The next day, Suker arrived at the Italian TV station on time.
Accompanied by Zorancic, he found the live studio of the show [Diretta Stadio].
As he entered the dressing room, Crudelii also came in.
"Let me see who this is?"
Crudelii ran over excitedly and gave Suker a big hug.
The old man had that unique elderly scent—a mix of tobacco and body odor—but it wasn't unpleasant.
"Good boy!"
Crudelii hugged Suker tightly.
Suker took a good look at this legendary Milan fan.
He was a bit overweight, had wrinkled skin, graying hair, rosy cheeks, and was wearing a grey suit.
To Milan fans, he was a lovable old man!
"What should I do?" Suerk asked as he sat in front of the mirror for makeup.
Crudelii smiled: "Just a normal chat. I'll guide you!"
"Alright!"
Once Suker finished his makeup, he joined Crudelii on stage.
There was a chair and a sofa on stage.
Crudelii sat in the chair; Suker took the sofa.
In front of them was a curtain, behind which was the audience area. At this moment, the rustling sound of people entering could be heard.
Crudelii was focusing on his script, and Suker didn't disturb him.
After a while, the curtain slowly opened.
Crudelii shouted: "Welcome to a new week of Diretta Stadio! Today, our guest should be no stranger to everyone!"
He tilted his head toward Suk and smiled: "Suker, say hello."
Suker mimicked him.
"Hello everyone, my name is Suker, Milan's number 99!"
Whaaaaaa!!!!!!!—
The audience erupted into thunderous cheers.
Suker was startled, but quickly adapted.
The cheers wouldn't stop, so Suker raised his hand and began to conduct them.
The cheers grew even louder.
Finally, Suker clapped his hands together!
"Quiet!"
The cheers immediately stopped.
Suker smiled: "You guys are amazing!"
In Milan's meeting room, in front of a TV, Maldini, Gattuso, Kaka, Inzaghi, and others were watching together.
Inzaghi commented, "He's adjusting pretty well, isn't he?"
Maldini laughed, "Have you ever seen him nervous?"
Inzaghi thought for a moment.
Actually, no.
Back at the live recording…
Crudelii looked at Suker and said, "Describe yourself in one sentence."
Suker gave a thumbs up.
"More handsome than Kaka!"
Boo!!!!!!!—
The Milan fans in the studio booed wildly.
Suker raised an eyebrow: "More handsome than Nesta?"
Boo!!!!!!!—
"More handsome than Maldini?"
BOOOOOOOO!!!!!!—
Even louder boos followed.
Suker shouted, "More handsome than Gattuso!"
Whaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!—
Hahahahaha!
The cheers and laughter filled the entire studio with joy.
"If you could pick one teammate for a vacation, who would it be?"
Without hesitation, Suker answered: "Gattuso!"
In the Milan meeting room, Gattuso showed a satisfied expression.
Crudelii: "Gattuso really is a trustworthy teammate."
Suker nodded: "He's always tirelessly defending. He'll appear wherever he's needed—even in the opponent's penalty area!"
The fans paused for a second and then burst into laughter.
Suker was clearly joking about Gattuso, a defensive midfielder, always running into the opponent's half to make tackles.
Crudelii laughed too and added: "He's very hardworking. For example, he's always kicking the ball out of bounds with full effort."
Suker replied seriously: "Exactly. And if the opponent takes too long for a throw-in, he'll take their head off and kick that instead!"
Hahahahaha!
Crudelii laughed again.
After catching his breath, he said, "Kid, you're a lot funnier than I thought."
Suker shrugged: "A lot of people say that."
"Let's stop teasing Gattuso. How about Shevchenko?"
"Sheva's great!" Suker immediately agreed. "He's an outstanding player and a Milan icon, but I think he should aim for even higher honors."
Crudelii: "You mean the Ballon d'Or this year? That is a pity!"
"No no no," Suker shook his head. "I mean within the team!"
"In the team?" Crudelii blinked. "He's already our top scorer."
Suker pointed upward: "Think bigger!"
Crudelii looked confused, and Suker held up three fingers.
Whaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!
The audience roared with laughter.
Crudelii was stunned.
At the same time, in Milan's tactics room, Shevchenko suddenly stood up, shaking his head like a rattle.
"I never said that! I didn't!" He turned to Maldini: "Captain! You believe me, right?!"
Maldini gave him a strange look and said, "If you want it, I'll give it to you."
Milan's captain, Paolo Maldini, wears No. 3.
"…I…"
Shevchenko was speechless.
He turned back to the TV and cursed.
"Suker! You son of a—!"
Thanks to Suk, this episode of Diretta Stadio became explosively popular.
Milan fans also came to see a new side of this super-talented youngster.
This guy wasn't just a genius on the pitch—he was hilarious off it too.
In the final monologue, Suker faced the camera and said:
"I came to Milan for greater glory. I never hide my ambition, because only Milan can achieve it. That's why I came here."
"This is a wonderful family. Everyone is so interesting."
"Captain Maldini takes good care of me. I always mess with Gattuso, but he never really gets mad. Jokes aside, he's the teammate I trust most in midfield!"
"My good friend Kaka, and my great partner Pirlo!"
"I feel very happy here, and I want to achieve greatness together with them!"
"Lastly, let me introduce myself again: Hello everyone, I'm Suker from Croatia!"
"If your life lacks fun, I'll bring the fun!"
"If you watch games without passion, I'll bring you that passion!"
"Come watch me play for Milan!"
Suker stood up, faced the audience, and raised his right hand.
"Forza Milan!"
The fans all stood up and shouted in unison:
"FORZA MILAN!!!!!!!"
Of course, talking big comes with consequences. But as a skilled attacking midfielder, Suker had excellent danger-avoidance instincts.
During training, no one dared make a move.
So Suker changed into his training gear at home and sprinted to the pitch.
After practice, he timed it perfectly and bolted off.
On the bus, many Milan fans chuckled as they watched Suker clutching his training bag in a corner seat.
They saw him being chased all the way onto the bus.
Gattuso even tried to stop the bus, but the driver—clearly siding with Suker—stepped on the gas and sped away.
One of the passengers grinned and said, "You can't run forever. They'll catch you one day!"
Suker shrugged: "One day at a time! I risked my life to tell jokes—make sure to wear my jersey when you come watch the games!"
Hahahahahaha!!
The Milan fans on the bus cracked up.
When the bus reached his stop, Suker waved.
"I'm off!"
"Good luck!" the Milan fan smiled and waved back.
Suker nodded: "And good distance to you!"
Back at the villa, Kaka came looking for him.
"Gattuso didn't catch you, right?" Suker asked cautiously.
Kaka rolled his eyes. "He's not that idle."
Kaka sat down and complained: "That mouth of yours... Andriy even had to call a press conference to say he respects the captain."
Suker winced. He hadn't expected his joke to be spun by the media into an internal team feud.
Some media outlets even floated conspiracy theories about Shevchenko wanting to usurp Maldini's captaincy.
Shevchenko had to explain himself repeatedly—but no one really listened.
"I didn't think they were that humorless."
Kaka laughed: "Andriy's furious!"
Suker scratched his head. "I'll pass him the ball more!"
Kaka: "Next Champions League game will probably be for rotation."
Suker complained: "What happened to going undefeated in the group stage?"
Kaka: "We've already secured first place. Focus is on the league now."
Current UEFA Champions League Group E standings:
1st – AC Milan: 4 wins, 0 draws, 0 losses – 12 points
2nd – Fenerbahçe: 1 win, 1 draw, 2 losses – 4 points
3rd – Schalke 04: 1 win, 1 draw, 2 losses – 4 points
4th – PSV Eindhoven: 1 win, 0 draws, 3 losses – 3 points
With two matches left, even if Milan loses both, they'll still finish top of the group.
So Ancelotti believes there's no need to overwork the starters in the Champions League.
Their dominant early performance left the other three teams fighting hard—while Milan could take it easy.
Milan is officially through to the knockout stages as group winners.
The remaining three teams must now fight for second place.