"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Amsterdam Arena!
Tonight, we bear witness to far more than a Europa League final—this is an epic confrontation of history, destiny, and redemption!
On one side stand the Portuguese giants, Benfica. They carry the crushing weight of the 'Guttmann Curse'—over half a century of heartbreak. Six times they've reached European finals.
Six times they've fallen at the final hurdle, finishing as runners-up with the trophy tantalizingly within reach. Tonight, they hunger to sever the chains of this 51-year nightmare with a single victory, to let the Eagles finally break free from their shackles and soar above European football!
And on the other side, the flames of Corsica: SC Bastia!
Their story is written in tears as well. Thirty-five years ago, on this very Dutch soil, they lost their first-ever European final, watching their dreams slip through their fingers. Now they've returned, carrying the disappointments of their fathers and the hopes of an entire island, determined to close a chapter of heartbreak that has spanned 35 years. This is their ultimate revenge, their salvation!
All eyes focus on one man—Julien De Rocca!
This sensational striker, who has torn through Europe with 27 Europa League goals, has single-handedly carried Bastia to this final. He is Corsica's volcano, Benfica's defensive nightmare incarnate, and the absolute protagonist of tonight's legendary script!
On one side, a century-old giant desperate to shatter their curse. On the other, a Mediterranean dark horse seeking to avenge their fathers. Under Amsterdam's night sky, two extreme forms of desire are about to collide with devastating force!
Will Benfica finally break their fate? Or will Bastia complete an epic cyclical redemption?
The answer will be revealed in 90 minutes—or perhaps 120!
Gentlemen, prepare yourselves—to witness history!"
The commentator's passionate roar echoed through broadcast feeds into every corner of the world.
Countless fans held their breath in anticipation.
The players had just completed their warm-up and retreated to the dressing rooms for final preparations.
The Amsterdam Arena was split into two distinct halves—one side bathed in red, the other in blue. Portuguese and French songs intertwined in the night air. The stadium, with its capacity of over 55,000, was already trembling before kickoff.
Inside Bastia's dressing room, an unusual silence prevailed, broken only by the rustle of final adjustments. Shin guards refusing to sit properly. Laces tied and retied.
Hadzibegic stood in the center, his gaze calm as it swept across each face, watching his disciples make their final preparations.
When the moment arrived, Hadzibegic moved to the tactical board. His voice was low and clear, like a stone dropped into deep water.
"Boys," he began—no shouting, yet every spine straightened instinctively, every eye turned toward him. "The noise outside belongs to them. This silence in here? This belongs to us."
His finger tapped lightly on the tactical board, circling a name that had been marked repeatedly: Julien.
"Listen. Right now, everyone outside is talking about Julien. Studying him. Plotting how to lock him down." Hadzibegic raised his eyes, looking at Julien, then at everyone. "But they don't understand—our greatest strength has never been any single player."
His gaze met each man in turn: De Bruyne, Kanté, Lukaku, every player in the room.
"Our greatest strength is what happens when Julien draws multiple defenders. The gaps that open in their back line."
"That's the opportunity we must exploit!"
"Every man on that pitch needs to move to the same rhythm!"
He leaned forward slightly, his voice dropping lower yet growing more penetrating, "Forget this is a final. Forget those curses and all the outside noise. Just remember—pass the ball to the brother you trust, then run to the next position where he needs you."
"That's it. Now go." His final words carried the casual tone of instructing a routine training session. "Go play this match for each other. For yourselves. For everyone."
No roaring. No harsh commands.
In this moment, Hadzibegic radiated an unusual calm, an almost parental gentleness.
Then Julien was the first to stand, extending his hand.
"Come on. For each other."
De Bruyne's hand joined his. Then Kanté's. Lukaku's. Layer upon layer of hands piled together.
"FORZA, BASTIA!!"
The voices erupted, boiling with determination.
As they went out, each player exchanged fist bumps with their teammates, and when they reached the door, each embraced Chataigner waiting at the threshold.
This time, Chataigner wasn't watching from the stands—he would be with his team. He stood in the tunnel as staff, watching over every Bastia player.
"Be careful out there. You'll face immense defensive pressure tonight," Chataigner murmured in Julien's ear as they embraced.
Julien patted his back reassuringly. "Relax. Unless they bring three men, they won't stop me. I'll go through every single one of them."
With a smile, Julien strode toward the tunnel.
Chataigner watched his back, remembering the first scouting report he'd read about Julien years ago: "Overly confident in his natural talent. Plays attacking midfield and wing positions. Always believes he can dribble past the entire opposition. Very individualistic in his play."
But now?
Chataigner just smiled.
BOOM!
BOOM! BOOM!
The match hadn't started, yet the Amsterdam Arena's sonic assault already crashed through the tunnel, battering everybody, tightening the atmosphere to breaking point.
Benfica's players stared at Julien leading Bastia's line, their defenders especially had eyes sharp and cold. Their only objective tonight: lock down Julien.
Julien glanced at Benfica's midfield anchor, another former Chelsea player: Nemanja Matić.
Matić had joined Chelsea from Slovakian side Košice back in 2009 but never got his chance. Eventually, Chelsea sold him to Benfica for €5 million. Ironically, Matić had flourished in Portugal, and rumor had it Chelsea wanted to activate a buyback clause.
Julien's glance was brief. Matić wasn't his primary opponent—he was Kanté's problem.
While Benfica studied Bastia and plotted to contain Julien, Bastia had been studying Benfica just as thoroughly.
"Let's go!"
Amid the cacophony, referee Björn Kuipers signaled entry.
Julien gathered his focus and stepped onto the pitch.
WHOOOOSH!
It felt like breaking through a water surface—Julien's senses suddenly crystallized. The fans' voices sharpened into clarity.
"Come on, Julien!"
"Bastia will be champions!"
"JULIEN!"
Fans on both flanks roared frantically. Julien didn't acknowledge them. He tapped his toes against the touchline and stepped onto the field.
"The players have completed the pre-match ceremonies. We're just two or three minutes from kickoff..."
The commentators hadn't stopped talking, their voices filling every second as cameras panned across the stands, capturing celebrities, legends, and officials.
They introduced each one.
"Zinedine Zidane is in attendance. Before the match, he stated that Julien is the next French player most likely to win the Ballon d'Or. He firmly believes Bastia will bring the European trophy back to France tonight..."
"Le Graët and UEFA President Platini have taken their seats. Seeing a French club reach the Europa League final must fill them with pride—this is glory for French football..."
Through the introductions, pre-match rituals proceeded steadily until both sides finally gathered in the center circle.
The stadium's roar intensified!
In the stands, Modoso waved his flag furiously, leading his companions in hoarse chants of Bastia slogans, desperately trying to drown out Benfica's support.
But Benfica held the numerical advantage. Bastia's traveling support, though over 10,000 strong—an impressive feat—simply couldn't match the Portuguese contingent.
Kuipers checked his watch, waiting for the appointed time.
The commentator rattled off the starting lineups at breakneck speed: "Jorge Jesus has deployed a 4-3-3 formation. Up front: Gaitán, Óscar Cardozo, and Salvio. Midfield trio: Enzo Pérez, Matić, and Rodrigo. The back four: Almeida, Luisão, Garay, and Melgarejo, with goalkeeper Artur in net..."
"For Bastia, it's a 4-4-2: Lukaku and Julien leading the line. Midfield: Palmieri, Kanté, Rothen, and De Bruyne. Defense: Sidibé, Choplin, Van Dijk, and Angoula, with goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez..."
As the commentator's voice faded:
TWEEEEET!!
The match kicked off!
ROOOAAAAR!
The stands erupted in a rolling wave of sound, fans intensifying their support.
Bastia had possession.
The moment the ball moved, Benfica's front and midfield surged across the halfway line like a crimson tide, forming an aggressive pressing network.
Cardozo charged straight at Bastia's center-backs. Rodrigo and Gaitán precisely cut off passing lanes to the defensive midfielders. Both wingers pushed to the extreme, compressing the space between themselves and Bastia's fullbacks to mere yards. The entire formation tightened like a deep-red net, attempting to strangle the opposition in their own half.
However—
Facing Benfica's opening high press, Bastia responded with extraordinary composure and discipline.
No panicked long balls.
The two outside center-backs quickly spread wide toward the flanks, forming a triangle with the sweeper to maximize pitch width and tear open Benfica's first line of pressure.
De Bruyne frequently dropped between the defensive lines, becoming an additional outlet. With reasonable one-touch passes, he swiftly moved the ball forward.
When necessary, De Bruyne would retreat even deeper, using his expansive vision and pinpoint long-passing ability to prepare for balls over the pressing line toward the attackers.
Behind Benfica's high-octane tactics lay enormous space for counterattacks.
Julien lurked near the defensive line. He understood—Benfica were gambling, trying to suffocate Bastia in one decisive surge.
Julien didn't wait for service. His movement pulled and stretched Benfica's back line, forcing their defenders to respect his presence and preventing them from pushing too high. This alone relieved massive pressure on Bastia's build-up play.
Still—
As Julien moved, Benfica's left-back Melgarejo constantly used subtle fouls. Shirt tugs. Arm holds. Body blocks.
Most of Benfica's squad came from South America.
Anyone familiar with South American football culture knew what that meant.
A bit of fighting with the ball was perfectly normal.
Under this relentless high press, Bastia finally found their mistake!
De Bruyne again!
He and Rothen exchanged quick short passes, "monkeying" the pressing opponents. Then De Bruyne turned instantly—
THWACK!
A long ball forward!
Julien and Lukaku burst into motion simultaneously. De Bruyne's pass found them with surgical precision.
Lukaku and Julien ran a crossing pattern—Lukaku drawing defensive attention while Julien collected the ball with his back to goal.
Benfica's left-back Melgarejo, the Paraguayan international, immediately pressed from behind, his left arm subtly wrapping around Julien's torso, trying to lock down any turning space.
However—
In the instant before receiving the ball, Julien's left elbow "casually" drove backward, striking precisely below Melgarejo's ribs. The defender grunted, his pressure was momentarily faltering.
Exploiting the gap, Julien's right foot cleverly laid the ball back, his body simultaneously leaning into Melgarejo, unbalancing him and driving him to the ground.
But the ball was cleared by center-back Garay rushing across.
Both Lukaku and Benfica players raised their hands, claiming fouls. The referee's view had been blocked—no call.
Julien's expression remained expressionless as he quickly rejoined the attack.
Melgarejo had been using dirty tricks all match. Julien was no "good boy" willing to absorb abuse quietly.
Melgarejo winced on the ground. Seeing the referee unmoved, he considered staying down longer but then Kanté intercepted Garay's clearance.
Pain forgotten, Melgarejo scrambled to his feet.
Kanté, having won the ball, didn't hesitate. He immediately fed the advancing De Bruyne.
Benfica's defensive line hadn't fully recovered—Bastia's second attacking wave was already crashing forward!
De Bruyne took a touch, and facing the closing defender, eased a ground pass through the half-space, finding Lukaku cutting diagonally toward the byline.
Lukaku used his powerful body to shield off the recovering defender, forcing a low shot from an acute angle despite the minimal space!
The attempt was straight at the keeper and weak—but Benfica center-back Luisão, rushing back to the goal line, got a desperate toe to it. The ball deflected bizarrely, looping high toward the right side of the six-yard box near the byline!
Everyone assumed the attack would end in a corner kick.
But Julien never stopped.
His eyes saw only the ball about to cross the line. Benfica's defenders hadn't tracked his run—the opportunity existed.
With explosive acceleration, Julien sprinted toward the byline, reaching the ball in the instant before it sailed out!
His body was nearly parallel with the touchline.
Benfica goalkeeper Artur quickly shifted to close down the near post, preparing to block any cutback to the center.
He calculated Julien's only option was pulling the ball back for a teammate.
But in that split second, Julien made a choice that left everyone stunned—
With his body twisted at an extreme angle—flexibility enhancement and finishing instinct firing at maximum capacity, Julien felt like a fish with legs gliding through the air.
He struck the underside of the ball with ferocious force using the outside of his right boot!
The ball lashed up with wicked spin and became a hybrid between cross and shot, curling viciously through the air!
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