Chapter 333: Have You Ever Seen a 100-Million-Euro Flop?

Suker was still working tirelessly up front.

He wanted to score more goals. He wanted a hat-trick. And for that, he needed to keep moving.

Suker wasn't a traditional striker.

So he didn't always hang around the back line. He would often drop deep to help his teammates in the build-up.

This made things incredibly frustrating for the AEK Athens defenders.

If they followed him closely, they couldn't keep up with his explosive acceleration and were forced to foul.

If they didn't follow him, they had to watch helplessly as Suker and Kaka tore their midfield apart.

AEK Athens truly had no effective solution to deal with Suker.

This guy was just too tactically versatile.

"Suker's performance is making things extremely difficult for AEK Athens's defenders. They're behind on the scoreboard, yet they can only watch Suker constantly drop deep without any real way to stop him," said Aldo Serera, grinning.

He was thrilled inside, but when he put himself in the shoes of the AEK defenders, he felt a sense of despair.

Suker's tactical value was simply too high.

He could play as a power striker.

He could drop deep as a target man.

He could even organize play from deep.

At a time when tactical evolution for strikers was still in its infancy, Suker's mature playstyle—dropping deep and organizing—was like something from another dimension.

In fact, they'd rather face prime Ronaldo than deal with Suker.

At least Ronaldo wouldn't pull so many tricks. Defenders wouldn't have to think so much.

Frustrating.

So frustrating.

Utterly infuriating!

AEK's central defender Cirillo tensed up the moment he saw Suker bouncing back once again.

Standing beside Suker, Cirillo dared not let his guard down.

He kept his eyes on Kaka, Seedorf, and Pirlo—their key outlets.

The moment one of them moved to pass, he would close in on Suker immediately.

But they kept passing among themselves, not making any forward pass.

Trouble distributing from midfield?

Just as Cirillo had this thought, Suker began dropping deep.

He knew it!

Cirillo stepped forward.

Suker suddenly turned around.

Cirillo's heart skipped a beat. Off balance, he attempted to turn but slipped awkwardly on the grass and went down in a heap.

And Suker didn't even make a run. He just glanced at Cirillo.

Cirillo felt utterly humiliated.

And the cameras caught it all.

"Cirillo, under massive pressure!" Aldo Serera said, shaking his head as he watched Cirillo scramble to his feet.

Suker was too fast, too powerful.

In previous duels, he had already left Cirillo psychologically battered, leading to this clumsy moment.

Knowing he couldn't match Suker's pace, Cirillo tried to position himself 2–3 meters behind.

When Pirlo finally played a through ball to Suker, Cirillo followed immediately.

But Suker didn't hold the ball—he passed it sideways to Kaka.

Cirillo exhaled in relief.

And then—Suker turned and sprinted forward.

"Watch out!" a teammate warned.

Cirillo saw Kaka return the ball into Suker's path.

And Suker had pulled ahead by a full stride.

"Damn it!" Cirillo turned and chased desperately.

Suker charged into the box, winding up for a shot.

Cirillo hurled himself in.

He'd lost all control of his body—but then saw Suker deftly cut the ball back.

Despair set in.

"Suker cuts inside! Creates shooting space—left foot—GOAL!"

At that exact moment, Aldo Serera jumped to his feet and roared:

"GOOOOOOOOOAL!!!!!!!!!!"

"Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal!"

"Hat-trick!!!"

"Suker scores a hat-trick in Milan first Champions League group-stage match this season! Cold as ice in front of goal! AC Milan 4:1 AEK Athens!"

San Siro erupted in euphoria.

Milan's front line still had firepower—Suker's performance made that loud and clear.

Suker ran to the corner flag and leapt into the air.

He turned and displayed his jersey and number to the camera.

As if to declare to the world: the Suker era at Milan has begun.

The slow-motion replay rolled.

Aldo Serera admired Suker's shot from multiple angles.

"Incredible shot quality! With the far post covered, he went near post. There was barely a gap between the goalkeeper and the post, yet Suker nailed it!"

"Five goals in two matches—league and Champions League combined!"

"Suker has started the season absolutely on fire!"

At bars across Milan, fans went wild.

"My God, he's in unbelievable form!"

"Is AEK Athens just that bad?"

"Haha! No, we're just that good!"

"I'm starting to forget Shevchenko. Suker's really taken his place!"

"Eh… that might be a stretch. Sheva scored over 30 in the league last season!"

"Still, Suker's been phenomenal!"

Fans were buzzing.

No one expected Suker to explode like this.

Everyone had pinned hopes on Gilardino this season—but that was already changing.

At Milan's training ground, Gilardino—left out due to injury—watched Suker's performance with growing anxiety.

With Shevchenko gone, this was supposed to be his time.

And now this Suker guy suddenly shows up.

His spot as Milan's main striker was slipping away.

At the start of the season, Ancelotti had been doting on him, constantly checking on his recovery.

But now? Not so much.

Clearly, Suker's rise had shifted priorities.

"How much longer till I'm back?" Gilardino asked the team doctor.

"Conservatively, three weeks."

Three weeks?

Gilardino was devastated.

By then, the momentum might be gone. He might be stuck on the bench again!

Back at San Siro, after Suker completed his hat-trick, Ancelotti immediately subbed him off.

"Go rest now," he said, giving Suker a big hug.

Sweaty or not, Ancelotti didn't care.

This was his star!

Suker and Seedorf came off. Inzaghi and Oliveira came on.

They still had over 20 minutes to show something.

Suker, relaxed on the bench, sipped his energy drink.

He'd met a small personal goal with the hat-trick, and he was feeling great.

Back on the pitch, Oliveira had another chance following his appearance in the last match.

AEK's defense wasn't as tough as Lazio's, so there was less pressure.

But even so, Oliveira's shots and dribbles failed to threaten the goal.

He didn't wow the fans.

With Suker and Kaka dazzling recently, Milan supporters had grown extremely picky.

Mediocre play just didn't cut it anymore.

After a dribble, Oliveira gestured to the crowd, trying to pump them up.

But the fans just stared back blankly.

Who even are you?

Oliveira awkwardly turned away.

"This guy…" Seedorf muttered with a smirk.

Oliveira's performance really wasn't up to par.

14 million euros—and this is what you get?

The rest of the Milan squad shared the same expression—except Suker, who looked unfazed.

"Why do you look so calm?" Seedorf asked.

Suker turned and said, "What's the big deal? It's just 14 million euros. For this level, it's fine. It's not like he was bought to be the core of the team."

"But it's still 14 million!"

Kaka's transfer only cost 8.5 million!

The value for money was worlds apart!

Suker waved dismissively and then said,

"Have you ever seen a 100 million euro flop?"

Seedorf's eyes widened in shock.

100 million?

That kind of price tag didn't even exist in today's market.

Even prime Ronaldinho wasn't worth that much!