Emperor of Football: Julien De Rocca

Julien nodded slightly. As long as he got on the pitch, he would naturally give his all.

As for starting.

The next match was on February 9th against Lille in the French Cup Round of 16. Bastia was basically in a state of abandonment for this match.

Lille was in fierce form this season, gunning for the Ligue 1 title.

Especially forward Hazard's performance—it was no joke—he was already reserved by Chelsea.

Even playing at home, Bastia's chances of victory were extremely low.

Julien pushed these thoughts aside and focused on the current match first.

The second half began.

Both sides made no substitutions for now, but when Julien got up to warm up, it immediately drew enthusiastic cheers from a large number of Bastia fans.

Julien's performances in these few first-team matches had perfectly embodied what Bastia fans envisioned a genius to look like.

This was why, when the team's attack stalled in the first half, fans chanted Julien's name.

They believed this kid could bring change to the team.

Marco Simone heard the commotion from the Bastia fans and turned to look at the warming-up Julien.

His brow furrowed. This player was one he had specifically considered how to mark before the match.

In Marco's career, he had encountered many top strikers, each with their own strengths.

Like his teammates: some had ghostly movement along the offside line for killer strikes; some were called perfect center-forwards with the ultimate fusion of technique and awareness; and there was also the teammate Marco thought Julien most resembled—the Sword of Montenegro, the Balkan Maradona—with that top-tier ball sense.

So, Marco could see Julien's talent.

This was also why he was worried.

Geniuses are called geniuses because what they can do defies common sense.

If his current defensive line consisted of his former teammates—Maldini, Baresi, Costacurta, Tassotti—who would he fear?

Julien?

Two, three Juliens—he wouldn't fear any of them!

From the late 1980s to mid-1990s, AC Milan's defensive line faced waves of attacks from top strikers like Maradona, Careca, Klinsmann, Baggio, Signori, Zola, Vialli, Mancini, Romário, or Stoichkov, yet managed to build a dynasty and become the strongest defense in countless Red and Black fans' hearts, proving its worth.

This was perhaps also the weakness of first-class forwards like Marco when they became coaches.

He assumed all players were like himself. He also assumed defensive lines were like his era's defense.

Beep!

In the sixty-first minute, when there was a dead ball on the pitch, the referee blew his whistle and pointed toward the sideline, indicating a substitution.

Julien stood at the sideline.

Dominique put his arm around his shoulder, still giving him instructions: "Be decisive, use your dribbling, drive inward, create chaos."

David came off.

When he hugged Julien, he said, "Kid, it's up to you now."

Julien nodded slightly.

Before entering the pitch, he habitually tapped the sideline with his toe.

"Oh! Bastia's first substitution comes now—they're bringing on the team's currently much-talked-about genius player, Julien!"

Seeing Bastia's substitution, the commentator was no longer as surprised as before. Julien had proven with his two-match performance that youth wasn't a problem.

"Julien has only appeared twice for Bastia's first team—one French Cup match, one league match—but he's already achieved three goals and one assist. This data is enough to prove his ability.

And Julien is quite different from Bastia's other players. His footwork is very delicate; perhaps in this kind of positional attack, he'll have a special effect."

Bastia's change made Monaco's players take it seriously.

Marco kept making gestures to his players from the sideline.

Beep!

Substitution complete, the match continued.

Bastia maintained possession.

They were playing a 4-4-2 formation this match, with Maolida as the target man creating havoc in the box.

Previously, the team relied on midfield runs and fullback overlaps, constantly delivering crosses into the box, trying to break through the defensive wall with aerial bombardment.

They also tried long shots to break the deadlock.

All failed.

When Julien entered, playing on the right wing, his first touch immediately made him feel this match was different.

When he got the ball.

Gary Coulibaly behind him didn't wait for his next move but immediately pressed up, applying physical pressure.

Julien stumbled, and in losing his balance, quickly poked the ball to a teammate. The ball wasn't lost, but the attacking opportunity was gone.

Boo!!

Monaco fans on the sideline booed Julien when they saw this.

Julien remained unmoved.

He was mentally prepared for his current treatment.

Why do defenders' careers last much longer than forwards?

One kicks people, the other gets kicked.

Julien tried several more times to dribble and break through, but the opposition had three players marking him on the right flank.

They gave Julien no space at all.

Although he was a substitute, Monaco's defensive pressure on him was completely like core player treatment!

This made it hard for Julien to perform.

The Gamblers were frustrated.

"Brother, you can't only be so dominant when we bet on the opposition! Now you need to step up too!"

"No good, I've already hedged and bought a draw. The probability of 0-0 is too high. Bastia's odds have risen."

"Exactly, someone said before that Julien was a guiding light, but where's the guiding light? He's a death light! His previous dominance was purely because opponents had tactical problems and weren't familiar with him. Now it's only his third match and his true form is revealed."

"It's still early, trust Julien. You can't expect him to be Messi—he's only seventeen."

"Heh, Messi was already playing for Barcelona at seventeen, okay? What's Julien worth? If it were not for gambling, who the hell would watch Ligue 2?"

On the pitch.

Monaco fans also booed whenever Julien touched the ball.

They wanted to put pressure on him.

Young players easily buckle under pressure, with distorted movements and impatient mentalities being common in matches.

However, Julien wasn't affected by their boos and played as he should.

Ten minutes passed.

Julien received the ball on the right wing again. As he pushed forward with the ball, two players immediately blocked his path.

Julien tried to use his footwork rhythm to force a breakthrough.

But the two closed the door, blocking him.

Instead of forcing his way through, Julien passed the ball before the double-team.

Maolida came out to receive, controlled the ball, then knocked it behind Monaco's defensive line.

After passing, Julien had already moved quickly, going around the defending players to make a forward run.

Defender Kagelmacher realized this passing lane and threw himself completely, sliding to clear the ball out for a corner before it reached Julien.

Clap clap clap!

Monaco fans in the stands applauded.

Bastia fans felt it was a pity—such a good opportunity.

Maolida gestured to Julien that his pass wasn't good.

Julien gave a thumbs up in response.

This was the benefit of having a target man—he could make runs more freely.

Bastia corner.

Rotten took it.

Julien stood outside the box. Though he was 1.8 meters tall, he basically had no heading ability.

He waited on the periphery for opportunities.

Bang!

Rotten delivered the ball, and an opposing defender headed it out of the box. The opportunity Julien wanted had come!

He quickly controlled the ball as Monaco players immediately rushed out.

Julien shaped to shoot with his left foot.

The opponent immediately turned his back to block, but this was just a feint—fake shot, real cut.

Left foot cut to right foot, then pushed forward, bursting into the right side of the penalty area.

Inside the box, legs were everywhere.

Julien used his dribbling ability to the fullest, constantly seeking gaps, swaying left and right with the ball, and when there was space, continued with shooting feints.

He had the opposing players completely bewildered.

Bastia players also understood they needed to create space for Julien, all making runs in complete chaos.

All Monaco fans' hearts tightened.

Julien's every stop and movement could make their hearts skip a beat.

He was almost at the six-yard box.

Julien made another fake shot and cut, completely avoiding the sliding Coulibaly.

Crash!

Monaco fans' hearts tightened as they watched Coulibaly slide past.

Bang!

This was the opportunity Julien wanted!

A curled shot to the far corner from the six-yard box!

Croatian goalkeeper Subasic, already confused by Julien's several feints, saw Coulibaly get nutmegged and immediately rushed to cover the near post.

The moment Julien shot, he instinctively dove to block the near post.

However, the ball sailed over his head straight for the far corner!

Swish!

The ball nestled in the net!

0-1!

Bastia broke the deadlock in the seventy-third minute.