"PSG spent 100 million euros for three points in three rounds—are the players underperforming, or is the coach inadequate?"
"Eight goals in three matches, Ligue 1's top attacking force—will Bastia be dark horses again?!"
"The strongest trident: Three of Ligue 1's top five scorers belong to Bastia"
Bastia's match against Rennes was the final fixture of Ligue 1's third round.
So, the next day, all French media began analyzing the third round.
PSG had three draws and currently sat in fourteenth place.
Ibrahimović, apart from scoring in the first match, had been ineffective in the following two games, and was facing largescale media criticism.
Bastia continued the dark horse momentum from last season's French Cup run.
The media focused heavily on them with a string of praise.
Particularly Bastia's current front three: De Rocca, De Bruyne, and Lukaku.
The media dubbed them Bastia's "DDL" combination.
Bastia fans were ecstatic seeing their team's current position.
This was quite different from their expected relegation battle.
Were they aiming for the title again?
Though Hadzibegic said in last night's post-match interview, "We've always positioned ourselves as a relegation-fighting team,"
Die-hard Bastia fans certainly didn't believe him. These Bastia supporters hoped that, ideally, Bastia would again find themselves fighting relegation only to end up at the top.
Unlike the fans, Hadzibegic was currently frowning with worry. He said to Chataigner his grievances, "Look at this bench—there's really nobody there. The defense can't hold. It's almost September 1st, and there's truly not a single person available?"
Hadzibegic kept his tone humble while looking at Chataigner.
Chataigner felt sympathetic and said, "Don't worry, there really isn't anyone available."
Hadzibegic internally rolled his eyes—this was supposed to make him feel better?
"Fine, I'll endure this. But September means national team matches. Did you discuss Julien's playing time with the national team?"
Chataigner shrugged and said, "I mentioned it, but it's no use. Deschamps suggested I find a dedicated trainer for Julien to handle his fitness, injuries, and other miscellaneous stuff."
Hadzibegic grew more frustrated as he listened and complained. "Did he need to tell us that? Haven't we already arranged it? Fabbrettu starts officially in September, right?"
Chataigner nodded and tried to appease him, "What I wanted to tell you is—I can't control the national team. Just be careful."
Hadzibegic was completely disappointed. However, this was actually within his expectations. Now all he could do was play the cards in his hand well.
Seeing Hadzibegic leave the office, Chataigner sighed helplessly.
"I want to buy players too, but there's no money."
Time moved into September.
Bastia's climate became increasingly pleasant.
"Hey, Julien, with PSG spending so much money and playing like crap, if they don't reach the top, will they spend more money in the winter window?"
During a training break, discussing the current Ligue 1 standings, Lukaku asked Julien.
Julien was vague, and just replied, "Don't underestimate Paris. Their coach Ancelotti isn't that bad."
After all, he was a Champions League runner-up and champion coach.
"Julien!"
Just as Julien was about to say more, he heard someone calling him.
It was Dominique.
Julien ran to the sideline of the training ground.
"Come with me, Julien. The club has found you a personal trainer specifically responsible for your training, diet, and rest."
A personal trainer?
Julien immediately nodded. Basically, all top players had similar coaches.
After all, top players maintaining their condition didn't rely solely on three or four hours of team training.
"Hey, hello, Julien. I'm Ionia Fabbrettu."
When Julien followed Dominique to the team's office area, he saw an enthusiastic young white man.
He had typical Corsican facial features—probably under 5'7"?
Having been at Bastia for so long, Julien was somewhat familiar with Corsican language.
"Little Blacksmith?"
Julien blurted out almost immediately then went on to shake hands with Fabbrettu, looking puzzled.
Fabbrettu laughed, "Because my father is a blacksmith, so I'm called 'Little Blacksmith.'"
Fabbrettu was a transliteration, and in Corsican, "blacksmith" was "fabbro." They habitually added the suffix "ettu" to create nicknames like Fabbrettu, meaning "Little XX."
Many languages had this practice.
Like Ronaldinho—"inho" means "little" in Portuguese.
But what really surprised Julien was, "Why are you called Ionia?"
If he remembered correctly… Ionia was an ancient city's name?
Fabbrettu laughed heartily, "I added it myself because I really like playing that American game, LOL."
Julien now understood and laughed too thinking. 'Great, this guy's full name was Ionia Little Blacksmith.'
"Let's not talk about that, Julien. I'll be following your training rhythm comprehensively from now on, creating diet and rest plans for you. However, we'll start officially after you return from the national team. During this time, I also need to understand your physical condition thoroughly."
When Fabbrettu entered work mode, he was very professional.
In the following days, Fabbrettu constantly followed Julien's training, observing his condition while consulting with Bastia's medical staff about Julien's physical state.
For now, Julien didn't pay much attention to this matter. Having the club provide him with such a personal trainer was definitely beneficial.
After training that day, Hadzibegic gathered all the players: "On the evening of the 3rd, we'll face Saint-Étienne at home. Their attacking power is very fierce, especially their striker Aubameyang. In the last match against Brest, he scored twice. We must be very careful with him, even though he was once a Bastia player."
Aubameyang.
Julien heard the familiar name.
After Hadzibegic finished explaining the key points, he read out the complete starting lineup.
Julien wasn't included.
After dismissal, Hadzibegic immediately found Julien. "Julien, you need to rest. Less than 72 hours after this match, you'll be playing World Cup qualifiers.
That guy Deschamps will definitely start you, and you might play seventy or eighty minutes. So, for this match, I hope you'll be a substitute impact player. If the team maintains the lead throughout, you might not get playing time."
Julien didn't mind this at all. He wanted more matches to earn victory points.
The match against Reims, perhaps because of Reims' inferior strength, only gave 10 points.
Rennes, on the other hand, provided a bit more—15 points.
Now he had 71 victory points.
The distance to the next victory chest was just two or three matches.
Julien calculated that if everything went smoothly that is, after the World Cup qualifiers ended, he could open another chest.
As for this match, being a substitute impact player was fine with him.
"Good!"
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