The Césari Stadium shook once again.
UB members kept pushing toward the barrier, frantically waving their arms at De Rocca and continuously chanting his name.
At this moment, these Bastia supporters closest to Julien had no words to describe this moment.
They simply kept repeating the name "Julien De Rocca"—the name that excited them beyond measure.
"De Rocca!" Even the broadcast commentator suddenly shouted this name. "This is complete domination! Laval has no answer for his breakthroughs. You can defend once, twice, but once De Rocca succeeds, it's a goal!"
"Perhaps many people think his thirty-million valuation is inflated, mostly due to his potential, but with performances like this, he's worth at least ten million euros."
Teammates had completely engulfed De Rocca.
They were overjoyed.
Those Bastia fans who couldn't make it to the stadium celebrated wildly in taverns.
"You need to watch this goal in slow motion ten times! Haha, Julien's footwork is too fast! You can't even see it clearly!"
"This dribbling has more curves than Corsican Mountain roads! The opponent's ankle is probably still tied in knots. Don't give me any crap about problem child! A genius's dictionary only contains 'destroy them all'! We're so proud of you, Julien!"
"Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! Bertrand, bring more drinks!"
The momentary scene on the pitch, transmitted through the broadcast signal, connected the hearts of every Bastia and De Rocca fan.
In that same moment, they all erupted with passion for this goal!
Madrid.
Zidane half-reclined on his sofa, watching the young man appear like he was ruling the world on television, a smile appeared at the corners of his mouth.
Watching the match with him was his second son, Luca Zidane Fernandez.
Zidane asked with a smile, "Do you think you could save his shots?"
Luca was currently in Real Madrid's youth academy as a goalkeeper.
Luca shook his head and replied, "For the first goal, I think with better positioning and higher concentration, it wouldn't be a problem. But the second goal—there's really no way. His footwork is too fast."
"If we get a chance, we should go test ourselves against him. You might have a different feeling—he's not just about quick feet."
The more Zidane watched De Rocca, the more he felt this kid was special.
Perhaps he would lead the French national team to lift the World Cup again, making up for his own regret from 2006?
Zidane didn't know the answer. But he could indeed see talent in Julien.
This was France's footballing treasure.
The match continued on television, but Zidane's phone rang.
It was Real Madrid Youth B coach Fernando Morientes, also his former Real Madrid teammate.
"Hey Zinedine, sorry to bother you, but I think I need to ask you a favor. The academy is interested in a young French player's potential, and we might need you to step in."
"Who?"
Zidane knew that Florentino had given him an honorary position at Real Madrid—team advisor—not just to stabilize the dressing room, but more importantly to establish connections in France.
Zidane was a golden name in French football.
"Kylian Sanmi Mbappé Lottin. He's currently at Clairefontaine. Our scouts have watched his matches and followed him for quite some time. They think he has good potential. We want to make early contact—several clubs are already in communication with his family."
'Kylian?'
Zidane certainly knew this player. In fact, Zidane knew the names of most players at Clairefontaine.
"He's indeed a promising young man."
Morientes continued discussing Mbappé's characteristics with Zidane.
This reminded Zidane of an amusing story.
When he first saw Kylian Mbappé at Clairefontaine, the coach responsible for that year's young players, Gérard Prêcheur, had told him a little story about Kylian Mbappé.
When Mbappé was little, he went to a hair salon with his childhood friends to get a haircut. Then Mbappé very seriously told the hairdresser, "I want the same haircut as Zidane."
Everyone present was stunned.
Now Mbappé always defends this embarrassing childhood memory: "When you admire a player, you want to imitate everything about him. I really didn't know at the time that 'Zizou' was balding."
When Zidane shared this amusing story with Morientes,
Morientes burst out laughing.
"Haha, balding!"
Being close friends, they didn't need to hold back.
While Zidane and Morientes chatted and laughed, Luca watched the television broadcast with an increasingly serious expression.
He realized that this number 29, De Rocca, whom his father held in such high regard, was truly phenomenal.
He was practically treating the right flank like a highway.
The defenders were in complete disarray.
The time on the field was only 34 minutes, but the score had already become 4-0. Using his ability to draw attention, Julien had helped his teammates score two more goals.
Luca's expression was very serious.
Because when people talked about him, they would always say, "This is Zidane's son, Luca."
Yes, if it weren't for his father being Zidane, he might never have been able to wear a Real Madrid jersey.
Watching De Rocca, watching these talented players, he always thought about the expectations placed on him by his father's fans.
"GOOOOOAL!!!!"
Suddenly, the Ligue 2 commentator's amazed voice came from the television—another goal!
"Coup du chapeau!!"
Oh!
Hat-trick!
Even Luca was stunned by De Rocca—a first-half hat-trick!
"Hey, I need to hang up now. Oh, I have to watch this French genius who's right on our doorstep," Zidane said, focusing all his attention on the slow-motion replay on television.
"Hehe, I heard that. You're watching a match. Who got the hat-trick?! Oh, I heard—De Rocca! Yes! Zinedine! You need to bring him to Real—"
Before Morientes could finish his sentence, Zidane had already hung up.
On screen, facing a double-team, De Rocca passed the ball into the penalty area. His teammates had two consecutive shots blocked, and in the chaos, Julien controlled the ball and dribbled in tight spaces.
He managed to find a gap through a forest of legs and slot the ball home.
Zidane watched the television and broke into a grin.
"This is truly France's Ronaldinho!" the Ligue 2 commentator exclaimed, continuing: "This is also De Rocca's first career hat-trick!
This goal successfully ties him with Reims' Fofana at the top of the Ligue 2 scoring charts!
But Fofana needed 30 matches!
Julien De Rocca has done it in just seven games!
Seven games, twelve goals, plus two assists—this is why he's Ligue 2's most valuable player!"
________________________________________________________
Check out my patreon where you can read more chapters:
patreon.com/LorianFiction
Thanks for the support