Emperor of Football: Julien De Rocca

Chapter 65: Chapter 63 Chance



"Avà Bastia, forza Turchini! fate tremà a terra! Oggi simu di Bastia!"

As Youssouf Hadji's boot connected with the ball to officially begin the match, the massive TIFO was carefully folded away by dozens of hands, revealing the passionate faces of the Ultras Bastia who had created the masterpiece.

But if the visual spectacle was ending, the auditory one was just beginning.

Wave after wave of supporting song began to be sung by the fans over the stadium. Many of the Bastia's support songs were sung in the island's native tongue, the Corsican language.

"Corsica libera, Corsica fiera!"

Wave after wave of sound washed over everyone in the stadium.

Rennes maintained possession and moved forward, not launching a major attack but choosing tentative advancement. Focusing on ball control.

Antonetti stood on the sideline, his expression was far from relaxed.

As a former member of Bastia, he knew very well Bastia's iron-hard, tough style.

Bastia's advancement to the quarterfinals was definitely not due to luck.

This match would not see absolute dominance by the Ligue 1 team over the Ligue 2 team.

Beside Antonetti, Hadzibegic was equally nervous. After kickoff, he constantly waved from the sideline, signaling players to move into position.

Despite the overwhelming support from the stands, Bastia showed remarkable tactical discipline. There was no wild charging forward, no desperate attempts to force an early goal. Instead, they fell back into their own half with organized retreat, creating a defensive wall.

Every player understood their role in this. They were not here to dominate possession or to showcase their individual skills in the early stages. They were here to survive, to frustrate, to wait for their moment like predators stalking their prey.

If they couldn't defend, they would collapse!

They couldn't expect the attack to bring them victory.

Julien didn't retreat very deep and didn't participate in defense. Hadzibegic had emphasized many times before the match, "Don't worry about defense. You only need to do one thing—find the opportunity and put the ball in the net."

In the relatively stable opening rhythm of both sides, the broadcast cameras focused on Julien multiple times.

In a broadcasting studio, a commentator was saying.

"Ladies and gentlemen, if you had told me six months ago that we would be watching a newly promoted Ligue 2 team stand toe-to-toe with a Ligue 1 powerhouse in a French Cup quarterfinal, I would have suggested you reconsider your football knowledge."

His co-commentator, a former international player, nodded in agreement. "But here we are, and I have to say, there's something in the air tonight that makes you believe. Something that makes you think we might be witnessing something very special."

"And the reason for that optimism," the main commentator continued, "is largely down to one player. The young man you see there, wearing number 29, is Julien De Rocca. Just seventeen years old, he's already earned his place in the French U21, and his story is one that deserves to be told."

The camera zoomed in on Julien's face as the commentator spoke.

Many fans are still unfamiliar with this new French U21 international's story, so I need to explain again. De Rocca came from Clairefontaine..."

The commentator briefly told Julien's story of rising from the ashes.

This made many neutral fans curious about this player the commentator praised so highly.

Was he really that good?

At the same time, in the stands, too many eyes were fixed on the seemingly "idle" Julien.

Zidane, Leonardo, and others were not impatient.

Sometimes, making people overlook him was also a very powerful ability for an excellent forward.

"This is De Rocca, he's super amazing! When he was at Clairefontaine, I saw Zidane specifically talk with him."

Mbappé spoke to his father Wilfried and mother Fayza, pointing toward number 29 who was strolling on the field.

Before Wilfried and the others could respond, nearby Bastia fans answered first: "Hey kid, you're absolutely right! Julien is super amazing!!"

Mbappé immediately smiled and gave the enthusiastic fans a thumbs up.

Then a Bastia fan asked, "Did you really see Zidane talk with Julien?"

Mbappé nodded vigorously. "Of course!"

"Julien!"

The surrounding Bastia fans chanted Julien's name again. In French people's eyes, Zidane was an absolute legendary superstar.

If Julien could gain his recognition, it proved Julien was truly strong!

Just then, even louder cheers erupted throughout the stadium, "Julien DEEEEEEEEE ROCCA!!"

The fans, including Mbappé's family, all looked toward the field.

Mbappé immediately spotted Julien. He had the ball and was advancing!

Behind Julien, a Rennes player was scrambling to get up from the grass. The stadium's cheers were probably because Julien had just left his opponent sprawling on the ground.

As Mbappé anticipated Julien's next move, he felt some regret that he hadn't seen that moment.

Countless expectations and cheers focused on Julien.

This was Bastia's first attack in twelve full minutes.

On the right wing, Julien had fooled Rennes midfielder M'vila, who had fallen due to the slippery grass, giving Julien space to sprint.

But another defender, Apam, immediately rushed toward Julien.

Julien feinted left, pretending to cut inside, but just as his opponent's center of gravity shifted, he flicked the ball with the outside of his right foot—it was a cow tail!

The ball danced like a butterfly under Julien's feet, while he darted past in the opposite direction.

"WHOOSH!"

This scene excited the stadium fans again.

This was Julien De Rocca!

His extremely brilliant playing style.

This was one of the reasons they loved him.

On the sideline, Hadzibegic clenched his fists, nervously craning his neck to watch Julien.

But even as excitement coursed through his veins, his experienced eye could see the challenge that lay ahead. Julien had beaten two players, yes, but Rennes was not a team that would collapse after a single moment of brilliance.

Behind Julien, the defense was already reorganizing. Danze, the veteran defender whose positioning had been temporarily disrupted by the sudden attack, was recovering his ground.

Ahead of Julien, the penalty area was still well-protected, with multiple defenders maintaining their disciplinary positions despite the magic they had just witnessed. Antonetti, for all concerns about returning to Bastia, had not neglected the basics of defensive organization.

Julien would soon be trapped in a dead end. Julien wasn't hasty and continued dribbling. Just as they closed in, he suddenly played a diagonal pass!

"Rocca! De Rocca! Great chance!!" the commentator's voice cracked with excitement as he watched the ball travel across the penalty area.

David threw himself at the ball, his body turning as he tried to divert it past the Rennes goalkeeper.

The connection was clean, the technique was perfect, but football is a game of millimeters, and sometimes millimeters make the difference between glory and heartbreak.

The ball flew past the goalkeeper's outstretched hands, past the goal line, past the dreams of ten thousand supporters, missing the target by the smallest of margins.

"WHOOSH!"

The Bastia fans held their heads in disappointment, but they couldn't ask more of David. For this ball, going from defending to attacking and then shooting was quite demanding for a forward in his thirties.

He was no longer young.

David lay on the ground looking somewhat annoyed, pounded the ground hard before getting up and gave Julien a thumbs up.

Julien just waved his hand and returned to his position.

This Bastia attack had given the Rennes players a cold sweat. This De Rocca was truly troublesome for them.

Besides having very strong breakthrough ability, he also had decent passing ability. Of course, his passing wasn't particularly strong otherwise Rennes would have conceded for sure.

But this was only a seventeen-year-old player!

What he showed now was already terrifying.

In the stands, betting enthusiasts who had placed their money on a comfortable Rennes victory began to feel the first stirrings of concern.

"Julien almost sent me packing," one fan muttered to his companion, his hand unconsciously moving to his chest. "Literally sent me packing—I need to get some heart medication ready."

High in the VIP section of the stadium, Zidane watched Julien's run and retreat and pondered his handling of the situation, and nodded slightly.

This was his first time watching Julien play live, and he had to admit the young man was truly talented.

Especially in terms of ball sense and dribbling rhythm.

Even among all the talented players Zidane had seen, Julien definitely belonged in the first tier.

Zidane felt that Julien would be the one to change the score.

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