile of status recovery cards.
Shaking his head, Šuker opened the card draw page.
It was the familiar screen.
He used his mind to push the draw.
The sound of cards shuffling echoed in his ears.
Throughout the process, Šuker's expression was calm.
At this moment, five cards appeared.
Šuker glanced roughly and immediately froze.
He rubbed his eyes and looked again.
Rubbing his eyes again, he stared intently.
Finally, Šuker pinched his arm.
A sharp pain shot through.
Šuker turned his gaze to the cards.
Five cards total, the first four glowed faint red—red cards, and the last one shone with dazzling platinum light, like a noble crown.
The whole card was exquisitely carved with gorgeous patterns and extraordinary beauty!
Šuker felt his heart pounding out of his throat.
His highest-level card was diamond level, and now he got a platinum card.
After three years, finally another trump card!
Indeed, luck comes after a buildup.
From peak to trough, then back to peak!
No yellow cards for a month, Šuk thought he was cursed.
Now suddenly, a platinum card!
Taking a deep breath.
He carefully examined the card.
[Platinum Card (Skill Card) Grealish's Dribbling – He is the nightclub prince and a ruin; his sexy calves attract thousands of eyes. 'Tackle him! Or he'll dribble you for fun!']
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Šuker gave a thumbs up.
Grealish's dribbling!
Though this guy's reputation was almost a ruin, his dribbling was very good.
As an English player, Grealish was one of the few technical players; his nonchalant dribbling was almost impossible to steal.
Just like the system said:
"Tackle him! Or he'll dribble you for fun!"
Šuker also felt a bit regretful—if it was a special card for Grealish's calves, would his lower body stability improve?
He quickly adjusted his personal panel, opened the absorption page, and carefully inserted the card.
Under Šuker's expectant gaze, the system did not reject the card.
At the bottom of the page, a data box appeared:
[Platinum Card (Skill Card) Grealish's Dribbling] – [30%]
Šuker grinned; his original dribbling ability was less than one-third of Grealish's, which was quite embarrassing.
However, this card would provide a strong boost.
What came next was simple.
Train hard, absorb the card, keep accelerating growth.
"Champions League! It's not impossible!"
Šuker licked his lips!
The next day, the entire training ground was buzzing with energy.
"The rhythm is too slow!"
"Handle the ball faster!"
"What kind of Champions League pace is this!"
"Speed up! Speed up!"
The players of Dinamo Zagreb trained with extreme enthusiasm.
Maybe it was having a goal that fired them up, everyone trained hard.
Each was trying every way to improve themselves.
A strong team is one thing, but improving personal ability is another.
Vukojević, Duimović, Šrna, Pranić locked down Štimac and Jarni, making them teach defensive experience.
Šuker, Modrić, Mandžukić pulled Davor Šuker around, squeezing all the experience out of the Croatian hero.
The whole training ground was full of vitality and passion!