"Red card! That's a dangerous tackle!"
"Must be a red card!"
"Is this even football? Even MMA doesn't have moves like that!"
When the whistle blew, Stade Césari erupted in fury, with Bastia fans cursing loudly.
Some fans even threw paper cups at the field, with cola and pastis splashing onto nearby Guingamp players.
But the Guingamp players had no mind for the fans, they were all pleading with the referee, "Giresse didn't mean it—this was just an accident."
"Giresse was going for the ball."
Bastia players rushed up to yell at Giresse, "Who taught you to tackle from behind?!"
Giresse knew he'd been reckless the moment he made the tackle. After getting up, he immediately held his hands open in front of him, showing regret and guilt.
Ignoring Rothen and the others' anger, he went to check on De Rocca lying on the ground, asking, "Hey mate, I'm really sorry. Are you okay?"
Julien waved him off without speaking.
It hurt like hell.
This made him understand why, in his previous life, whether it was the Ronaldos, Messi, Neymar, or others, their socks were full of holes and often bloodstained after matches.
When your dribbling ability was overwhelmingly superior, everyone defending you went for the player.
Knowing they couldn't stop the ball, they went for the person instead.
Julien clutched his shin. Giresse had tackled him from behind after being beaten, using what was essentially a scissor-kick motion to bring him down.
If he hadn't been alert, that tackle would definitely have caught his ankle.
Seeing the situation getting out of control, with Bastia and Guingamp players starting to shove each other, the referee blew his whistle again, pointed at Giresse, and pulled out a red card.
Straight red!
BOOO!
The moment the red card appeared, Stade Césari erupted in fierce booing.
"Same name, no fame!"
"Same name, no game!"
Bastia fans chanted in unison, humiliating little Giresse.
As Giresse walked through the player tunnel, fans on both sides taunted him:
"Your father's ashamed of you!"
"You're a shadow with a surname!"
"Ligue 1's not for legacy flops—go home!"
Giresse kept his head down as he walked back to the dressing room, appearing to show no reaction to these voices.
He was the son of French legend Alain Giresse and had long accepted all these doubts during his professional career.
People meeting him for the first time would always say, "Ah? Alain Giresse is your father?"
Their expression seemed just short to ask, Not biological, right?
For French fans, Alain Giresse was as legendary a name as Platini.
He was incredibly short, even shorter than Messi.
With boots on, he was only about 162cm tall.
But with this height, in the 1980s, Alain Giresse became Bordeaux's core midfielder alongside Jean Tigana.
Giresse was named French Player of the Year in 1982, 1983, and 1987.
In the 1982 Ballon d'Or voting, he ranked higher than Michel Platini, second only to winner Paolo Rossi.
He was also a key contributor to France's 1984 European Championship victory.
Unfortunately, Thibault Giresse lacked his father's talent.
He left the field dejected.
On the sideline, Guingamp coach Le Bris frowned deeply. The team was already behind, and now they were down to ten men.
This was difficult.
The Ligue 2 commentator said, "Guingamp's only option now is to defend with everyone back. They have no hope of victory—Bastia will break down their defense."
De Rocca got up amid the crowd's cheers. He moved his foot around—there was no real problem.
But he had to be careful about this. This served as a warning.
Now he unknowingly enjoyed top-star treatment in Ligue 2—basketball had "Hack-a-Shaq" tactics, and football had lumberjacks too.
This was the inescapable fate of players with elite dribbling ability.
Bastia's free kick was taken, and Guingamp defended with everyone back.
The scene became a half-field attacking drill.
This small-area offense and defense showcased De Rocca's characteristics perfectly.
Guingamp's defensive strength was almost entirely concentrated on the right flank, trying to lock down Julien.
But De Rocca's feet were more flexible with the ball than hands.
A flick, a pull, then a cut. Following Julien's movements, the Guingamp players' center of gravity was pulled back and forth.
Guingamp's right-side defense was utterly embarrassed!
At 85th minute.
De Rocca received Rothen's pass and dribbled forward along the penalty area's edge.
After two touches, he stopped and feinted a shot.
Guingamp's defenders quickly moved to block.
Julien flicked the ball sideways and continued dribbling for two more touches, then feinted with his left foot.
Three defenders slid down in unison to block.
But De Rocca suddenly cut inside.
The three defenders were left behind as they scrambled to get up. Julien had already turned around.
Right-footed shot!
Though it wasn't his preferred foot, his earlier rhythm had not only left the defenders flailing but also disrupted the goalkeeper's positioning.
Any shot on target would score!
SWOOSH!
The ball thundered into the net!
"De Rocca!"
The emotions of over ten thousand fans ignited instantly as they cheered passionately, raising their arms in wild celebration.
As Julien ran toward the corner flag, he slid on his knees.
Rising smoothly, he spread his arms wide toward the UB members in the north stand.
Countless fans celebrating wildly before him.
Teammates following behind him.
This moment captured the essence of youthful ambition!
"GOOOAL!!"
"De Rocca! Guingamp's defense looked utterly embarrassed against De Rocca!"
"De Rocca's entire body is a feint—it's hard to imagine such pace from someone who is almost 1.8 meters tall!"
"This season's gem discovered by Bastia will have countless teams fighting over him in the summer window. This is another French super talent!"
The Ligue 2 commentator spoke passionately.
Bastia was in celebration.
Seven matches left in the league!
Reims had also won this round—they only led by 8 points, but the Ligue 2 championship was getting closer to Bastia.
Former league leaders Clermont had fallen to fifth place due to injuries and other factors in the season's final stretch.
"No team can threaten Bastia's championship throne anymore. Only Bastia themselves can lose this title!"
3-1.
Hadzibegic made substitutions decisively.
In the league, as long as they could win and let Julien score when possible, that was enough.
The key was still the French Cup.
Next match was the semifinal!
Even facing lower-division opponents, Hadzibegic remained calm, not wanting to follow Deschamps and Marseille's footsteps.
When the two minutes of stoppage time ended and the final whistle blew, Julien's name could be heard being sung over the stadium to the streets.
"De Rocca!"
"De Rocca!!"
Despite only twenty-plus minutes of playing time, Julien still delivered a goal for the team.
Fans celebrated wildly chanting his name and were filled with anticipation.
As players thanked the stadium crowd, the fans unfurled a banner saying in French: "De Rocca, take us to Stade de France!"
Stade de France was the venue for the French Cup final!!
________________________________________________________
Check out my patreon where you can read more chapters:
patreon.com/LorianFiction
Thanks for the support