The road to godhood starting from Ligue 1 Chapter 204

Hajibegic felt that the current Bastia lineup was, in good conscience, more than enough.

He had never fought such a rich war before.

Why did Hajibegic always habitually talk about relegation in interviews?

Because that was the norm of his past work.

The teams he coached were all relegation-battling teams.

Others sought him out to do exactly that job.

He briefly looked at the list. “Most of these are Eredivisie names?”

Chatham nodded. “After all, many players wouldn’t consider our Ligue 1.

Those who come to Ligue 1 are young players who want to use us as a stepping stone, or veterans who can’t play in the top four leagues.

So take a good look.

As soon as possible.

Once you have an idea, discuss it with me, and we’ll make contact early.”

Hajibegic nodded.

Then,

Chatham said to him, “I’ll tell you something. After two consecutive wins in the Europa League, Geronimi is really going all out this time. He found someone to work it out, and he’s taking out a loan using Gao’s newly renewed contract.

But I don’t know how much money it is exactly. Geronimi didn’t say. He only said that we can spend more on the defensive line and goalkeeper positions, and less on the midfield and attack.”

Hajibegic looked somewhat surprised.

Chatham waved his hand. “I know what you’re surprised about. Don’t ask where the money came from. If you’re determined to get things done, there’s always a way.

In short,

You find the players you want first, I’ll make contact, and report to Geronimi. You don’t need to worry about anything else. Just focus on coaching the team.”

“Alright!”

Hajibegic understood that the team currently looked like a blooming garden, a blazing fire.

In reality, the team was incredibly fragile, and its finances were leveraged to the extreme.

Gao and the others were unaware of the team’s current situation.

They were immersed in training every day.

In a lazy small town like Bastia, time actually moved very slowly.

After dinner in the evening,

Gao would go to the beach with De Bruyne, Lukaku, and Kante.

Watching the sunset fall into the sea.

Ah!

Lukaku would shout at such times, his physique making him look like a big villain from a video game.

This time,

Rothen suddenly said, “I might retire after going crazy with you guys for a bit, maybe next year.”

Hearing this news,

Gao wasn’t overly surprised. According to the normal trajectory, he was supposed to retire next year due to injuries and psychological reasons.

Before joining Bastia, he had already rested for a year, in a semi-retired state.

Lukaku patted Rothen’s shoulder. “Hey, old man, you’re in such good form, it’d be a shame to retire now. Play one or two more seasons?”

Rothen shook his head. “Bastia will be my last team.”

He looked at everyone, smiling, with a carefree expression on his face. “To still be able to chase a championship at the end of my career, that’s already a huge surprise for me.

Of course,

The most important thing is, thank God I met you all.”

Everyone tried to persuade him to stay.

Rothen looked at the gradually setting sun in the distance, sighing, “I will also fall, just like that sunset.”

Rothen stood there, his fingertips caressing the team badge on his training shirt.

The sea breeze, carrying the salty taste of the Mediterranean, came with the waves.

Gao walked up to him, put his hand on his shoulder, and said, “Although the sunset will fall, it’s the most beautiful moment before it falls.”

Rothen turned to look at Gao and smiled. “Gao, sometimes I really think you’re not eighteen. Otherwise, you’d be too much of a prodigy. But it seems, you really are that much of a prodigy.”

Then his low mood suddenly lifted. “Yes, it will fall, but now is the most beautiful time!”

The others also gathered around.

De Bruyne said, “Let’s win a championship.”

“Okay.”

“Speaking of which, I don’t have a single European trophy in my career yet.”

“Who here does?”

“This is our first time.”

The seven stood in a row, watching the sun completely disappear below the horizon.

Rothen took a deep breath, his gaze still fixed on the sea. He said:

“I played in Ligue 2 at 19, became the Ligue 1 assist king at 25. Back then, I thought I was treading on the Milky Way.

But do you know?

Talent is the most poisonous mead. It lets you taste the sweetness of the peak early, and then you watch yourself fall from a cliff.”

There was no answer.

Everyone was silent, only the rustling of the sea breeze and the gentle lapping of the waves.

“The lights of Paris will swallow talent. I got lost there, I searched there. I became irritable, I lost the joy of football.”

He sighed,

“But this damned football—”

His voice rose. “It made me meet you all! Let’s make this the last season, and fight for it…”

Night came quickly,

The Mediterranean tide was rising, and the roar of waves crashing against the rocks was faintly audible.

Whoosh~~

Waves crashed against the rocks, startling seabirds into flight.

The flock of birds streaked across the faint horizon.

Amidst the flapping of wings, faint sounds of “championship” and “victory” seemed to follow…

October 9th.

Stade Armand Cesari, 8 PM.

Bastia hosted Troyes, also a promoted team, in their eighth league match.

Bastia, playing with their main lineup, led by three goals at halftime without suspense.

Gao scored a goal and an assist, De Bruyne had two assists, and Lukaku scored a brace.

The match was essentially won.

Commentators even said that compared to Bastia, Troyes was more in line with people’s imagination of a promoted team, having only secured 2 points after seven league rounds and ranking last.

However,

After Hajibegic substituted Gao and De Bruyne in the seventieth minute, Troyes capitalized on counter-attacks, exploiting mistakes in Bastia’s defense.

One one-on-one goal,

And one penalty goal caused by Joplin’s foul in the box.

Fortunately, Bastia ultimately secured a 3- 2 victory at home, albeit with a scare.

After the match,

The TF 1 commentator exclaimed, “In the highly anticipated Ligue 1 match that ended earlier tonight, the ‘National Derby’ between Marseille and PSG finished with a 2- 2 draw.

As a result, with Bastia’s victory, they are now only two points behind league leaders Marseille!

After eight league rounds, they are only two points away from reaching the top of the table, creating the Bastia miracle!!”

“However—”

After a flurry of praise, the TF 1 commentator’s tone shifted. “Bastia’s current squad has serious shortcomings. The defensive strength is far inferior to the attacking end. Both goals conceded were due to defensive line errors.

Furthermore, Bastia’s bench depth is too shallow. It’s clear that when Gao and De Bruyne came off, Rothen alone couldn’t maintain control in midfield.

Substitutes like Ilan and Vincent have both been tried, but they don’t have the ability to withstand the intensity of Ligue 1.

If Bastia wants to stay in contention in the second half of the season and maintain their current momentum, they will need to strengthen the squad in the winter transfer window. However, given Bastia’s financial situation, it seems difficult to make any further adjustments…”

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Attached image:

Ligue 1 standings after eight rounds ↓↓↓