"Goal!"
"De Rocca!"
"Beautiful finish, but even more beautiful was his composure inside the penalty area, still managing that lovely stepover. Such calmness under pressure—that's real talent!"
"Ten league matches, sixteen goals and three assists!"
"With this attacking efficiency, De Rocca is a complete goal machine!"
The excited commentary from the Ligue 2 broadcast echoed through television sets.
Lyon's entire coaching staff was watching.
Head coach Garde pointed to De Rocca's triumphant celebration, arms spread wide, and asked, "Do we have anyone who can mark him one-on-one?"
Every member of the coaching staff shook their heads.
The current Lyon was no longer the Lyon that had dominated Ligue 1 for seven consecutive seasons.
With the club's deteriorating financial situation, key players had left in droves, and under PSG's dominant rise, Lyon was a shadow of its former glory.
This Coupe de France, a trophy they once looked down upon, had now become precious.
The team desperately needed such a championship to boost morale—and investor's confidence.
In 2007, France amended the law prohibiting professional sports clubs from going public.
Lyon president Aulas quickly pushed forward the club's IPO process, successfully making Lyon the first publicly traded French football club.
At the time, Lyon was already the five-time consecutive Ligue 1 champion, but France's high-income tax, low wage levels, and the league's limited international appeal restricted Lyon's development.
The successful IPO filled Aulas with ambition. His exact words were: "Create a new Champions League-winning club."
Unfortunately, shortly after going public, Lyon was hit by the global financial crisis, and the stock price plummeted.
This subsequently affected the team's strength, leading to declining results, exclusion from Champions League competition, mounting debts from stadium construction, and revenue falling short of expenditure—problems that erupted all at once.
The post-IPO plan to build a new 60,000-capacity stadium was delayed repeatedly due to bureaucratic red tape, political disagreements, and opposition from various groups.
No construction agreement had been reached to this day.
The final construction cost of this new stadium had escalated from the initial estimate of 250 million to around 450 million euros.
This further impacted Lyon's investment in the squad.
Garde, a product of Lyon's youth system, had courageously taken over as head coach under these circumstances. This season represented his best chance to lead the team to a championship!
He had to give everything!
He had been Arsenal's first French player and the first foreign player to wear the captain's armband at Arsenal.
Many Gunners fans considered him Wenger's first signing upon arriving at Arsenal, along with Vieira.
He retired at Arsenal but left his peak years at Lyon.
After retirement, he started as an assistant coach, serving for eight years from 2003 to 2011, witnessing both Lyon's glory and decline.
Having learned under head coaches Le Guen, Houllier, Perrin, and Pierre, he finally took charge at the beginning of this season.
He had lived up to expectations by leading the team to the Coupe de France final. They had been without a championship for several seasons—it was time for a trophy.
But as the only Ligue 1 team among the final four, he had expected an easy run to the title.
Now, after seeing De Rocca's performance, Garde was losing confidence.
"We'll use zonal defense. Lock down the right flank, give him no space, and we can foul frequently to disrupt his rhythm. Just be careful with the challenges—don't get baited into a red card," Garde decided while watching the broadcast.
He added another instruction: "Also, he's left-footed, so let him go wide but primarily defend against his cuts inside."
On television, Bastia had begun making substitutions. At the sixty-minute mark, De Rocca clocked out right on schedule.
As De Rocca left the field, the Tours players who had been defending Bastia's right flank breathed a collective sigh of relief.
They had paid the price of two yellow cards trying to stop De Rocca and still hadn't completely contained him.
The team was still trailing by two goals.
David came on to replace De Rocca.
As he left the field, Julien embraced David and then hugged Hadzibegic.
"Good work, son. Consistently excellent as always. Rest well and save your best form for the next two matches."
"Will do."
Julien took his seat on the bench as Thauvin approached him. "That goal was absolutely gorgeous!"
Julien smiled slightly.
Thauvin continued, "See that? That's the cameraman from Bastia Evening News. I just heard we're filming a documentary. I have a feeling most of the footage in this documentary will be of you, so when you're on the pitch, when you're celebrating, pay attention to your expressions—you must look absolutely magnificent!"
De Rocca nodded. He was aware of this development but wasn't clear on the specifics.
From Châtaigner's reaction, it seemed they really were filming a documentary about Bastia.
After all, Bastia had been without a championship for far too long.
It was worth documenting.
After De Rocca's substitution, Bastia's attack wasn't particularly strong, but their defense remained solid. Having faced the relentless pressure of Ligue 1 teams, they felt supremely confident against Ligue 2 opponents.
The final thirty minutes saw both sides settle for what they had.
When the final whistle blew, Tours had lost 0-2 at home to Bastia.
The Ligue 2 commentator announced, "Bastia wins! Their lead over Reims has now reached thirteen points. If they win their next match, they can clinch this season's Ligue 2 championship with four games to spare!
Friends and fans, please stay tuned to our channel as we bring you live coverage of this Ligue 2 clash on April 22nd at seven PM—perhaps we should call it the Ligue 2 championship decider, the Night of Champions."
The Night of Champions!
Far away in Bastia, fans felt their hearts ignite with fierce anticipation the moment the match ended!
The Ligue 2 championship—this would be the highest-level league championship in Bastia's history, dating back to 1968.
More importantly, they were returning to Ligue 1.
They had been relegated from the 2004/05 season and had been stuck in Ligue 2 ever since, even dropping to the National Championship last season.
Now, everything was coming back!
Tonight, countless Bastia fans would be dreaming of this moment.
At the Terra-Vecchia central building, hundreds of fans gathered after the match ended, shining powerful flashlights on the side of the building decorated with De Rocca's image.
Someone set off cold fireworks in the crowd.
Others sang a reworked version of "Avà Bastia": "On est en Ligue 1, putain de voilà!"
We're back in Ligue 1, damn right we are!
The riot police, working overtime, watched these scenes unfold and exchanged wry smiles.
This was just for nearly winning the championship—they hadn't actually won it yet. What would happen on the actual night of champions?
They shook their heads.
The captain said, "Let them go crazy. Bastia damn well deserves to go crazy for once!"
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