The All-Around Center Forward

The European Cup semifinals have been determined, with four teams from the upper and lower halves of the bracket.

In the upper half, Germany vs. Spain.

In the lower half, Croatia vs. Italy.

It can be said that after reaching the semifinals, the relative underdogs have all been eliminated.

Reaching the European Cup semifinals itself represents absolute strength.

This also proves that all subsequent matches will be clashes between strong teams.

Compared to tactics, the individual form of the players plays a more crucial role.

Croatia's opponent in the semifinals is Italy.

This Italy is no longer the Azzurri that Suker is familiar with.

In the entire team, the so-called veterans are only Buffon and Pirlo.

Chiellini has now subtly become a big shot in the team.

Having completed a generational change, Italy is once again bursting with vitality.

Of course, compared to their heyday, they are far from it, but relying on their chain defense, Italy still has many expectations in this European Cup.

When talking about today's Italy, one can never avoid Balotelli.

It can be said that Italy's stability is endowed by Pirlo and Buffon.

And Italy's attacking spearhead is Balotelli.

How to evaluate Balotelli?

Three sentences can summarize it!

Unparalleled talent!

Poor career planning!

Eccentric mentality!

Balotelli is a talented Italian player born at the wrong time; if he had been born ten years earlier, he could have caught up with the Azzurri that swept the world.

However, at the moment of his rise, Italian Football had already declined.

But this does not mean that Balotelli's talent would be submerged; instead, it flourished.

As older players like Totti gradually faded, and top stars like Suker and Kaka left Italian Football, this had a significant impact on Italian Football.

At that time, Italian Football needed a vibrant 'youth' to open a new path for them.

In this environment, Balotelli came into being.

Balotelli began to make his mark right in 2009, which was after Suker left AC Milan, and when Inter Milan briefly took over Serie A dominance, players like Balotelli and Milito were discovered by Mourinho.

This eccentric forward, with his exquisite technique and incomprehensible game reading ability, delivered superb performances.

Despite poor discipline, eccentric personality, and many other issues.

But Italian Football at that time urgently needed a talented player, even if he was a defective product.

Facts have proven that under normal circumstances, Balotelli is not a defective product; he has unparalleled performance and presence on the field.

He helped Inter Milan secure the treble and continued to display his best personal form after transferring to Manchester City.

However, some of his eccentric actions were also endless, with 'why always me' being the most widely circulated.

Balotelli is a player who is very difficult to predict.

Because of his eccentric thought process, he makes some unexpected choices.

Regarding such choices, Mourinho also commented, 'A normal player's game is like a sketch, with clear lines and sharp angles, while Balotelli's style is closer to Nuno Álvares Pereira.'

Nuno Álvares Pereira, a famous 'abstract' painter from Portugal!

Exactly! It's abstract!

At first glance, it looks like random kicking, but upon closer inspection, you feel there's something to it, but what exactly it is, nobody knows, yet the result is that he scores goals.

So, this guy does have something, but what exactly is that something? Nobody can say.

This is like Mourinho's evaluation.

Abstract!

"He's just kicking randomly!"

Rakitić pointed at the video on the big screen, where it was clearly a quick counter-attack by Italy, and while everyone was pushing forward, Balotelli suddenly stopped and changed direction.

Although Montolivo still scored the goal, this choice made no sense at all.

"But this change of direction made the England defense stop, and also helped Montolivo complete his run forward, how do you explain that?" Modrić turned his head and asked, spreading his hands.

Rakitić opened his mouth.

He doesn't understand!

He really just doesn't understand!

Why did he change direction?

Also, why did the England defense suddenly stop?

Srna stroked his chin; "Is it possible that the England defense was also confused? After all, it's very illogical. The moment he changed direction, as a defender, I felt an urge to press forward!"

Vida nodded.

"I also have that feeling, but the most crucial thing is that Balotelli is the most offensive threat point. He suddenly changes direction, transferring the ball to the flank where England's defense is more concentrated. Is there a possibility that he was luring the defense?"

Ćorluka nodded; "If understood that way, it makes sense, but it's too risky. If De Rossi on the left doesn't handle it well, Montolivo's run forward would be useless, they would directly lose possession, and the counter-attack opportunity would be gone."

"But look at this pass, whether it's the choice of landing spot or other aspects, it's in an excellent position, not like a random pass!"

"Did he really see Montolivo's run forward and intentionally slow down England's retreating defense?"

"Impossible! He's just kicking randomly!"

Everyone held their own opinions; they still couldn't figure out why this guy would do such a thing.

And it wasn't just this one time; many of Balotelli's attacking choices were very strange, but among them, there were also brilliant attacks.

Suker silently watched the video, his heart feeling as if millions of ants were crawling.

He was also curious!

He also really wanted to know!

Moreover, he just happened to have [Balotelli's Consciousness] in his possession.

"How about? Take a look?"

While his teammates were still discussing, Suker got up and left.

"Where are you going?" Srna asked.

Suker pointed outside; "To the restroom!"

With that, Suker walked out of the meeting room and immediately returned to his room.

He locked himself in the room and opened the system panel.

At the same time, he selected [Balotelli's Consciousness].

Suker took a long breath and put on the card.

Immediately, his entire head felt hazy, spinning, as if the whole world had changed.

Suker dared not delay, immediately took out the video on his phone and watched it attentively.

Inside Italy's hotel.

De Rossi, Pirlo, Buffon, and others sat together.

They were considered the veterans of the team.

They were eating, but De Rossi kept sighing.

Almost every few bites, he would sigh a few times.

His sighing made Pirlo and Buffon helpless.

"Daniele, are you still bothered by that matter?"

Pirlo put down his fork; he couldn't eat another bite.

Buffon also looked up: "The result was good!"

De Rossi pursed his lips; "But I still can't accept it! This shouldn't be the spirit we possess."

He paused, then almost gritted his teeth and said; "He has a problem!"

Needless to say, Pirlo and Buffon both knew who De Rossi was talking about.

The two exchanged glances, and Buffon smiled: "However, his pass to that spot was very accurate, which means his footwork is very good."

"What's the use of that!" De Rossi looked up; "This is a guy with no discipline whatsoever! Why did he pass? Don't you know?"

Upon hearing this, the two fell silent.

Of course, he knows!

In fact, because of this incident, there had been some disagreements within the entire Italy National Team.

De Rossi gritted his teeth; "He said he didn't want to run anymore!"

"We were on a counter-attack! He was the best point for a counter-attack, but he said he didn't want to run anymore, and then transferred the ball to the other flank where there was more defensive strength. If I hadn't seen Montolivo make a desperate run forward, and the England defense was also bluffed, and I just happened to make a blind through pass without stopping the ball, this counter-attack wouldn't have happened!"

"I cannot accept such a guy as my teammate in the National Team!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Chiellini also sat beside De Rossi.

"I agree with Daniele's idea, this is a rotten apple! The worst of the worst!"

De Rossi continued: "The higher-ups in Italian Football are too good to him; he can never become a second Totti, let alone grow to Suker's level."

Chiellini; "I think so too, and you two are too easygoing. If it were Paolo, with Balotelli's discipline, he would be punished every day!"

"Punished?" De Rossi said displeasedly; "He would definitely be beaten! Without Paolo, if Nesta and Gattuso were still here, I'm sure Balotelli would cry terribly!"

Seeing De Rossi and Chiellini's strong dissatisfaction with Balotelli, Buffon and Pirlo were helpless.

On one hand, Balotelli is someone the current Italian Football wants to protect.

On the other hand, the National Team truly needs Balotelli.

Therefore, there was an overall tendency to indulge Balotelli.

In fact, Balotelli's relationship with most of the players in the Italy National Team was very bad.

When playing in Serie A, in the Italian Cup, Balotelli, who played for Inter Milan, refused to shake hands with the Juventus players, and now most of the Italy National Team players are from Juventus.

The fact that this guy didn't get beaten up in the National Team made him truly grateful that the older generation of hotheads like Gattuso, Nesta, and Maldini had all retired.

Of course, if these people were still around, Balotelli might not have dared to do that.

Even though his brain isn't good, he still knows what fear is!

Moreover, with Maldini's standing in the world, if he really got angry, the Italian Football Association wouldn't be able to protect Balotelli.

And now, they can only grumble like this.

No choice, who told him he was a hot commodity, winning truly depended on this guy.

Inside Suker's room.

Suker slowly put on his shorts, turned to look at the two crumpled papers on the floor, and took a deep breath.

This broken card will be sealed from now on!

When Suker returned to the meeting room, the players had already finished their discussion.

Anyway, no conclusion could be reached from the discussion.

Presumably, they would never understand, even until death, that Balotelli's reason for transferring was that he didn't want to run anymore!

"You went to the restroom for so long?"

Srna asked.

Suker casually said, "Constipated!"

After saying that, he changed the subject and said, "What time does today's match start?"

Srna: "Still nine o'clock!"

Suker nodded.

Tonight is the European Cup showdown between Spain and Germany.

In the original timeline, these two teams didn't meet in the European Cup, but this time it's different.

Moreover, one is the German Tank, rising like the morning sun!

The other, the Matador Corps, has already started to show a downward trend from its peak.

The decline was not significant, but based on Mourinho's chaotic management, internal conflicts arose, and it remains to be seen if Germany can cause some problems.

In fact, after this European Cup, tiki-taka had already begun to gradually lose its power.

On one hand, the core players' form declined, and on the other hand, through targeted research, methods to deal with tiki-taka gradually became clear.

And here, based on Real Madrid's many successful cases against Barcelona, Germany can draw more experience.

Therefore, the so-called 'unsolvable tiki-taka' might fall even faster!

"Let's go, let's eat first!"

Everyone got up one after another, and a large group walked together to the cafeteria.

Croatia always moved in groups, with Suker as the core, the cohesive Croatia National Team faction had become the only voice in the locker room.

To the extent that other factions couldn't even emerge.

The entire Croatia National Team, except for Perisic and Strinić, all other main players came from Dinamo Zagreb.

And Suker was the boss of this faction!

Naturally, this situation was formed.

"Don't always gather together, are you some kind of violent gang?"

As they entered the cafeteria in a large group, Bešić pointed at them and angrily scolded.

Immediately, they scattered in all directions, and they were quick.

Suker pouted: "He controls too much!"

"Little Suker!"

At this moment, Suker finally saw Aunt Betty sitting next to Bešić, and his eyes lit up.

Then, he saw Sukic in Aunt Betty's arms.

"Dad!"

Suker coughed dryly, he immediately walked over after getting his food.

"We came to cheer for you!"

Aunt Betty held little Sukic's hand and shook it.

Suker looked at Sukic's chubby little paws and frowned, "Are you eating too much?"

Aunt Betty corrected: "It's a good thing for children to eat, you didn't have enough to eat back then, so you can't let the child go hungry."

Suker grinned: "You're right…"

Bešić, who was beside him, rolled his eyes.

He had never seen Suker so obedient when it came to him.

Van Stoyak also looked emotional, as the saying goes, one thing conquers another.

Suker casually took a bite of beef and asked, "Where are you staying now?"

Aunt Betty: "The National Team found a guesthouse for the family members again!"

"Guesthouse?" Suker raised an eyebrow; "Why not a hotel?"

"It's the European Cup period now." Bešić interjected; "Not enough budget!"

"How stingy!" Suker shook his head.

"You have a person in charge of managing family members over there, right?"

Bešić nodded; "What's wrong?"

"Count the number of people, tell me exactly how many there are, and I'll book them a hotel!"

"There's no need for that!"

"There is a need!" Suker said seriously; "They are the family members who bring us direct strength, and we cannot treat them badly. Let it go, it won't cost much."

With that, Suker looked at Aunt Betty and said, "Can I trouble you with something?"

Aunt Betty smiled and said, "No trouble, just say it!"

Suker smiled; "Help me take care of Sukic. As you know, it's the European Cup period recently, and Zorancic, as an agent, also has a lot of work to deal with and cannot always be with Sukic. I don't trust anyone else. If you help me take him, you can also stay in the hotel where Sukic is."

"A hotel won't be necessary, right?" Aunt Betty turned to look at Bešić.

"Don't look at him, it's no big deal. Who pays doesn't matter, and it's a waste for a little kid to stay in a suite anyway. It's just right for you to help me take him."

Bešić didn't say anything, and Aunt Betty then smiled and said, "Alright then!"

Suker nodded and turned to look at Bešić: "I said, Teacher—"

"Call me Coach in a work setting!" Bešić didn't even look up.

Suker pouted; "Coach, is our logistics team too small?"

A National Team is not only composed of players.

In addition to the coaches and relevant staff, team doctors, physiotherapists, etc., also play a crucial role.

Team doctors are fine, but there are only two physiotherapists, and two people are responsible for the entire National Team, which simply cannot guarantee specific results.

"Regarding this issue, I also reported it to the Football Association. Davor told me he would find a way. If there's really no one, he'll personally come to massage and relax you!"

Listening to Bešić's words, Suker couldn't help but laugh bitterly.

"He knows nothing!"

There's no way!

On one hand, it's a funding issue, and on the other hand, it's a personnel issue.

The Croatia National Team's treatment in various aspects is still relatively lagging behind Europe's top teams. The Italian Football Association has no money, and they can't recruit those excellent physiotherapists.

Two is already the limit.

For this reason, Davor Šuker said he would personally give massages.

"The accumulated fatigue of the players needs to be relieved, and there are two more big matches coming up, requiring more physiotherapists for relaxation. Two people simply can't handle it!"

Listening to Suker's words, Bešić also found it difficult.

He was the Head Coach, yes, but he couldn't find more physiotherapists.

Seeing the troubled expressions of Bešić and the coaches, Suker sighed;

"Never mind. I'll call my physiotherapy team over!"

Van Stoyak's eyes lit up.

"Can you do that?"

Suker's physiotherapy team is top-notch in the world.

With the addition of these people, the National Team's logistics capabilities will definitely increase significantly.

"Why not?" Suker shrugged; "They don't want their money?"

Bešić stopped talking.

This should have been a problem for the Crotian Football Association to handle, or at least for the country to contribute.

But now, the funds are limited, and there's no surplus.

And even with increased investment, those top physiotherapists are ridiculously expensive.

If Suker's team can help, that would be the best.

After all, this guy's team is truly a top team, and enjoying the services of a top team for free naturally solved his urgent problem.

However, he still felt a bit uneasy about it.

Bešić looked at Suker, with a hint of warmth in his eyes.

"Suker…"

As soon as Bešić spoke, Suker waved his hand; "If you want to say thank you, forget it, It feel awkward!"

Bešić's face tightened, and he said stiffly: "I'm done eating!"

With that, he walked away with his tray.

Aunt Betty looked at Suker's triumphant smile and couldn't help but laugh, "You two…"