The road to godhood starting from Ligue 1 Chapter 047

Ghisolfi saw everything that Gaio did behind him, and by the time he rushed back to defend, Gaio had already run off the field to celebrate.

Watching tens of thousands of Bastia fans wave their hands vigorously at Gaio, cheering his name.

Ghisolfi, for the first time, somewhat regretted leaving Bastia.

Perhaps, if he hadn’t left, he would have been one of the celebratory team members in Bastia now.

He would have become one of the future legendary players of this city because of his pure Bastia DNA.

He might even have written a beautiful legend of a ‘one-man, one-club’ in football here.

But he left Bastia.

He left the place that nurtured him and brought him to a bigger stage.

Amidst the cheers of countless Bastia fans, Ghisolfi silently walked towards the center circle.

Beside him were his Reims teammates—some angry, some helpless, some clapping to encourage everyone to perk up.

Behind him were fluttering blue flags.

It was excitement, it was clamor, it was unwarranted praise for a young prodigy.

Gaio stood before the stands, arms outstretched, like a prince receiving cheers from his subjects…

The cheers of the fans at the stadium blended together, completely indistinguishable. The voices of every person converged, trickling into a river, a wave of sound sweeping across the entire Stade Armand-Cesari.

Bastia fans watching the broadcast.

Excitedly discussing the goal on forums and social media.

“Gaio is definitely the decisive factor for Bastia to win the championship this season!”

“Yes, I totally agree. Whether we can win the championship depends on Gaio’s performance.”

“So beautiful! Gaio’s ball control, his dribbling, those media calling him the new Ronaldinho, it’s not an exaggeration at all!”

“That ungrateful wolf wanted to defend against Gaio, but Gaio devoured him many times, hahaha, this is the difference in talent. He really thought he could get better after leaving Bastia?”

“With this goal, are we temporarily first? Wow! This is a goal to the top!”

“Yes! With the current score, we will overtake Clermont and become first in the Ligue 2 standings.”

“Gaio did a great job!”

In the stands.

Chatham applauded excitedly, then said to a middle-aged man beside him, “Mr. President, look, this is the kid I signed on a free transfer last year. I told you, he has talent, as long as he plays seriously, no one in Ligue 2 has more talent than him!”

Pierre-Marie Geronimi, the slightly plump French businessman, had a beaming smile on his face.

He was very clear about Gaio’s situation.

The better he played, the higher the team’s future revenue!

“Excellent, this goal has fully demonstrated his talent, Chatham. Indeed, I trust you completely! Everyone you signed has proven their worth.”

Geronimi was not stingy with praise.

He was the owner of a car rental company, and he bought Bastia purely because he loved football and felt that this old club could bring him sufficient profits.

He was not a professional in the football industry.

So, apart from wanting money, he unconditionally trusted Chatham in other aspects.

He believed that Chatham loved Bastia more than he did.

The team’s current development also confirmed this: Chatham achieved the most ideal results with the most economical signings!

Now they were one goal ahead, as long as they maintained this score.

Bastia would reach the top!

“Now we can see the real-time standings. Bastia has already surpassed Clermont, ranking first in Ligue 2, provided, of course, that they maintain this score.”

The Ligue 2 commentator continued, mentioning Gaio:

“Leaving Chelsea, then being abandoned by Nantes, Gaio has brought huge returns to Bastia, who trusted him! One wonders if Nantes, also in Ligue 2, will regret their decision to give up on Gaio?

The ability Gaio is showing now absolutely makes him the attacking core of Bastia!

Four league games, six goals; two French Cup games, two goals, two assists.

This is the return Gaio has brought to Bastia!

I think it’s already comparable to some signings costing tens of millions in transfer fees. Bastia only gave Gaio an opportunity…”

Hajibegic was also excited to see his team finally break the deadlock.

Gaio had brought him too many surprises!

Fortunately, after celebrating, he remained very calm. As the players, having finished celebrating, walked towards the center circle, he gestured and shouted, “Pay attention to defense!”

Now that they were leading, defense was very important!

After conceding the goal, Fournier had his team strengthen their attack. Although all he heard now were the cheers of the Bastia fans.

But he felt as if he could already hear the media reporters interviewing him with questions like, “Didn’t you say Gaio wouldn’t be able to score a single goal? Why did Gaio still score?”

Such words felt like being slapped in the face with a shoe sole.

So, he wanted to use victory to offset such embarrassment. At least if they won, he could say, “We made targeted deployments, there were just some technical errors, but we ultimately secured three points and became the top team, and that’s enough.”

Unfortunately,

Goals don’t come just by saying “strengthen the attack.”

After the game restarted.

Bastia’s defense stood more stable, with players left in the front to counter-attack, intending to play defensive counter-football against Reims at home.

After several Bastia counter-attacks nearly caused threats, no matter how stubborn Fournier was, he dared not let his players push up too much.

Bastia was not like other Ligue 2 teams with weak offenses.

By the sixty-eighth minute, Gaio’s stamina was almost depleted.

At this point, Hajibegic simply replaced Gaio with David, letting the veteran go for a charge.

This also allowed Gaio to rest; having scored the goal that broke the deadlock, Gaio had been excellent in this match.

Ghisolfi, meanwhile, had been substituted much earlier, in the sixtieth minute.

When Gaio left the field, he received a standing ovation and cheers from all the fans.

Gaio waved to the fans.

On the sidelines, Hajibegic was beaming, giving Gaio a big hug.

“Good job, kid, well done!”

In the remaining twenty minutes or so, both sides had chances, but none were absolute opportunities. Neither team’s forwards managed to capitalize.

Beep!!

When the referee blew the final whistle.

Stade Armand-Cesari erupted in celebration again!

Bastia fans didn’t know how to vent their excitement, so they could only do so by shouting.

They had reached the top!!

As a newly promoted team, they had reached the top after 25 rounds of the league!

This also made many reporters on the sidelines wonder—

Now that Bastia was already at the top, Hajibegic surely couldn’t still talk about fighting for survival, could he?