Emperor of Football: Julien De Rocca

Home fans applauding an opposition player—this was the ultimate silent protest against their own team's performance.

The Arles players, coaching staff, and officials felt utterly humiliated.

The Ligue 2 commentator observed: "Such scenes are rarely witnessed. The last time I saw something like this was at the Bernabéu in Madrid. That was November 2005, when Barcelona defeated Ronaldo and Zidane's Real Madrid 3-0. Ronaldinho had a perfect performance, not only scoring twice but completely conquering the Bernabéu with his second goal after beating Ramos.

After Ronaldinho's goal, 80,000 fans rose to their feet in applause. Throughout the second half, whenever Ronaldinho touched the ball, the Bernabéu faithful cheered. After the match, Ronaldinho excitedly said, 'Getting applause from opposing fans is perfect for me. At Barcelona, only Maradona could earn applause from fans regardless of which team they supported.'

Now, Bastia's De Rocca has achieved the same feat! And in most people's eyes, his playing style is reminiscent of Ronaldinho."

The Arles fans grew increasingly vocal:

"We're worse than the club's U12 team!"

"Sell the stadium and buy some defenders!"

"Ugly football, ugly management—you're taking us straight to Ligue 3... and bankruptcy!"

"Club president? Just a bargain-bin clown from Costco!"

Many supporter groups couldn't take it anymore, turning their backs to the pitch and singing "La Marseillaise" in protest, using this gesture to mock the team as unworthy of representing French football.

Some fans even shouted at the players: "You should go back to working in the sausage factory!"

Julien didn't understand this reference until Vincent whispered the explanation: "The Arles region is famous for sausages—they're calling them amateurs."

"Haha," Julien laughed. This was just like saying they should go work in a factory instead of playing football.

Unfortunately, the Arles fans' voices would likely never reach the club's hierarchy, and those who could hear them had no authority to manage the club.

Soon, the first half ended.

In the dressing room, Hadzibegic showed no intention of substituting Julien. Instead, he spoke to him privately: "How do you feel? Can you keep going?"

Julien nodded.

"I'll give you more time in the second half. Try to score more goals. You've got eight goals now, and with Arles' confidence shattered, I want you to go for a hat-trick."

"A hat-trick?"

"What, no confidence? You're the best player in Ligue 2! You can't not win the golden boot," Hadzibegic grinned.

Julien smiled back.

The day before, when Transfermarkt updated the valuations, his first reaction was shock, followed by confusion—how could he be worth thirty million euros?

In this era before transfer fee inflation, thirty million euros carried serious weight.

Lille's top scorer Eden Hazard was valued at just 33 million euros.

What were Hazard's achievements compared to his own?

But both Châtaigner and Hadzibegic explained that Transfermarkt valued his potential.

Hazard was already 21, while De Rocca was only 17.

In consecutive French Cup matches against Ligue 1 teams, he had consistently shone—this demonstrated both talent and ability.

Julien had also faced Hazard directly and emerged victorious.

Additionally, He was French—though nobody said it openly, players from smaller nations needed to work much harder to see their valuations skyrocket.

Of course, Transfermarkt had already built in significant premium to this valuation. Without better performances, bigger platforms, and greater honors, this valuation would only decline as he aged.

This was a common problem for young players, excellent performances in one or two seasons led to inflated valuations, followed by complacency, declining performances, and plummeting values.

Currently, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi had the highest valuations worldwide, with a massive gap between them and everyone else.

Messi: 120 million euros

Ronaldo: 100 million euros

Third-place Iniesta: 70 million euros

Most other top-tier players were valued between 40-60 million euros.

While Bastia players celebrated in their dressing room, Arles' locker room was a scene of chaos as Estevan exploded in fury.

"You worthless bunch! Losing like this?! Watching your own fans cheer for the opposition—and you can stomach that?!"

Estevan even kicked over a water bottle, pointing at Balde, who had been repeatedly beaten by De Rocca, "Your defending against De Rocca was like a toothless guard dog! He went past you easier than a revolving door!"

He glared at everyone: "You couldn't even touch his shadow! The club pays you euros—we might as well buy fighting bulls to charge at people on the pitch!"

"Play with more aggression in the second half! If you can't play football, can't you at least kick people?!"

His roars echoed through the Arles dressing room.

The second half began with Arles players showing slightly more fight, but when they tried to take the game seriously and prevent further damage—or even score themselves—De Rocca's wing play shattered their remaining confidence.

When De Rocca got the ball, even the home fans joined the away supporters in cheering his name.

Facing De Rocca, midfielder Jamel panicked before the youngster even made a move.

De Rocca simply accelerated past him, and Jamel instinctively grabbed and pulled him down, earning a yellow card.

Some Arles fans even booed Jamel.

Head coach Estevan stood expressionless on the sideline—this was undoubtedly the worst experience of his coaching career.

His own players being booed by their own fans?

The Ligue 2 commentator was equally surprised: "I can understand cheering for opposition players, but what's the mentality of fans booing their own team?"

Bastia didn't care about the drama—they struck while the iron was hot.

They quickly took the free kick, crossing into the box for Maolida while other attacking players made runs.

Rather than passing to an open teammate, Maolida looked for De Rocca.

When De Rocca reached the wing, Maolida didn't hesitate, playing a square pass to the teenager's feet.

De Rocca controlled the ball smoothly, moving forward as two Arles players closed in. A quick stop and cut inside saw him bundled over by Soro.

Tweet!

The referee immediately blew his whistle and showed another yellow card, recognizing the need to control the match as Arles players' emotions spiraled.

Seeing De Rocca fouled, Rothen confronted Soro, "Trash like you can't play football, and only do dirty fouls!"

Though frustrated, Soro knew his challenge was wrong and didn't escalate the confrontation, thanks to the referee's timely intervention.

Seeing the tension, Hadzibegic considered substituting De Rocca—the opposition was losing control, and anything could happen.

As Julien rose from the ground ready to confront Soro, Vincent held him back, "Rothen's got this. Stay calm—you can't get booked."

Julien had never been one to swallow after being fouled.

This free kick was even closer to goal.

Though the earlier confrontation didn't escalate, Bastia players were now ready to stand up for Julien.

Before the free kick could be taken, the referee had to stop play several times due to pushing and shoving between players in the box.

Rothen even knocked down Jamel Aït Ben Idir.

The referee pointed to his whistle, repeatedly warning both sides: "I can see all your movements—I'll give yellow cards, even red cards."

Thump!

Vincent whipped in the free kick, targeting Maolida's aerial prowess—his height advantage was crucial to Bastia's tactics.

Maolida rose above the crowd, heading powerfully toward goal.

Goalkeeper Butelle made a brilliant save, but the ball bounced back into the danger zone, causing chaos as everyone scrambled for the loose ball.

In the melee, with the referee and linesmen's view blocked, Julien positioned himself and, unnoticed, gave Soro a sharp elbow to the ribs in retaliation.

"Ah!" Soro cried out and went down, but with so many players around, it was unclear who had caught him.

The ball was quickly cleared, and with play continuing, the referee didn't stop the match despite Soro lying in the penalty area.

The ball soon found its way to Julien's feet. He deliberately dribbled toward where Soro was lying, making the Arles defenders hesitant as teammates shouted for Soro to get up.

As Soro scrambled to his feet, Julien's feet danced with mesmerizing skill, and in Soro's moment of confusion—swoosh!—he nutmegged him, and the ball flew into the net.

Soro stood there, blocking goalkeeper Butelle's view and preventing a proper save attempt.

Another goal!

4-0!

Bastia dominant away from home!

The Arles fans continued applauding De Rocca, who acknowledged them with a wave and clasped hands in gratitude.

"De Rocca! De Rocca!"

His gesture prompted the home fans to chant his name throughout the stadium.

Soro stood frozen, hearing the entire stadium calling De Rocca's name, his eyes were filled with malice.

In that sequence, he had been made to look like a complete fool.

Other Arles players protested to the referee, claiming the goal shouldn't count because Soro had been fouled, it should have been an attacking foul against Bastia.

But the referee rejected their appeals, "He went down on his own—we saw it clearly. Nobody tripped him."

The goal was valid.

After celebrating with his teammates, De Rocca looked at the dejected Arles players, thinking that this era had no VAR, and even if it did, Ligue 2 wouldn't have access to it.

He was indeed pushing for his hat-trick, but Hadzibegic received an urgent message from Châtaigner—it was time to rest De Rocca, as the opposition might resort to dangerous play.

Hadzibegic understood that when teams were thoroughly beaten, incidents could occur.

Unlike top-level leagues where violent conduct carried severe consequences, lower-tier football often featured players in the twilight of their careers who might make unprofessional decisions out of frustration.

After Arles' next attack was cleared for a throw-in, Hadzibegic immediately made his substitution.

As De Rocca left the field, he received a standing ovation from the entire stadium.

The sight left Arles players with mixed feelings—they had never received such treatment from their own fans.

Seeing De Rocca receive this reception at their home ground felt like being cuckolded in their own bedroom.

They were feeling deeply unpleasant, but they could only swallow their pride as they simply weren't good enough.

Julien waved to fans around the stadium as if he were at his own Stade Sebastien Cesari.

Hadzibegic embraced him and said, "Although you're one short of a hat-trick, you got an assist. Get the next one in the following match."

Even with Julien off the field, Arles players' fouls continued to rise.

In the 80th minute, Soro received a second yellow card for a flying tackle on Rothen, resulting in a red card and early exit.

Over 10,000 fans at the Parc des Sports d'Avignon bid him farewell with boos.

Seeing Rothen go down, Bastia fans tensed, this season, Rothen had genuinely been their midfield backbone.

This former PSG castoff had found new life at Bastia.

No wonder he was close to De Rocca, he understood what it felt like to be discarded.

Fortunately, medical checks revealed no serious injury.

With no appetite for further attacks, Hadzibegic used his remaining two substitutions to withdraw Maolida and Rothen, both key players who needed to be preserved.

Despite being a man up, Bastia remained in control, especially with Arles showing no fight.

Near the end, substitute striker Tovan scored with a long-range effort, sealing the final score at 0-5.

Bastia secured a complete victory!

After the match, Hadzibegic's comments finally showed ambition beyond just survival: "With nine league matches remaining, I hope we don't falter. We might be able to challenge for the final promotion spot."

As for Estevan, he skipped the post-match press conference completely—no coach could maintain composure after watching his own fans turn against the team.

In the showers, Julien noticed he had only gained 5 points for the victory.

He was somewhat disappointed—a brace for just 5 points!

Back in the dressing room, while packing his kit bag, he checked his phone and found a message from his father Pierre, "Call me when you're free! Laurent Blanc called!"

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