The All-Around Center Forward

"I don't think Germany is playing entirely defensively!" Suker suddenly said.

Bešić and Van Stoyak looked over.

Suker took a sip of water and continued, "Germany's current situation is indeed a bit worse than ours, but they also don't want to go to a penalty shootout. It's the same for us; no one likes the uncertainty of a penalty shootout. Therefore, they will definitely look for opportunities to counterattack!"

"Once they counterattack, we'll have a chance, but the key is that we must withstand Germany's counterattack!"

Bešić: "Are you suggesting two defensive midfielders plus a four-man defense?"

Suker nodded: "Yes! We must ensure our defense, only then will our counterattack be effective!"

Van Stoyak glanced at Rakitić, who was grimacing as the physiotherapist massaged his calf.

Especially after his body cooled down slightly, the pain intensified.

Moreover, the physiotherapist kept twisting his ankle, as if there was also some injury to his ankle.

"Rakitić can't hold on! There's no organizer in the front field!"

Van Stoyak said.

Suker pursed his lips.

He couldn't suggest playing as a central midfielder himself, as the counterattack point needed him.

He couldn't actively drop his position back; that would give Germany an opportunity.

Bešić pondered for a moment and said, "Make a substitution between 5-10 minutes into the first half of extra time. Schildenfeld plays as a defensive midfielder, and Modrić plays as a central midfielder!"

"We'll use two defensive midfielders to shut them down!"

Bešić made the decision.

Upon hearing this, Dujmović raised his hand and said, "What about me?"

Once the formation changed, he, as the right midfielder, didn't know where he would play.

"You play as a winger! Take Rakitić's position!" Suker rolled his eyes and said.

Dujmović: "Isn't that the same as the second half? The left wing was restricted, the right wing couldn't open up. Don't expect me to dribble past anyone!"

Suker threw the energy drink bottle on the ground and exhaled, "No need! They can't stop me now!"

In the second half, Germany still had some stamina.

But when Croatia scored two consecutive goals, their stamina had completely reached its limit.

One substitution spot simply couldn't compensate for Germany's exhausted defense.

For the rest of the time, Croatia didn't need to play the so-called swinging transitions; they just needed to attack along the left wing, trying to unleash Suker's full firepower, and Germany would have no chance.

On the other side, in front of the Germany coaching bench, Lahm stood up, supporting his knees.

He unscrewed his water bottle and poured it over his head. The icy water poured down, instantly making his muddled head feel much clearer.

Lahm shook his head, flicking off the water droplets, and said seriously:

"There are still 30 minutes left! In the first and second halves of extra time, we must perform. Forget the goals conceded in the second half, forget everything. It's still the same old saying…" Lahm said in a deep voice, "Let's not be the damn backdrop anymore!"

Upon hearing this, the German players stood up one by one.

Their stamina was indeed insufficient.

But now, they could only persevere!

"Can we stop Suker?" Schweinsteiger asked.

Lahm: "I don't know!"

If it were regular time, he would have confidence, but now it was hard to say.

In the final period of the second half, they clearly couldn't keep up with Suker.

This led to the two consecutive goals starting from the 80th minute.

"But…" Lahm clenched his fists tightly: "Even if we can't stop him, we have to!"

Only by stopping Suker would Germany have hope of winning the European Cup.

"The break is over. After 90 minutes of regular time, Croatia is tied 3:3 with Germany!"

"Croatia sounded the horn of counterattack starting from the 80th minute, and even completed a last-minute equalizer in injury time, sending the match into extra time!"

"In the current situation, both teams have reached their limits!"

"Now, the competition is more about will…"

Just as Klausevich was about to say the word 'will', in the camera, Suker suddenly jumped up.

He jumped incredibly high!

He seemed almost unaffected.

Lahm also saw this scene, saw Suker's effortless jump, and his eyes were a bit dazed. He said helplessly, "This is… hell!"

Suker's jump suddenly increased the pressure on Germany's defense.

This was not just a little bit, but like a towering mountain pressing down.

Suker's jump showed that he still had some stamina left, while Germany's defense had already reached its limit.

How could they stop Suker in this state?

But even if they couldn't stop him, they had to try.

To avoid being the backdrop, Germany could only fight.

Both teams' players came to midfield.

The German players kept shouting in German, it was incredibly intense.

And when they shouted, these guys all looked at him, their eyes as if they wanted to tear him apart.

Suker pouted, turned to Olić and asked, "What are they shouting?"

Suker didn't understand German, so he naturally asked Olić, who played in the Bundesliga.

Olić turned his head: "They're saying they're going to stop you!"

Suker remembered them shouting the same thing.

"Is everyone shouting that?"

Olić nodded.

Suker grinned, looking at those guys with their passionate expressions, it was like a story of a boy and a dragon.

The most crucial thing was that he wasn't the boy, but the dragon!

The brave boy becomes a dragon in the end?

To hell with that!

Are you even worthy?

The cheers from the entire stadium became enthusiastic again.

Having shouted for a full 90 minutes, the fans were also a bit exhausted, some of their voices were hoarse from shouting, but they still persevered.

They knew very well that the players on the field were even more tired than them, and they carried greater pressure, and all the fans could do was give them more encouragement.

Cheers came in waves.

Soon, the whistle blew again.

The 2012 European Cup final, after a grueling 90 minutes of regular time,

The first half of extra time began!

Bang!

Germany kicked off, and Croatia quickly pressed forward.

Based on Suker's and Olić's relatively abundant stamina, the two became the arrowheads, constantly disrupting Germany's passes.

Germany's stamina was indeed problematic.

Their passes became more frantic, passing accuracy was insufficient, and their concentration also began to decline.

Many times, when Suker rushed in front of an opponent, they would only react then, and then hastily shift the ball.

Seeing this, Suker turned and roared:

"Press! Don't let them push past!"

Upon hearing this, Modrić and Rakitić quickly pressed forward.

Rakitić, despite being close to cramping, was still gritting his teeth and holding on.

He didn't say he could complete a tackle, but targeted positioning and assisting in blocking passing lanes were still manageable.

Modrić was in better condition.

Within the Croatia National Team, besides Suker, he was also one of the players with higher stamina.

Modrić pressed high while observing the opponent's positioning.

"Modrić! I'll take the right side!"

Vukojević also moved up his position.

He suddenly closed in on Podolski, and before Podolski could make a move, he snatched the ball away.

"Success!"

Vukojević was secretly excited.

The German players' movements had slowed down. If it were regular time, such a press might have led to Podolski breaking past him, but now, Podolski couldn't make such a move.

At this moment, the physically stronger Vukojević showed his value.

He used his body to block Podolski and turned to look at Modrić.

Without any surprise, Modrić was indeed surrounded by Germany.

"Captain!"

Vukojević gently passed the ball behind him.

We have more than just Modrić as an outlet.

Srna took small, quick steps, raised his left arm, pulled back his right leg and left arm simultaneously, and powerfully struck the ball with his right foot.

"Suker!!!—"

This was a diagonal, penetrating long pass.

The ball flew from Croatia's right half of the field to Germany's left half.

Moreover, Srna aimed behind Lahm; this was an over-the-top long pass.

At the same time, Suker had already started sprinting down the wing.

"Schweinsteiger!" Lahm roared before turning; "Cover him!"

With that, he immediately turned and chased the ball.

Schweinsteiger also rushed towards Suker; he wanted to interfere with Suker.

But the next second, Suker slightly lowered his head, leaned further forward, and pushed off the ground with his foot.

His entire body shot out like lightning.

Second acceleration!

Schweinsteiger was stunned.

"He can still sprint like that?"

Schweinsteiger's speed slowed down.

Suker was sprinting, he could see himself rapidly passing Schweinsteiger.

At the same time, he looked ahead, Lahm's speed was also slow.

"Damn it!"

Watching Suker catch up to him, Lahm felt a surge of fear.

He wanted to clear the ball before Suker.

Just then, Suker incredibly accelerated again, instantly closing the gap.

At this moment, the two had just arrived at the landing spot, and the ball was also falling.

Lahm wanted to clear it, but during the confrontation, Suker suddenly bumped him towards the inside, and Lahm couldn't withstand it.

Lahm fell to the ground, his leg extended.

His eyes were almost filled with despair.

He could only watch as Suker jumped up, used his instep to push the ball into the penalty area, and after landing, immediately chased after it again.

"Suker breaks through!"

Klausevich cheered.

The hearts of all Germany fans clenched once more.

"Careful! He's going to shoot!"

Neuer roared.

Mertesacker immediately rushed over.

But Suker didn't shoot; instead, he sharply shifted direction with a horizontal flick.

Mertesacker's large and slow body simply couldn't keep up with Suker's agile change of direction.

Just as Suker was flicking the ball horizontally, Badstuber also slid in to block.

Closer to the goal, there was also Goalkeeper Neuer.

Suker didn't take a risk.

He gently stepped on the ball, took a few quick steps, and with the momentum of his body, tucked it inward with his left foot.

The ball rolled to the right side, where Olić was almost unmarked.

Receiving the pass from Suker, he easily pushed it into the net.

Swish!

The ball went into the net!

Croatia scored first in extra time!

"Suker!!!!!—"

"No, no, no! Olić scored!!"

"But Suker's breakthrough was crucial. The Germany defenders couldn't keep up with Suker's pace, and the left flank has completely fallen!"

Suker clenched his fists tightly.

A goal!

Playing defense against Croatia in extra time was no different from committing suicide.

Boom!!!!!!!!—

All the Croatian fans also jumped up and cheered.

This roller-coaster match made them feel like they were on a roller coaster.

From an early lead to Germany scoring three consecutive goals, then Croatia equalizing to force extra time, and now scoring a goal with a devastating attack in extra time.

Even the most mentally resilient fans felt exhausted at this point.

In contrast, the Germany fans were all open-mouthed.

They had missed the best chance to win the match!

Now that Croatia had scored first, they naturally couldn't accept the situation.

Löw painfully closed his eyes, rubbed his throbbing temples, and turned to say, "Götze! Get ready to come on!"

The last substitution spot.

This was also Germany's last chance!

At the same time, Bešić also turned and said, "Schildenfeld, get ready to come on!"

In the 5th minute of extra time, both teams made their final substitutions.

Germany substituted Podolski for Götze.

Croatia, on the other hand, substituted Rakitić for Schildenfeld, further strengthening their defense.

Löw clearly hoped to ignite the offense and find opportunities through Götze.

But the reality was that Croatia, relying on Suker on the left wing, was attacking ferociously.

Croatia's intense pressure prevented Germany from launching effective counterattacks, and coupled with declining stamina, their passing accuracy also suffered.

Facing Croatia's double defensive midfielder system, one Götze simply couldn't play a crucial role.

Muller also hoped to create some opportunities through his runs, but he was always intercepted or disrupted by Croatia.

The first fifteen minutes of extra time ended with Croatia leading Germany 4-3.

The second half began.

Germany looked even more powerless.

Although they wanted to attack forward, on one hand there was Suker's threat, and on the other hand, their stamina was limited, and if they went up, they wouldn't be able to get back.

Therefore, more often than not, there would be three forwards charging Croatia's backline.

Although Götze had ample stamina and ran diligently.

But the problem was, one or three players simply weren't enough!

There wasn't enough variation to disrupt Croatia's backline.

"Ten minutes left!"

Bešić roared from the sideline.

Croatia's formation visibly and sharply contracted.

They stopped attacking and decided to defend the score.

Except for Suker, who remained at the very front, everyone else retreated to defend.

Germany, seeing time running out, intensified their attacks.

But the Germany players were almost all just passing the ball.

They also wanted to dribble past opponents, but due to limited stamina, many of their moves had already started to deform, making it impossible to dribble past anyone.

Thus, amidst Croatia's repeated tenacious resistance, ten minutes quickly passed.

"Last minute!"

Klausevich's eyes were red; his voice was almost hoarse from shouting.

They were so close to retaining the European Cup!

Despite many twists and turns, the final outcome was still moving in a good direction.

"Last minute, lads, you must hold on!"

"Hold on!"

On Croatia's bench, the substitute players were all standing on the sidelines.

Kovacic nervously clenched his fists.

Although his playing time in the entire European Cup was limited, he had witnessed with his own eyes the team's path to the championship.

This journey was not smooth, but it was sufficiently inspiring.

And now, only one final step remained until the championship!

"Hold on!"

Brozović also shouted excitedly.

Just a little longer, and they would be champions.

They absolutely couldn't concede a goal!

Bang!

Just then, Lahm took a long-range shot directly from a distance.

This powerful shot flew fiercely towards Croatia's goal, but... the angle was too central!

Bang!

Subašić slightly bent his body, caught the ball in his arms, and fell to the ground, once again wasting time.

At this moment, Vida, Srna, and others beside him were too exhausted to speak.

They could only give Subašić a thumbs up.

Subašić slowly got up, glanced at the Referee who was looking down at his watch, and then kicked the ball out with a long pass.

And the moment he kicked off, a heavenly whistle sounded.

Beep beep beep!!

Three whistles.

The match was over!

90 minutes of regular time, 30 minutes of extra time!

After a total of 120 minutes of fierce battle, Croatia finally defeated Germany 4-3, winning the 2012 European Cup!

The moment the whistle sounded, Suker suddenly knelt on the ground, clenched his fists, and roared to the sky.

"Champions!!!!!—"

Champions!!!!!!!!—

One by one, the Croatian substitutes rushed onto the field, shouting and cheering excitedly.

This was a moment of glory!

This was also a historical moment!

In the history of a once-impoverished Croatia, these players had given them the European Cup in 2008, and four years later, they had once again claimed the European Cup as kings, completing the European Cup retention.

"Well done! Lads! Absolutely brilliant!"

Klausevich was beyond excited.

He said in a hurried tone, "Defending the European Cup! We have officially made history, and it's European Cup history. No team before us has achieved this feat!"

"Croatia becomes the first team to Defend their European Cup!"

"We are the first National Team in history to accomplish this feat!"

"This is simply amazing, and of course, the players' performance was also outstanding. Throughout the entire match, they fought with everything they had, ultimately bringing us this precious championship!"

"This summer, the Croatian Rhapsody still echoes through the sky, resounding to its final chapter!"

On the field, Suker and the others were still celebrating.

But after a short while, a small figure quickly rushed towards Suker.

"Dad!"

Sukic, wearing a Croatia jersey, flew towards Suker with his short little legs.

Suker bent down and picked up Sukic.

The little guy's cheeks were flushed with excitement, like a ripe apple.

His hat was tilted on his head, and he had sweated quite a bit.

Sukic looked at Suker and said excitedly, "Dad, you're the best! They're all saying you're the GOAT!"

Suker smiled and ruffled Sukic's head.

At this moment, reporters flocked to them.

This was Suker's child, who rarely appeared in public!

Immediately, a large group of reporters surrounded Suker, constantly taking pictures.

Sukic didn't seem to mind them much; he hugged Suker's neck and chattered excitedly without stopping.