In January, the league restarted.

Dinamo Zagreb is also starting to enter the intense preparation stage.

The knockout rounds of the Champions League will begin on 23 February.

Dinamo Zagreb still has more than a month to prepare.

During this time, apart from the league, they are preparing for Manchester United.

January 18, 2004/2005 season, round 18 of the Croatian League.

Dinamo Zagreb took on Slavin Berubo in a completely new formation.

Dinamo Zagreb (4-4-2):

Goalkeeper: Grestic.

Defenders: Srna, Giarni, Stimac, Pranic.

Midfielders: Valevic, Vukojevic, Modric, Rakitic.

Forwards: Mandzukic, Suker.

With a 4-4-2 stance, Suker was back up front.

This is also the first time in two years that Suke is back in this position.

Standing on the front line again, Suke's heart was extremely excited.

He always thought that he could give his best performance in this position.

The only pity is that he is not a single arrow.

However, Mandzukic can also form a shield for him on the side.

Suker and Mandzukic are two strikers in a completely different sense.

This is also the tactic that Becic finally came up with and tried to put into it after a month of racking his brain.

Two forwards, Suker and Mandzukic.

These two are completely different types of strikers.

Mandzukic is a ram and he puts pressure on the opposition backline.

Suke's job is to use ghostly movements to cut forward.

If there is a problem in midfield, Suker will also drop back to help them.

Rakitic and Valevic work as wing-backs, mainly to move on the flanks and apply pressure.

Luka Modric and Vukojevic have taken on the playmaking and defensive burden of the midfield.

At the same time, Modric can also get closer to the goal when changing the prismatic position, further improving Modric's goalmouth threat.

Even if he couldn't get a shot on goal, he could link up with Suker, using Luka Modric's pass and Suker's running to tear apart the opposition's defence.

At the beginning of the game, Dinamo Zagreb had already begun to press forward, facing this Dinamo Zagreb team that had experienced the baptism of the Champions League, Slavin Berubo played extremely passively, they began to retreat step by step, but Modric has begun to press forward.

'We saw that instead of dropping back to receive the ball, Suker kept getting stuck at the back and Slavin Berupo's centre-back Malinaci had to focus more on Suker.

Malinaki broke out in a cold sweat.

In this game, Suker actually stood in the forward position and directly opposed him, which made him feel a lot of pressure.

In the face of this genius that the whole of Europe was vying for, he did not dare to be careless.

Suke also glanced at Malinaki, this guy was a little overly nervous.

Suker took a few steps back, then turned to look at Modric.

Suddenly, Modric was about to get up and shove the ball forward.

"Don't retreat!"

Malinacci yelled and he was pinned to the ground with his centre-back partner trying to create an offside position.

However, Suker's run was spread horizontally, without crossing the offside line at all, almost in the same position as them, stuck at the back.

The moment Modric came out, Suker instantly turned around and ran wildly.

"Suke!! No offside! No offside! “

Suker made the cut forward and had a chance to go one-on-one.

Holding the ball all the way to the goal, the moment the goalkeeper pounced, Suker deftly picked the ball over the top.

Dinamo Zagreb scored first on 15 minutes.

"Goal!! Sucre!! He's so clever in the way he runs! ”

"If Suker is the first time to step forward, then this is an offside ball, Malinaci consciously wants to create offside, but Suker is a lateral movement, so that Malinacki's idea is completely ruined, when Modric passes the ball, Suke starts to cut forward, very wonderful run!"

Suker laughed and rushed to the corner, sliding hard to celebrate.

The fans of Dinamo Zagreb also gave fierce applause.

'Dinamo Sallegbo, they were in great form in the second half of the season and we can expect more from them in the Champions League.'

The commentator Klausievich also looked at the stadium with satisfaction.

The lads of Dinamo Zagreb have completely conquered the old Croatian commentator and made him completely obsessed with this group of youngsters.

Just ask, who can not love a group of young people who can reach the knockout stage of the Champions League by playing the Champions League for the first time!

"How's it going?"

Modric ran over and asked.

Suker gave a thumbs up.

"Excellent!"

Modric's passing is trustworthy.

Hearing Suker's appreciation, Modric also smiled happily.

This winter break, Modric is also constantly expanding his arsenal.

In addition to playmaking, he is also adding some threatening passing.

With Suker up front, the passing work left for him to be heavier.

Of course, if he really gets into trouble, Suker can also retreat to help him, but he prefers that Suker is on the front line and he will make the ball for Suke.

This is the most tacit way they play football.

After scoring a goal, Suker became more and more active up front.

His ability to cut forward was combined with Modric's passing, which made Dinamo Zagreb's attack unstoppable.

Especially under Suker's strong explosiveness, even if Modric's pass is sometimes a little slower, Suker can catch up in a straight line from behind.

This greatly reduced the pressure on Modric's passing.

On 78 minutes, Suker scored the third goal.

"Suke! Hat-trick! ”

'It was Suker's first hat-trick of the season and he has been more focused on the Champions League this season to give the substitutes more chances, but he remains Dinamo Salegbo's top scorer and has scored 15 goals in 11 appearances in 18 games.

"He's still so efficient."

"Of course, we are also looking forward to more exciting performances from Suker in the Champions League."

After completing another hat-trick, Suke waved his hands excitedly and ran wildly.

However, he didn't run long before head coach Becic replaced him.

Su Ke didn't have much of an opinion on this, and he had already completed his hat-trick anyway.

"How does it feel to be at the top of the league and Champions League scorers?"

Dujmovich said quietly.

He's jealous!

It is enough to be at the top of the league scorer list.

Suker is still the top scorer in the Champions League.

After six rounds of group play, Suker scored a total of eight goals.

With these eight goals, Suker also came to the top of the scorer charts.

Of course, four of Suker's eight goals were drawn from the battle against Real Madrid.

Sooke turned his head; "You say, can I get the Champions League Golden Boot!"

If Suker Champions League Golden Boot, the value will definitely skyrocket.

An 18-year-old Champions League Golden Boot, it's unimaginable.

And it's not hopeless.

"It's up to us to win the next game."

The second-highest scorer in the Champions League, Ruud van Nistelrooy plays for Manchester United, and currently has six goals in five games.

Suke grinned.

This is really a stack of buffs!

One more reason to beat Manchester United.

Time passed little by little.

For Dinamo Zagreb, they are adjusting little by little to prepare for the next big game.

Manchester United is bound to be a strong team.

And it's probably the toughest opponent they've faced so far.

Whether it is fame, morale or player composition, with the addition of Alex Ferguson, Manchester United is definitely the most pressing opponent for Dinamo Zagreb.

Even the pressure is a bit greater than that of Real Madrid.

Real Madrid is imaginary!

Under the seemingly strong lineup, the interior is already full of holes and has many problems.

But Manchester United is not!

Manchester United have Alex Ferguson!

The old squir is still at Manchester United for a day, and Manchester United can't mess up.

That's how Dominating Alex Ferguson is, the godfather of Manchester United, and a bit overwhelming for Dinamo Zagreb.

Of course, the most pressure is on fellow coach Besic.

One is Ferguson, a world-famous coach who led Manchester United to the treble.

The other is the head coach of Dinamo Zagreb, who has just led the team to the knockout stage of the Champions League.

The gap between the two is too great.

But even so, they have to fight hard to create opportunities for victory.

In February, there was a little less snowfall in Croatia.

But there is still a lot of snow on both sides of the road.

It is also in this atmosphere that the Champions League knockout stage boom is about to hit.

After six intense rounds of group play, an even more brutal knockout round is on the horizon.

Two games, one home and one away, the winner advances, and the loser is eliminated.

Eliminated from the group stage and the Europa League can be played.

But the Champions League knockout rounds are really nothing.

For this, both Manchester United and Dinamo Zagreb cheered up.

The Champions League craze is rolling.

Dinamo Zagreb's knockout debut naturally attracted a lot of attention.

Whether it's their performance in the group stage or the game against Manchester United, these are huge points of public opinion.

Among them, the direct dialogue between the two geniuses has also become a topic of conversation in Europe.

Last year, Ferguson sold Portuguese prodigy 'Ronaldo' Cristiano for €12 million. Ronaldo brings in Old Trafford from Portugal.

Cristiano Ronaldo has also played very well since joining Manchester United, and was also elected to the UEFA Team of the Year (forward) last year.

And Dinamo Zagreb have played a crucial role in this season.

With six games and eight goals, he leads the Champions League scorer list.

The direct dialogue between the two geniuses naturally attracted a large number of topics.

The game hasn't started yet, but the media has already started to warm up.

Red Devils VS Youth Storm!

The two geniuses talk directly!

Cristiano Ronaldo vs Suker!

Four more send!

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(End of chapter)