Emperor of Football: Julien De Rocca

"Good morning, Julien. This is Laurent Blanc. First, I have to say—watching you toy with those defenders made my knees sore as an old defender!"

Blanc's laughter came through the phone.

Julien responded simply. After learning last night that Blanc wanted to speak with him, he had called first thing this morning before training.

As for Blanc's joke, Julien didn't take it seriously.

Who was Laurent Blanc? A world-class center-back known as "Le Président," standing over 1.9 meters tall. Not only was he defensively excellent, but his attacking ability was also explosive—he was a modern ball-playing defender.

On June 28, 1998, in the World Cup Round of 16 between hosts France and Paraguay, Blanc scored the golden goal winner in the 113th minute.

He became the first golden goal scorer under the World Cup's new rules, and as the oldest player in France's starting XI, he was forever enshrined in history.

Had he not received an unfair red card in the semifinal, missing the final, he would surely have been named to the tournament's best XI.

"But today, let's talk about your future... or rather, France's future."

Here it comes!

When Blanc shifted the conversation, Julien's heart raced.

From Bastia to the national team—this was a massive leap!

"Your performances at Bastia have shown all of France that Corsican volcanic ash can hide diamonds. But now it's time to set that diamond in the blue jersey."

Blanc paused, seemingly hearing Julien's quickened breathing.

"Of course, I'm talking about the national team's blue jersey, not Bastia's. We've been watching you for some time—your dribbling ability, your composure on the ball, your reading of the game... it's even more impressive than some regular players in Ligue 1."

The national team!

Julien had never imagined receiving Blanc's call so soon—after all, he was still a 17-year-old Ligue 2 player!

He was slightly stunned now.

"You might ask: 'Am I ready at 17?' Listen, when I lifted the World Cup in 1998, both Henry and Trezeguet were under 21."

Blanc seemed to give Julien time to process, then said quietly, "Zidane asked me to tell you—'True genius never need to wait for approval from others.' Understood?"

Zidane.

When that name was mentioned, Julien's mind flashed to the bald figure, who seemed to be squinting at him again, with a faint smile on the corner of his mouth.

"I understand."

"So, are you interested in joining the European Championship project?" Blanc extended his final invitation, and added, "Of course I must make it clear that it is difficult for you to be the main player. In my tactical setup, Menez and Nasri are currently the first-choice right-wing and right-inside positions."

"Absolutely!"

Julien had no objection to being a substitute.

Nasri, Menez, Ben Arfa, Benzema—the current French '87 generation's "Four Little Swans" « Les Quatre Petits Cygnes » were at their peak, and he couldn't expect to displace them.

But making the Euro squad, even as a substitute, was an opportunity anyone would seize.

Blanc laughed again, "Excellent. Don't forget to report to Clairefontaine on April 2nd—I'll be waiting.

I also need to be clear about something. While Zidane has told me many good things about you, and I've seen some of your performances in some games, whether you ultimately make my final Euro squad in June depends on your showing in April's training camp and May's friendlies. You need to impress me enough to make that final decision. Understood?"

"Understood!"

Julien replied firmly. The competition in the national team was very fierce—they typically called up more players initially before selecting the final 23-man squad.

Some would inevitably be cut.

"I've already notified Montpellier, and I'll have someone send the official call-up documentation to Bastia soon inform them of the relevant matters of your recruitment as soon as possible. See you at Clairefontaine, Julien. I wish you good luck in your next match."

After brief pleasantries, Blanc hung up.

Julien remained absorbed in the excitement of his national team call-up.

As someone from the future, Julien knew France was currently in a transitional period. The team had produced superstars like Fontaine, Platini, and Zidane, but since the "Golden Generation" of the French Team— Zidane, Deschamps, Djorkaeff, Henry, and Vieira had gradually faded from view, France had been declining.

After reaching the 2006 World Cup final, the team had been on a downward trajectory.

In the last World Cup, due to irreconcilable contradictions within the team, the overall combat effectiveness of the team was affected, and it was directly eliminated after the group stage.

Squad-wise, whether Nasri, Gourcuff, or Cabaye, none could truly inherit the mantles of Zidane and Djorkaeff, so the overall quality remained far below the golden era.

France would need a new generation of core players to rise again—players like Mbappé, Griezmann, Kanté, and Pogba.

But these players were still years away from their prime.

Julien was ahead of them by several years.

He couldn't help but wonder—if everything developed smoothly, might he become France's captain in the future?

With this thought, he checked his attribute panel:

[Height: 183cm Weight: 69kg

Dribbling (+1): 83 (89); Passing: 79 (85)

Shooting: 77 (88); Heading: 44 (63)

Speed (+1): 71 (76); Strength: 69 (70)

Jumping: 60 (72); Stamina (+1): 76 (82)

Defending: 25 (40); Tackling: 15 (33)

Flexibility: 67 (70); Ball Control: 90 (95)]

His speed, strength, stamina, passing, and shooting had all seen modest improvements.

Julien calculated that if he used both his speed and stamina enhancements simultaneously, he could achieve an explosive burst state.

Theoretically, his attributes could exceed 100, but the system capped them at 99—representing the absolute peak of current player ability.

99 was the theoretical maximum, as nobody could guarantee that future players wouldn't exceed current standards.

But Julien didn't dare stack abilities like this.

Speed and power required corresponding physical conditioning—forcing such extreme speed would only result in muscle and ligament injuries.

This was why gaining enhanced abilities also came with complementary attribute boosts.

The human body was a system and was never about isolated strength.

Understanding his current capabilities, Julien composed himself and headed to the training ground for the day's session.

After training for over an hour with his teammates, Châtaigner suddenly came running toward the pitch, shouting excitedly,

"Julien!"

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