Viktoria Plzen head coach Pavel Vrba at the pre-match press conference:
"To a certain extent, Bastia is similar to us—both teams climbed up from lower divisions, won cup competitions, and fought their way into the Europa League. I understand them. I also understand their desire to take points from the Doosan Arena, because two years ago, we had exactly the same mindset."
"Julien is a good player. I believe he has the potential to play for a big club like Real Madrid in the future—my eye for talent won't be wrong. Just like a few years ago when I was still coaching at Žilina, I went to watch a friendly match at Rijeka in Croatia.
A young player was substituted on in the last 20 minutes. He looked like a child, but I really liked him—he possessed tremendous talent and ability. I immediately told the club management that I needed this player, but they told me that Tottenham Hotspur was pursuing him, and our club's financial situation wasn't sufficient to compete with Spurs.
I loved watching him play, and I've followed his matches ever since. He's absolutely an outstanding player. Last month he moved from Spurs to Real Madrid—he'll become a star player. Julien is the same. I've watched him play, and he has the same talent as Modrić. But we won't let him score tonight—at least not tonight."
Vrba smiled at this point, and the reporters laughed along.
Some Czech journalists present held Vrba in high regard. Currently, Vrba was considered one of the finest coaches in Czech football.
Czech media had evaluated Vrba as "an epochal figure for Viktoria Plzen and Czech football. He not only broke the traditional powerhouses' monopoly with championships but also reshaped the team's style with advanced tactical concepts, transforming a mid-table team into a Champions League-level squad. His philosophy of emphasizing youth development, teamwork, and attacking football is a benchmark for Czech football."
However, Vrba added, "Bastia has many top-class players. They just defeated Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1 two days ago. This is definitely a strong opponent. Even playing at home, we cannot be complacent and must give our all."
The next day, noon.
Bastia players gradually woke up. This wasn't a good sign—it indicated the players were still very fatigued.
After lunch, the players gathered together. They would rest for a while before having a short recovery warm-up in the afternoon to help them find their form.
Outside the hotel, the streets were already filled with red and blue colors—Plzen's colors. Red symbolized courage, while blue represented the nourishment of the Vltava River tributaries.
"This match won't be easy," Lukaku sighed softly.
Even now, the team doctors were still giving many players leg massages. The impact of the match against Paris was still too significant.
Sometimes, no matter how strong your mental willpower, if your body can't keep up, it simply can't keep up.
Julien sat quietly to one side, looking at the slightly overcast sky and anticipating possible light rain tonight. Late September in Plzen had entered autumn, with evening temperatures around six or seven degrees, it was an ideal weather for football.
6:00 PM
The entire Bastia team gathered and boarded the bus to the Doosan Arena.
The Doosan Arena was small, accommodating fewer than 12,000 spectators—even smaller than the Cesari Stadium. However, the area around the Doosan Arena was already packed with thousands of Plzen fans singing the team's anthem, "Flames of 1911":
From the Doosan Arena to Champions League glory,
Battle flows in our blood, this is our story!
Though the world may not know us, we'll make them see—
Plzeň's flames burn eternal, wild and free!
Hands to the sky, all Plzeň sings as one!
From 1911, our journey's just begun!
Through wind and rain, through joy and pain—
NEVER GIVE UP! NEVER GIVE UP!
FLAMES OF 1911!
NEVER GIVE UP! NEVER GIVE UP!
FLAMES—OF—PLZEŇ!
The Bastia bus entered the stadium parking lot. Even after disembarking, the players could still hear those thunderous chants.
Due to the Doosan Arena's small capacity, Bastia was allocated only 200 away tickets, it was insufficient to organize enough fans to make Bastia's voice heard in the away section.
The sky was filled with dark clouds, with occasional drizzling rain.
"FORZA BASTIA!"
As the players emerged from the dressing room, Julien, as a substitute, stood by the entrance, high-fiving and encouraging his teammates.
Captain Rothen wore the armband. He hugged Julien and said: "Wait for our good news. Hopefully, we won't need you to come on and save us."
"Go for it, and watch out—the pitch is a bit slippery," Julien nodded, reminding them.
"Number 10, Horvath!"
Boom! Boom boom!
As the starting players waited in the tunnel, the substitutes had already taken their positions on the bench. The stadium DJ announced Viktoria Plzen's starting lineup, driving the home fans into wild cheers.
The loudest cheers were for number 10 Horvath and number 16 Darida. Horvath, a 37-year-old veteran, was indispensable to Viktoria Plzen—their absolute midfield core. Darida was a product of Plzen's youth academy, one of Vrba's discoveries, a speedy winger with great potential.
Julien sat in the corner—the so-called water boy position. The red and blue colors of the Doosan Arena reminded him of Barcelona, as they were exactly the same colors.
Even further in the corner sat Jonathan Clauss. Julien had never had any interaction with this player. He didn't know where the team had picked up this lottery ticket—he had no impression of him. The only impression might be that this person was quite active in training.
"Julien," Clauss proactively greeted him. He knew Julien's importance to the team, and building good relationships with core players was a necessity for fringe players. During his amateur football journey, he had already mastered this skill.
Julien smiled and responded.
Soon, the players entered the field. Due to the cloudy weather with light rain and slightly low temperatures, the apparent temperature was around three or four degrees. Julien tightened his jacket.
Shortly after, the players stood in the center circle.
Boom!
After the drum beat, the fans' chants followed:
"Red—"
Boom!
"Blue!"
Dense drumbeats continued: Boom boom boom—"Unbreakable! Unstoppable!"
The fans' voices surged. The moment the chant ended, the ultras section unfurled a red and blue striped TIFO. Though the stands were relatively low and not as spectacular as Bastia's giant TIFOs, it still showed the passion of Viktoria Plzen supporters.
This team, which had never won a league title or participated in European competition before Vrba's arrival, had broken all records in three years—domestic league and cup championships, Europa League and Champions League participation. They were continuously creating history spanning nearly a century!
Vrba hadn't been wrong. To a certain extent, Viktoria Plzen and Bastia were very similar. Vrba was to Viktoria Plzen what Julien was to Bastia.
In different countries, on different soil, stories about football dreams coming true were being played out everywhere.
This was Viktoria Plzen's story.
This was also football's story.
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