The Stade de France erupted with thunderous applause.
Two consecutive World Cup qualifying victories!
This new French national team, led by Deschamps, was constantly experiencing various growing pains—player chemistry, unclear lineups, missing key players, and more.
However, in these two qualifying matches, French fans witnessed Julien's coming of age! In both games, facing iron-clad defenses, Julien delivered two goals and one assist without even playing the full ninety minutes.
If this wasn't a core player, then who was?
Beyond the statistics, any fan who watched the matches understood what Julien meant to the French national team.
The fans cheered, waving flags and jerseys alike.
Since Deschamps took charge, France's number 10 jersey had found a new owner—Julien De Rocca.
On the pitch, every number on a jersey's back carries different meaning, but the number 10 is undoubtedly the most brilliant of them all.
This isn't just a simple numerical identifier, but a symbol of the team's core figure, representing the soul and leader of the squad.
France has had many legendary number 10s, with fans most vividly remembering Platini and Zidane naturally.
World football has likewise produced countless legendary number 10s: Maradona, Pelé, Baggio, Hagi, Puskás, Zico... and many others.
And now, at the Stade de France, Julien's number 10 jersey fluttered in the wind.
In the fans' eyes was the expectation that the next legendary French number 10 story would unfold right here.
During the victory lap, the fans' chants of "Julien!" rang out loudest of all.
After the match, Deschamps gave an interview, first praising the team's performance, especially Julien's.
"I have never seen a French player so young with such ability. If I remove the qualifier 'French,' I have only one answer: Pelé.
The achievement of leading a team to World Cup victory at 17 is difficult to replicate.
But I believe Julien can lead France to World Cup glory. I've experienced those beautiful moments, and I hope Julien and the other players can experience them again."
When discussing the match itself, Deschamps smiled and said, "This was a very difficult game. In the first half, we couldn't perform to our level against the opponent's tight defense, particularly our midfield and flanks couldn't break through, and our passing errors were numerous, allowing the opponent to comfortably face our attacks.
Instead, they managed to score the opening goal.
In the second half, we adjusted our strategy, bringing on Julien, strengthening our flank attacks and counter-attacking speed. Ultimately, it proved we succeeded."
Looking ahead to future matches, France had a bye in the next round, then would face their strongest opponent—direct qualification rival Spain.
Deschamps stated: "Spain also only managed a 1-goal victory against Georgia's tight defense, while we already have 6 points secured. I believe we've achieved our early group stage objectives, which is excellent. I hope we can maintain this confidence in upcoming matches."
Tonight in France was destined for excitement.
French media reported extensively on the national team's victory, predicting future match outcomes.
Everyone was waiting for next month's international break and the direct confrontation with Spain.
After all, the situation was now very clear—France could only secure first place and direct qualification by taking points from Spain.
Some believed there was a chance. Others believed there wasn't.
But this temporarily had nothing to do with France's current crop of players.
Next, they needed to focus their energy on club matches.
Some didn't even know if their names would be on next month's national team list.
"I'm off. Hope you can lead Bastia to beat Paris, and good luck in the Europa League too!"
That evening, Giroud bid farewell to Julien as he needed to return to London overnight.
Julien would rest one night at Clairefontaine before returning to Bastia.
"You too, good luck pushing forward with Arsenal," Julien embraced Giroud.
Giroud asked, "Any thoughts about transferring to Arsenal next season? I think Arsenal really needs you."
He remained obsessed with the idea of playing alongside Julien.
Julien shook his head, "Arsenal probably can't meet my requirements."
"Your requirements?" Giroud wondered.
Julien didn't continue the topic, instead changing the subject, "Let's not talk about that. By the way, when you return to Colney, you can ask Damian about something. I mentioned to Bastia's sporting director Chataigner that you recommended Damian to me. Chataigner is willing to bring in a goalkeeper, though the specific details still need careful discussion."
"Great! He's my roommate, I'll talk to him about it."
Giroud left shortly after.
Julien thought about Damian Martinez's situation. Currently, Martinez definitely hadn't reached the heights he would achieve as Argentina's future number one goalkeeper.
But his physical talent was there.
Arsenal's goalkeeper depth was frankly terrifying—while other teams might have just one world-class keeper, Arsenal could have their third-choice keeper serve as another team's first choice.
This meant that Martinez's path to advancement was extremely difficult.
For goalkeepers, beyond talent, experience was crucial. Perhaps at Bastia, Martinez could be activated earlier.
Julien set this matter aside for now.
After returning to his Clairefontaine dormitory, he saw Pierre's message and immediately called his father to discuss further.
Currently, at Julien's direction, Pierre had opened a football agency in England and signed himself, Kanté, and Mané to the company.
Why England? It wasn't because Julien wanted to play in the Premier League, but mainly because France's wealth tax was quite heavy at the moment.
This year, French politics had shifted, and new French President Hollande had publicly stated he "didn't like rich people."
After taking office in May 2012, tax policies changed repeatedly, constantly targeting the wealthy.
A 75% income tax was imposed on those earning over 1 million euros annually, while the tax rate for those earning over 72,000 euros was raised from 41% to 45%.
Julien was preparing for an early departure from France, just like most wealthy French citizens—part of the "great exodus of the rich."
Moreover, this policy was devastating for French football!
Football clubs went on strike in protest.
This policy greatly increased French teams' operating costs while reducing their attractiveness to star players.
To attract better players, French clubs had to pay much higher pre-tax salaries.
Of course, where there's a policy, there's a countermeasure.
Julien had Pierre hire professional lawyers to help handle these issues.
What left a deep impression on Julien was a news story from his previous life: when Mbappé renewed his contract with PSG in 2022, his annual income increased from 20 million to 72 million euros, not including bonuses, for a two-year deal.
Just for this contract, he would need to pay France a total of 177 million euros in taxes on salary and other income over two years.
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