The road to godhood starting from Ligue 1 Chapter 091

Rouen.

A millennium-old city in Europe, one of the top cities in the Middle Ages, and the second-largest city in northwestern France, only surpassed by Nantes.

Rouen is the capital of the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region.

Unfortunately,

No top-tier team has ever emerged from here.

Quevilly Rouen, already the best team in Rouen, once played in Ligue 2, but now only competes in the Championnat National.

This season, they show promise of promotion to Ligue 2, but promotion to Ligue 1 is a distant dream.

In contrast, Le Havre AC, from Le Havre, the sub-prefecture of Seine-Maritime, often manages to reach Ligue 1.

Therefore, Quevilly Rouen’s advancement to the French Cup semi-finals this season had already exceeded the expectations of Rouen fans.

They were overjoyed!

On the night they defeated Marseille, they stayed up all night, drinking to their heart’s content, carried by the night wind from the English Channel.

They yearned to go further.

The final?

Having reached the semi-finals, why not?

As Quevilly Rouen’s head coach, Philibert, said before the match, “No one thought we could beat double winners Marseille, no one thought we would reach the semi-finals. They would say, ‘Ha, Rouen is just a Championnat National team.’ But we are now in this position, fighting for the French Cup final, and those who doubted us have gone home.”

This season’s French Cup might be the one with the least prestige.

Only one Ligue 1 team made it to the semi-finals.

However,

It still attracted the attention of many French fans, especially the match between Quevilly Rouen and Bastia.

No other reason than Gao.

Gao’s current titles—a € 30 million valuation, Ligue 2 top scorer, French national team player, young prodigy, troubled youth, etc.—were enough to draw attention.

When Bastia arrived in Rouen a day early, their team bus was surrounded by Bastia fans who had arrived even earlier.

“…We are Bastia!

A blue ocean fills with our song,

We are always on the path of battle…”

“Fight, Bastia!!”

In the streets of Rouen, the Corsican language rang out.

It drew the attention of Rouen fans.

Bastia and Rouen are far apart, and there is no historical conflict between them, so they are relatively friendly.

If Bastia had been singing these songs in the streets of Ajaccio, a full-blown fight would probably have broken out by now.

Security measures for matches between Bastia and Ajaccio are always at their highest.

Sometimes, away fans are even prohibited from attending matches.

Too many incidents have occurred.

French football’s management in this regard is somewhat lax, or rather, they simply cannot control the fans.

April 12th, 6 PM.

The match wouldn’t start until 8 PM, but Rouen fans had already surrounded the Robert Diochon Stadium.

Modosso organized the UB members, singing Bastia’s cheering songs loudly at the stadium entrance.

This time, Rouen only allocated eight hundred away tickets to Bastia.

And for individual tickets, they were well-prepared, requiring local identification for purchase.

This foiled Modosso’s plan to “invade” the stands.

However, eight hundred spots were enough for Ultras Bastia to create a significant presence.

At the stadium entrance, they engaged in a shouting match with Rouen’s fan association.

7:30 PM.

The French Cup broadcast had already begun.

The commentators introduced the teams’ journeys to the semi-finals and previewed the possibilities of the match.

They specifically highlighted Gao, “He is the only active French international on the field, and he will definitely be the key player in this match. Bastia needs him for offense, while Quevilly Rouen needs to stop him.”

“Before the match, Zidane said in an interview that this is just Gao’s performance before the final. More people favor Bastia and Gao. Especially with the rumors about Gao in the national team recently, his ability is increasingly recognized.”

“Bastia has shown excellent form in both Ligue 2 and the French Cup this season.

Quevilly Rouen narrowly eliminated Marseille, but Bastia successively eliminated three Ligue 1 teams—Valenciennes, Lille, and Rennes. It can be said that although Bastia is still in Ligue 2, no one considers them a Ligue 2 team…”

Bastia’s locker room.

All the players stood in a circle in the middle of the locker room, led by captain Rothen, shouting—

“Fight, Bastia!”

Walking out of the locker room.

Gao high-fived and hugged Hagi Begic, Chatham, Dominique… one by one.

“Come on, let’s win this one!”

Boom!

Boom boom!!

When the players entered the tunnel, the small Diochon Stadium was already filled with thunderous cheers.

As the players entered the field,

The atmosphere reached its climax—Rouen fans set off red flares, and red flags waved throughout the stadium.

As far as the eye could see, only red!

Only in the away section was there a small cluster of blue, mixed in.

Like a blue skiff in a red ocean, swaying precariously.

No matter how much the UB members screamed and strained.

Eight hundred people, in front of over ten thousand, simply could not make a sound.

This was Quevilly Rouen’s home ground!

Beep!!

Amidst the red flares and smoke, the opening whistle blew.

Bastia kicked off.

Gao went to the right wing, and the smoke made it impossible for him to see his distant teammates.

But this was French football.

The players on the field couldn’t see the situation clearly, and the fans watching the broadcast couldn’t see even less. The broadcast cameras could only try to find close-ups, avoiding wide shots.

French fans were already accustomed to such a broadcast experience.

Meanwhile, in Turin, Marotta watched the television, complaining, “What kind of garbage broadcast is this?”

A match between lower-tier teams.

Yet it attracted the attention of several top clubs from Spain, England, and Italy.

And Lyon.

Head coach Garde and his coaching staff were watching this match. Although their French Cup semi-final would start tomorrow night, they didn’t think they would be upset.

This was a chance to get familiar with their opponent in advance.

Especially Gao.

Garde looked at Gao’s figure on the screen, his expression growing more serious.

Could he really be defended without fouling?

Quevilly Rouen’s head coach Philibert was very pragmatic, defending stoutly at home, but the defensive pressure on the right wing, where Gao was, was extremely heavy!

On television.

In just thirteen minutes, Bastia had already won multiple free kicks on the right wing, and Rouen’s left-back received a yellow card.

“Gao…”

Garde unconsciously muttered the name, and the figures of his team’s defenders flashed through his mind one by one.

But none of them stayed.

Garde shook his head. He really couldn’t be stopped. It seemed fouling was the only option.

Beep!!

On television, the whistle blew.

The referee’s hand pointed firmly to the penalty spot. Gao was on the ground in the box, clutching his calf.

Penalty.

Garde sighed heavily.