Suker certainly wouldn't slide tackle, but for the sake of the show, he pretended to scare them a few times, making the opponents jump.
Compared to defenders with extensive tackling experience, forwards who slide tackle truly don't know their limits, and the opponents were quite afraid.
But they quickly realized that Suker was just bluffing.
Playing as a full-back, Suker was decent; he neither performed exceptionally well nor slacked off.
He ran when he should, and he slacked off when he could.
After all, it was an exhibition match, so there was no need to play too seriously.
However, throughout the match, Suker delivered many long passes, directly launching counterattacks from the backfield.
One long pass after another, combined with one counterattack after another, although not many goals were scored, it was still quite enjoyable to watch.
In the second half, Suker switched to the other side.
Beckham directly placed Suker in the forward position, which made Ronaldo and others jokingly scold Beckham for being shameless.
And in the forward position, Suker was in his element.
But he also played much more cautiously, only scoring one goal.
All his other contributions were final passes, and he rarely took a shot on goal.
Yet, even so, he achieved a record of one goal and three assists.
Among them, Suker's continuous breakthroughs were dazzling to watch; the middle-aged men were out of shape and slow, so encountering a player like Suker was truly a tragedy.
Finally, the exhibition match ended in a joyful atmosphere.
After the match, everyone was satisfied.
The retired stars playing at the Bernabéu again felt like they had rediscovered their old selves.
Fans seeing two generations of players on the field together satisfied their sense of novelty.
And Florentino also gained plenty of attention, making it a win-win for everyone.
After the exhibition match, Beckham and others invited Suker to a gathering, but Suker politely declined, citing his upcoming matches.
They understood, after all, Suker is an active player, and his presence at this exhibition match was already a rare treat.
After bidding farewell to these old boys, Suker immediately returned home.
Srna and Kaka were, as expected, waiting at Suker's house.
"You're back?"
Srna turned his head and casually asked.
Then, he pointed at the TV and chuckled, "This exhibition match was too much of a performance, wasn't it?"
Suker played the entire match with a relaxed attitude, showing low attacking desire and not being very active defensively, just like an old man strolling.
Yet, even so, he managed to score goals and provide assists from both sides.
Moreover, several of them involved him dribbling past defenders, making it impossible not to shoot.
"Ronaldo is too fat," Kaka said with a grin; "He looks fat enough normally, but on camera, he looks like a ball."
Srna also felt a surge of emotions!
Who would have thought that the former football alien would become so fat.
Although players tend to gain some weight after retirement when they no longer restrict themselves.
But Ronaldo's level of obesity was indeed excessive.
"When I retire, I also want to maintain a good physique; it's okay to be a little fat, but not too much." Srna shook his head, this guy was already thinking about his life after retirement.
"How was training this afternoon?"
Suker placed his ball bag aside and asked.
"Same as usual, before a match it's mostly about adjustments, next week we'll enter the Champions League quarter-finals, so there won't be any new tactics developed, nor extensive training, but Ancelotti did emphasize some details in interweaving runs, I expect you'll also be pulled aside for special coaching tomorrow."
Suker nodded, turning to look at the two guys sitting on his sofa, showing no intention of leaving.
Suker asked, "Where's Zorancic?"
Zorancic is Suker's agent and nanny; this guy has completely given up on finding a nanny, he just makes Suker fill in when there's something to do, and comes over to watch Sukic himself when there's nothing.
Suker even felt that Sukic needed to find a godfather.
Zorancic's care for Sukic was truly not that of a biological parent, but even better than one.
Suker himself had never been taken care of like that.
Of course, this guy might also have other motives, but just for his attitude and effort, Suker was quite grateful.
"He was called out by a phone call!" Srna thought for a moment and said, "It seems it was Beckham."
Beckham has a partnership with Zorancic.
Or rather, Beckham has very good relationships with most agents in Europe.
From what Suker understood, Beckham is currently establishing a channel between Europe and Major League Soccer.
He hopes more players will go to play in the United States in the twilight of their careers, and he, in turn, acts as an introducer or middleman to expand his own business.
Zorancic, as a major European agent, is naturally a valued guest of Beckham.
Thinking of this, Suker looked at Srna: "Has Zorancic never mentioned you going to play in the United States?"
"Of course he has!" Srna rolled his eyes; "The salaries there are very high, some contracts even double what I make, but I don't want to go to the United States, I just want to be in Croatia!"
This is a homebody, but Suker could understand, after all, this guy barely spends a few days at home all year.
Leaving his wife and children alone there is ultimately unsettling!
Of course, part of the reason is also that this guy really wants to return to his family.
"We should go back too, see you at training tomorrow!"
Kaka checked the time and stood up, ready to leave.
Srna, however, showed no intention of leaving, waving his hand at Kaka.
After Kaka left, Suker squinted at Srna; "You're not going home?"
Srna smiled; "Are you kicking me out already?"
Suker rolled his eyes.
Srna said, "I want to talk to you about Kovacic."
"What about him?" Suker asked.
Srna shook his head; "It's not what's wrong, but I hope you can guide him well."
Suker laughed, "Am I going to let him suffer?"
"Precisely because of that, I want to talk to you; you know about Kovacic lately, right? I heard Turin is full of his tabloid news every day." Srna said seriously; "You and I both know very well how many talented players have been ruined by women and alcohol, I don't want him to become one of those players, so he needs to be reined in appropriately."
Kovacic is definitely one of the hot topics in Turin.
The kind that makes tabloid headlines every other day.
Young, talented, and rich, it's natural for many beautiful models to throw themselves at him; Suker and Srna had also experienced such things.
But they are different; they had gone through that painful past, and their lives were once impoverished, so they clearly understand that these things are hard-earned, and they appreciate them more, and they know what is truly important.
However, Kovacic's journey has been smooth sailing.
First, he stood out under Bešić, and then, relying on the Dinamo Zagreb brand and Zorancic's maneuvering, his value soared.
In Srna's view, Kovacic's current market value even has a certain amount of inflation.
In short, his fame outweighs his actual ability!
This guy rode the wave of Croatia's super golden generation; his growth process was too smooth, and his personality is somewhat erratic.
In contrast, Brozović is much better; despite being a player from the same period, he is much more composed.
"So you mean for me to put some pressure on him?" Suker asked.
Srna waved his hand; "No need to suppress him, but don't give him too much help either; let him experience some setbacks at Real Madrid, it will be good for him."
"I've always believed that Real Madrid is a club that truly challenges people. Compared to others, Kovacic has the conditions for trial and error; as long as you don't tell them to get rid of him, others will turn a blind eye, treating him as your bonus, so just let him compete normally."
Suker nodded: "Don't worry, this guy won't cause too much trouble. It just goes to show how gentle football is now; back in our era, if you caused any trouble, the boss would just beat you up directly."
Srna: "Then you beat him up."
Suker rolled his eyes.
With his stature and level of attention, beating someone would truly be a huge news story.
He himself would get dragged into it more than the person he beat.
After saying all this, Srna slowly stood up: "That's all there is to it. Anyway, it's up to you from now on. After this World Cup, I'll give you the National Team captaincy."
"Get lost, get lost!"
Suker directly waved him away, annoyed by the talk.
Srna merely smiled, then pushed the door open and went home.
After the two left, Suker sat quietly on the sofa for a while, not knowing what he was thinking, even he himself didn't know what he was thinking, his mind was somewhat blank.
Finally, Sukic shook his head, cleared his cluttered thoughts, and went straight upstairs to sleep.
Sukic's sleep quality was guaranteed; for a guy who could fall asleep anywhere, there was no trouble that sleep couldn't fix.
After a good night's sleep, he felt refreshed.
The day's training still focused on the Champions League, but some tactical drills were also conducted, preparing for the League on the weekend.
As the League season drew to a close, teams became increasingly frantic.
First, the title race.
Previously, the title race involved only two teams: Real Madrid and Barcelona.
But this season, Atlético Madrid joined the fray, and their points even slightly surpassed Barcelona's.
Real Madrid felt quite relaxed recently because Atlético Madrid and Barcelona were locked in a fierce rivalry.
They were chasing points in the League.
In the Champions League, they were even drawn together in the quarter-finals.
It was a do-or-die situation.
In the past, Barcelona wasn't afraid of Atlético Madrid, but with Atlético Madrid's rise and Barcelona failing to gain an advantage multiple times, they naturally needed to be wary.
Of course, while these two teams were battling it out, they also kept a close eye on Real Madrid.
If Real Madrid made any mistakes, they would surely pull them down.
However, at this stage, while they were fighting tooth and nail, Real Madrid sat comfortably atop, relatively at ease.
The title race was intense, but the relegation zone was even more so.
Osasuna, Valladolid, Real Betis, and Almería.
These four teams were practically going crazy in the relegation zone.
If the title race was about who played better.
Then the relegation zone was a crazy display of hitting rock bottom.
First, Osasuna suffered a humiliating defeat at home when an 18-year-old from Levante achieved two goals and one assist on his debut, leading to their entire defense being ridiculed.
But then Valladolid also hit rock bottom at home, with only 23% possession and not a single shot on goal.
However, all of this was understandable, as both Osasuna and Valladolid were perennial relegation contenders.
And Almería, who was just above the relegation zone, was also a promoted team.
But... Real Betis, why are you like this?
Real Betis ranked 7th in La Liga last season, with an excellent overall performance, even occasionally causing upsets for big clubs.
Yet now, they were not only in the relegation zone but also at the very bottom of the standings with an incredibly dismal record.
While selling key players led to some decline in strength, this was too exaggerated, wasn't it?
Did they sell off the club's future?
Just to make a quick buck?
And it wasn't just that; there were also some unsavory rumors.
It was said that the Real Betis chairman's child had ambiguous relationships with several first-team players.
At first glance, it seemed like nothing!
But the key was that the chairman's child was a son, and he even made several players come out!
This ability was quite remarkable!
Currently, Real Betis not only played poorly but also displayed all sorts of bottom-feeding behavior, causing constant unrest among fans and leaving the club's high-level management in a panic.
When asked to disclose their financial situation, where did all that money go?
On this point, they were evasive and delayed in releasing the information.
Most likely, the money was gone!
This further enraged the fans, creating a vicious cycle.
Perhaps they needed an enlightened leader to break this deadlock, or to drive away this blood-sucking owner.
Of course, these were all football discussions over tea, and most fans still looked upwards.
The Champions League was approaching.
The quarter-finals were becoming more exciting with each match.
First up was the strong matchup between Bayern Munich and Manchester United.
Cristiano Ronaldo facing his old club and old rival, his performance became a point of anticipation for fans.
Next was the La Liga internal clash, Barcelona against Atlético Madrid.
The Premier League internal clash was also not to be underestimated, with Chelsea and Manchester City engaging in a fierce confrontation.
Finally, there was the main event: Real Madrid against Borussia Dortmund.
These eight teams all possessed strong combat power.
The Champions League this year also had a lot of prestige; it wouldn't be an overstatement to say that anyone could emerge victorious.
Of course, in terms of sheer strength, Bayern Munich, the defending champion, and Real Madrid, the evergreen Champions League tree, were still more anticipated.
Many fans also looked forward to a direct confrontation between these two teams.
Could Real Madrid successfully take revenge?
Or would Bayern Munich still be able to defeat Real Madrid?
These questions remained to be answered.
On Tuesday, the entire Real Madrid team arrived in Dortmund, Germany, to prepare for the Champions League.
And that same evening, a fierce match was also taking place in Munich.
Manchester United against Bayern Munich.
Suker and others also sat in front of the television to watch this match.
The starting lineups for both sides were as follows:
Bayern Munich (4-2-3-1):
Goalkeeper: Neuer.
Defenders: Rafinha, Boateng, Dante, Alaba.
Midfielders: Götze, Lahm, Muller, Schweinsteiger, Cristiano Ronaldo.
Forward: Mandžukić.
Manchester United (4-2-3-1):
Goalkeeper: De Gea.
Defenders: Jones, Smalling, Vidić, Evra.
Midfielders: Valencia, Modrić, Kagawa Shinji, Carrick, Welbeck.
Forward: Rooney.
"Bayern's lineup is luxurious enough!"
Watching the match lineup, even Real Madrid players couldn't help but exclaim.
After all, besides those on the field, there was a large group of stars on the bench.
Robben, Franck Ribéry, Robert Lewandowski, none of these players started.
Such squad depth was enough to field two top-tier lineups.
It could be said that currently, the only team that could compete with Bayern Munich in terms of heritage and bench strength was probably Real Madrid.
Sukic didn't speak; he quietly watched the match.
Manchester United's playstyle still revolved around Modrić's organization.
But Modrić was visibly playing passively.
In the front, besides Rooney who could provide an attacking threat, the others seemed insufficient.
And in the midfield, there weren't enough players to support him; it was often seen that Modrić was bumping and stumbling, breaking through with difficulty.
Srna looked at Modrić's somewhat disheveled appearance and couldn't help but grimace: "This game is really frustrating."
Sukic also nodded in agreement.
It could be said that Manchester United's usable players were still the ones Sir Alex Ferguson left behind.
He wondered what Sir Alex Ferguson thought watching this match!
He left Modrić to keep the flame alive for Manchester United, but this game was too difficult.
In contrast, Bayern Munich was much more relaxed; Schweinsteiger, with sufficient protection, distributed the ball very steadily.
Lahm's transformation into a defensive midfielder worked surprisingly well.
And upfront, Cristiano Ronaldo and Götze could create strong attacking points on both flanks, while Manchester United also had to defend against Muller and Mandžukić, those tricky characters.
Indeed, in the 31st minute, Bayern Munich suddenly launched an attack!
A standard change of pace caught Manchester United off guard.
By the time they reacted, the ball had already been passed to Cristiano Ronaldo's feet.
And Cristiano Ronaldo's position at this moment was already inside the penalty area, within shooting range.
Allowing Cristiano Ronaldo to have possession in such a position was almost the same as losing the ball.
As expected, Cristiano Ronaldo feigned a pass, then cut inside and calmly slotted the ball into the net with his left foot.
After scoring, Cristiano Ronaldo did not celebrate but raised both hands in apology.
Regardless, Manchester United was his starting point in the Big Five Leagues; he had deep affection for Manchester United, and therefore chose not to celebrate.
The camera focused on the Manchester United players, but after a while, it suddenly gave a close-up of Modrić's face.
His brows were deeply furrowed, his hands on his hips, his mouth occasionally opening and closing, but he couldn't utter a single word.
Modrić's face was imprinted with two words: 'frustrated'.
This was the only feeling Manchester United gave Suker and the others in this match.
They played too frustratingly!
This was true for the midfield, attack, and defense; the only player with possession was Modrić, and the only attacking threat was Rooney.
Their defense seemed full of fighting spirit, but it was full of holes.
For over 30 minutes, it was impossible to tell what they were playing, what their goal was?
There was no tactical focus, and no clear objective.
This was Manchester United after Sir Alex Ferguson left; even Modrić couldn't lift them.
"It's practically like being in prison!"
Sukic couldn't help but shake his head.