Emperor of Football: Julien De Rocca

"De Rocca has put on Bastia's captain's armband. Under normal circumstances, a team wouldn't easily change their captain unless the captain leaves the team or loses the support of the dressing room."

"But clearly, Bastia's previous first captain Rothen had no such possibility."

"This is rare, but not incomprehensible."

"It's just that in such an important match, are Hadzibegic and Bastia really not putting additional pressure on this young player by making such changes?"

The French Cup broadcast commentator expressed some concern after seeing Julien become Bastia's captain.

This was also the thought of most people unfamiliar with Julien.

Mbappé had specifically requested leave to come to the Stade de France.

He and Momège mingled among the Bastia fans, feeling the enthusiasm of the Bastia fans for Julien.

When Mbappé saw Julien become Bastia's captain, he was genuinely happy for him.

He knew Julien well; he knew that pressure would only make Julien stronger.

He looked forward to this match even more.

He also hoped that Julien could lift the French Cup trophy as he wished.

Even more, In his heart, he had a thought: if Julien didn't leave Bastia, he wanted to sign with Bastia.

This might be rather willful, but Mbappé just wanted to be closer to Julien.

His intuition told him that this boy who had suddenly entered his life was no ordinary person.

Whistle!

With referee Tony Chapron's whistle blow, this highly anticipated French Cup final officially began.

After Bastia kicked off, they didn't immediately push forward for an attack. They were determined to execute a defensive counterattack tactic this match.

The front attacking trident—Maolida, left winger Azri, and Julien—were all players with strong advancing capabilities.

The midfield and backline were mainly composed of defensive players.

So now, having possession after kickoff, they waited for Lyon players to come and press, looking for space.

Garde paced on the sideline, his expression not particularly relaxed. He didn't treat Bastia as an ordinary Ligue 2 team.

This was the Ligue 2 champion—already worthy of being called a Ligue 1 team!

Soon, the fans erupted in angry curses. On the right flank, Julien was holding the ball, trying to advance.

Today, Lyon's left-back Aly Cissokho immediately stepped forward when Julien received the ball.

His foot tripped Julien's leg while his hand pushed Julien.

Bringing Julien down on the sideline.

He also said while walking past him, "Don't think about getting past!"

The Bastia fans on this side angrily cursed Cissokho.

Referee Chapron immediately blew his whistle, giving Bastia a free kick while warning Cissokho, "Watch your actions."

Cissokho shrugged, looking nonchalant.

Julien got up and adjusted his socks. He had some impression of Cissokho, from AC Milan.

Aly Cissokho started in Ligue 2, then moved to Portuguese giants Porto, where he truly showed his talent.

In the 2008/09 season, Cissokho's beast-like physical qualities attracted attention in both the Champions League and domestic league.

Particularly in the Champions League, his famous scene of man-marking Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo made his value skyrocket.

He was called the best left-back in the Portuguese league.

In summer 2009, AC Milan made their move, securing this deal, prepared to spend £12 million to acquire this beast defender.

However, Problems arose during the medical examination. AC Milan cited the dental report showing Cissokho's dental deformity as reason to abort the transfer.

Milan believed that dental deformity could lead to muscle diseases, making this deal risky.

The "Milan Lab" of that time still had some prestige; Seedorf and Ronaldo had both undergone dental corrections due to similar issues.

So Cissokho missed out on AC Milan.

Then Lyon, who didn't mind Cissokho's dental problems, spent €16 million to bring him back to France.

And today, He would become Garde's ace card for specifically marking Julien De Rocca.

This tackle was just a small trick on the pitch, giving Julien a warning.

Rothen took the freekick and sent the ball to the center, where Maolida, under the joint defense of Lyon's two center-backs Chris and Lovren, failed to win the header.

Bastia decisively retreated.

Lyon began to advance.

But they still seemed somewhat cautious. Several minutes passed without forming any threat to Bastia's goal.

The scene was rather dull.

The broadcast cameras, during such moments, continuously swept across the stands of the Stade de France.

Many familiar faces appeared.

French Football Federation president Noël Le Graët; Blanc; Zidane; Wenger; Lyon president Michel Aulas; Bastia president Geronimo, and others.

Even LFP (French Professional Football League) executives, the French Sports Minister, and Paris regional administrative officials—these management figures appeared at the scene.

This French Cup final at the Stade de France became the crucial night for French football and sports.

The French Cup broadcast commentator even said, "Sarkozy previously intended to attend the match for campaign purposes, hoping to gain fan support, but for unknown reasons, he has not yet appeared tonight."

This dull scene didn't last long.

Lyon attacked, and Gourcuff suddenly played a through ball, piercing Bastia's defense.

Lacazette, very stable in his lower body and quite strong, shielded off the defending Choplin, controlled the ball, and then fired a shot.

It pierced through the goal defended by Novis.

Swish!

0-1.

Bastia fell behind by one goal in the seventeenth minute.

Lacazette excitedly rushed out of the pitch, running to the stands where Lyon fans gathered, celebrating enthusiastically.

Lyon president Aulas breathed a sigh of relief seeing his team score first.

Before the match, whether it was the media or Garde, they had all described to him how powerful Bastia was, what a dark horse they were.

How incredibly strong that De Rocca was.

This made Aulas somewhat worried about winning the French Cup.

After all, the French Cup championship was extremely important for Lyon now!

Its importance could be said to affect the team's finances and strength for the next several seasons.

This season, Lyon had been disappointing in the league, with almost no chance of making the Champions League. They were counting on winning the French Cup to play in the Europa League and at least earn some European competition prize money.

Without European competition, Lyon's finances would deteriorate further.

Now seeing Bastia with almost no ability to fight back, De Rocca nowhere to be seen and mostly invisible, and his own team scoring, Aulas was in a great mood.

On the pitch, Julien took on the captain's responsibility, clapping to his teammates, "There's still plenty of time. When you have possession, just play long balls to find me. I'll handle it!"

His teammates nodded; they trusted Julien completely now.

Everyone knew of Julien's excellent dribbling ability, but many overlooked that Julien was actually also a speedy winger.

It was just that due to his adductor injury problems, he had been playing conservatively, not showing this side.

In the previous few matches, he had gradually revealed the tip of the iceberg. And that was already enough to amaze people.

Julien was so beloved by God, concentrating so many talents in one person's body.

Whistle!

Soon the whistle sounded, and the match continued!

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