The All-Around Center Forward

The sea breeze carried a gentle, moist touch.

A pure white ship sailed across the Adriatic Sea.

Suker and Zorančic stood on the deck, gazing at the nearby mainland.

Suker smiled and said, "Four years ago, I crossed this sea to arrive in Italy. Now I'm returning from here."

Zorančic looked a bit downcast and waved his hand without saying a word.

The ship rocked, making his stomach churn violently.

Soon enough, Zorančic clutched a nearby trash bin and began to vomit.

Ughhhhh~~~

Suker shook his head, saying, "I told you to take a plane."

Zorančic almost buried his head in the bin, unable to utter a word.

After about three hours, the ship docked at Neum port.

The harbor was unusually quiet—perhaps because it was not yet the fishing season, so fewer boats and workers were around.

Suker and Zoranči disembarked at Neum.

The port was exactly as it had been when Suker worked here—unchanged.

Suker didn't leave immediately but wandered around, giving Zorančic time to recover.

Glug glug!

Zoranči rinsed his mouth with fresh water.

After an hour's rest, he finally felt better.

"This damn boat—I'm never getting on one again," Zorančic complained.

Suker laughed, "You won't have the chance anymore anyway. Let's go to Mostar?"

"Is there a train?" Zorančic hoped.

Right now, traveling by car felt like torture to him.

Suker winked, "Guess!"

Zorančic had no choice but to follow.

Suker initially planned to take a car to Mostar, but surprisingly, there was a train line connecting Neum port and Mostar.

It was said that many tourists disembarked at Neum and traveled to Mostar, so a train line was specially built for convenience.

Since there was a train, they decided to take it.

The journey took about an hour, but chatting along the way made the time fly.

An hour later, they arrived in Mostar.

The town was packed with people.

From the train station onward, tourists crowded every corner.

Looking around, only tourists could be seen.

Suker was surprised by how much tourism had flourished here.

At the town center, his portraits and posters were everywhere.

On Mostar's famous bridge, a marker indicated where Suker had once dived.

Suker's contribution was essential to the boom in tourism here.

On the stone bridge, some young people were taking off their shirts, preparing to dive.

But security guards quickly stopped them and gave safety warnings.

Though it looked warm this season, the water was very cold.

Inexperienced jumpers could face danger.

Suker thought it was necessary to have safety barriers to prevent risky stunts.

Suker and Zorančic pushed through the crowd along the riverbank to Bakic's bar.

Compared to four years ago, the bar had grown 2 to 3 times in size.

Bakic had merged two nearby restaurants to expand.

The place was packed with customers, coming and going nonstop.

From outside, Suker spotted the bald Bakic energetically explaining to the crowd.

"When I played for the Mostar Wanderers, Suker was my teammate, and I was the goalkeeper. Don't be fooled by how I look now—we once created a legendary two-level promotion story."

"Yes, Suker was quite short then, but anyone who watched him knew he'd become a world-class star. We believed it without doubt."

"The forge on the street is the shop of our former captain Mlinar. If you're curious, you can visit—it's a place of excellent craftsmanship."

"Oripe was our coach now managing Mostar Željo, the Bosnian club Suker played for."

Bakči spoke warmly and at length.

Suker listened, amazed.

He hadn't expected Oripe to be coaching Mostar Željo.

"Come on in! Inside are many early photos of Suker and some interesting stories I'll gladly share."

Bakči warmly welcomed the tourists inside.

As they entered, Suker and Zorančic at the back caught Bakči's eye.

At this moment, Suker wore a baseball cap, sunglasses, and a mask.

The unusual disguise surprised Bakči, but he quickly recognized him.

"Suker?!"

The crowd around turned their heads.

Bakči hesitated, then waved and said with a nervous laugh, "The walls here are full of Suker's photos. Feel free to look around."

He then walked straight over to Suker.

"What brings you here?"

Suker shrugged, "Returning to old places, and stopping by to see you all."

He pointed to Zorančic beside him, "This is my agent."

"Hello!"

"Hello!"

After shaking hands, Bakči excitedly said, "Tonight, I'll gather the captain and Oripe for a reunion."

Suker waved his hand, "I'll visit the captain later. Oripe is probably busy at the club. If I can see him, great; if not, next time."

"Are you in a hurry?" Bakči asked.

Suker nodded, "I need to return to Zagreb to prepare for June's World Cup qualifiers, then report to Madrid. This trip is just to see you."

Bakči sighed, "Alright, wish you all the best."

Suker smiled, hugged him, and then turned to leave.

In front of the forge, Suker spotted Mlinar.

Half an hour later, Suker visited the Mostar Željo club and watched briefly.

He didn't go in to find Oripe—probably too busy.

Besides, Suker had to leave.

After spending about three hours in Mostar, the two returned to the train station and took a train to Sarajevo.

From Sarajevo, they would fly to Zagreb, Croatia's capital.

Suker's schedule was private, so no one knew exactly when he would arrive in Zagreb.

Still, many reporters waited at the airport, hoping to catch a glimpse of him.

When they saw Zorančic in the crowd, they confirmed Suker's presence.

Flashbulbs started flashing wildly.

Since winning the European Championship, this was Suker's first return to Croatia.

Their efforts paid off—they captured the moment Suker came home.

That evening, Croatian media quickly printed news about Suker's return.

"Suker Returns! Ready for New World Cup Qualifiers!"

"After 10 Months, Suker Back in National Team!"

"Croatia's Hero Returns!"

Every major newspaper reported on Suker.

Suker himself was at his estate.

"Ten months… has it been that long?" he wondered aloud.

Modrić explained, "After the European Championship, you missed the first three qualifiers in the first half of the season due to injury. The last two games against Andorra in the second half went the same whether you played or not. The coaching staff wanted you to rest."

"Saying that, Bilić probably just wanted less trouble," Suker shrugged.

Croatia's head coach was still Bilić.

He hadn't resigned but continued in a nominal role.

The actual tactical leader was Van Stoyak, while Srna controlled the locker room.

The World Cup qualifiers had played five rounds.

The record was mixed: wins and losses.

Croatia 3:0 Kazakhstan

Croatia 2:3 England

Ukraine 0:1 Croatia

Croatia 4:0 Andorra

Andorra 0:2 Croatia

With four wins and one loss, Croatia stood second only to unbeaten England.

England had avenged their earlier defeat to Croatia by beating them at Croatia's home ground in the second round.

Though Suker was absent and England struggled, they still took the win.

This placed England in the lead of the group, though narrowly.

Croatia remained tenacious, clinging to points.

With Suker's return, the pressure on England would only grow.