Chapter 158: They Are Called Dinamo Zagreb

"…It's Suker again on the left flank with a breakthrough, a straight sprint past the defender! Suker is trying to rely on sheer speed, but Ferrari is holding his inside position tightly, refusing to let him through!"

"Suker stops abruptly and changes direction! Ferrari follows… Suker pulls the ball back!! He's gone past!"

With a series of feints, Suk once again breaks past Ferrari on the wing.

With a yellow card already on him, Ferrari cannot make any risky tackles. All he can do is watch as Suker crosses the ball into the center.

"Suker crosses! Mandzukic and Jelavic go up for the header!"

"Mandzukic!!"

Bang!

Mandzukic gets his head to the ball, but under pressure, he fails to direct it properly. The ball bounces off the ground and ends up safely in the keeper's arms.

Even so, Roma's players are visibly rattled.

"Ferrari! Stay on him!"

De Rossi turns and shouts.

Ferrari is frustrated. He wants to stay on Suker, but he can't match his pace. Even when he holds the inside line, Suker's agility and dribbling allow him to slip by.

And with a yellow card, Ferrari can't commit to strong challenges.

Suker has him completely outmatched!

"…It's Suker again attacking from the wing. Constant pressure on Roma from the left side."

"After Ferrari picked up a yellow, Dinamo Zagreb shifted their offensive focus to the flanks, trying to create openings."

"No one expected the match to turn out this way. Even more unexpected—Dinamo Zagreb is suppressing Roma!"

"Roma looks completely passive right now!"

"The whole team seems off. Even Totti can't calm things down. Under Dinamo Zagreb's high pressing, they look utterly disoriented!"

Suker sends another high ball into the center. Roma's central defender De Rossi heads it away with effort.

With a three-center-back system, the defense naturally comes under pressure.

The midfield needs to step up, but right now, even the midfield is on the back foot.

Dinamo Zagreb's full-backs are pushing forward constantly. With Suker frequently dropping deep, they actually outnumber Roma in midfield.

And with the high press, Roma struggles to build any effective attack.

In defense, Dinamo Zagreb leaves few gaps.

Although the constant running occasionally exposes them to counterattacks, they're quick enough to recover and limit the damage.

The match clock hits 31 minutes.

Suker continues pressuring the flank. Roma full-back Ferrari simply can't contain him.

With their team trailing, the home fans are growing increasingly restless.

The stadium is filled with curses and shouts.

The stands become more intense.

When Dinamo Zagreb players approach the sideline, some debris is even thrown onto the pitch.

Suker nimbly dodges a plastic beer cup filled with ice.

Getting hit by that could be dangerous.

At 41 minutes, Dinamo Zagreb wins a corner on the flank.

Srna goes over to take it.

But he hesitates to approach the corner flag.

The corner is near the Roma fan section, and debris is raining down.

Seeing this, the referee blows his whistle and steps in to intervene.

Taking advantage of the moment, Suker speaks to Srna.

"I'll try to break free. Let's go for a short corner routine."

Srna nods.

Dinamo Zagreb's tactical corners are sharp and give them offensive flexibility.

"You keep drifting on the wing, and then—"

Suker's sentence is cut off by a scream.

"Aaaaaghhh!!"

Suk and Srna immediately turn toward the noise.

Both teams look toward the corner area.

Roma captain Totti freezes for a moment, then rushes over.

"Stop throwing! Look what you've done!"

Totti shouts in desperation.

He rushes to help the referee who's collapsed on the ground.

When he touches the referee's head, he feels a warm, sticky sensation.

Totti senses something is very wrong.

Sure enough, blood is streaming from the referee's head.

"Medic!!" Totti roars.

The referee has been hit by debris thrown by Roma fans. The match is forced to pause.

Suker and his teammates huddle together.

"Roma fans are that crazy?"

"Throwing stuff… and at the referee no less."

"You think he's going to be okay?"

Suker replies, "Should be. Didn't seem like too much blood."

Duimović adds, "It's been 20 minutes already. He probably went to the hospital."

Suk goes quiet.

This kind of situation is rare, but not unheard of.

With no referee, the game can't continue.

There are two options in such cases:

The fourth official steps in to referee.

The home team is penalized with a forfeit loss.

The club pays for its fans' actions.

On Roma's side, their players are visibly anxious.

As time ticks by, their unease grows.

A simple bandage wouldn't take this long—it must be serious.

Soon, the fourth official walks out of the tunnel.

Everyone watches him closely.

He hasn't changed into a referee's uniform.

And there's no sign of the referee…

Then:

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Three whistle blows.

The match is over.

Everyone is stunned.

The fourth official announces:"UEFA has decided, due to violent fan behavior resulting in injury to the referee, this match is awarded as a 0–3 forfeit loss to Roma. The match is concluded!"

With that, he turns and walks away.

The crowd erupts.

Roma fans bury their heads in disbelief.

"Idiot!!"

Totti throws his water bottle furiously, overwhelmed with rage and helplessness.

If he could find the fan who did it, he'd flay him alive.

One idiot… ruined the entire match.

"…We won?"Duimović still can't believe it.

Even though they were leading…

Did they really win like this?

Suker is equally stunned.

This "gift" from the Roma fans was beyond all imagination.

Not only did they hand over the three points…

They also gave them a +3 goal difference!

"Let's get out of here!"

Besic is already on the pitch, organizing the team's exit.

The match is over—no reason to stick around.

And Roma fans are clearly on edge.

Staying any longer could be dangerous.

The whole team heads straight to the locker room, skipping post-match showers, and jumps on the bus to get away from the stadium.

As expected, Roma fans are furious at the decision and start rioting in the stadium.

The area around the venue descends into chaos.

Luckily, Dinamo Zagreb's players and fans leave swiftly and avoid any trouble.

That night, UEFA officially announces the verdict:

In the second round of the Champions League Group B stage between Roma and Dinamo Zagreb, due to violent fan behavior that injured the referee, UEFA has ruled the match a 0–3 loss for Roma. The club is also fined as a warning to its disruptive fans.

"What a gift!"

On the ride home, Srna still looks dazed.

They had expected a tough battle.

Who would've guessed they'd win like this?

"Talk about luck," Duimović says with a smile.

Suker shrugs. "Luck's part of the game too. That said… are we…"

The players blink at each other—then suddenly erupt into cheers.

"We're top of the group!!"

Everyone celebrates.

Thanks to this unexpected win, Dinamo Zagreb is now first in the group after two rounds.

Champions League Group B Standings:1st: Dinamo Zagreb – 1 win, 1 draw, 0 losses, 4 points (ahead on goal difference)2nd: Bayer Leverkusen – 1 win, 1 draw, 0 losses, 4 points3rd: Real Madrid – 0 wins, 2 draws, 0 losses, 2 points4th: Roma – 0 wins, 0 draws, 2 losses, 0 points

Group B is a complete mess.Nobody expected Dinamo Zagreb to top the table after two matches.

A team written off as the weakest has pulled off a major upset.

Of course, their second win had an element of fortune—but they did score in the first three minutes against Roma, and if the match had continued, who knows what could've happened?

This team of young players has become the biggest surprise of Group B.

"Dark Horse! Shocking Twist! Champions League Group B in Chaos!"

"Massive Upsets! Group B's Qualification Race is Unpredictable!"

"The Croatian Giant's Counterattack!"

"A Bunch of Youngsters on a Wild UCL Ride!"

Germany's Kicker Magazine reports:"When the first round ended, someone should've sounded the alarm. A group of youngsters held their own against Europe's biggest stars without flinching, without fear!"

"A draw against Real Madrid should've been a wake-up call for the rest of Group B."

"These are Croatia's new generation. They carry the will of the 'Checkerboard Warriors' and are now storming across the Champions League stage."

"This wind from the Balkans has crossed the Adriatic Sea, ravaged the Italian Peninsula, and now aims to scale the Alps into the heart of Europe!"

"A storm! A storm!"

"Beware! They are called Dinamo Zagreb!"