Hadzibegic didn't mention anything about relegation survival as their goal.
As the league leaders, talking about relegation would be somewhat disrespectful.
He handled the situation perfectly, mainly emphasizing Bastia's lack of bench depth, their status as a newly promoted team, and their absence from top-flight competition for many years.
But tonight, not many people paid attention to him.
Most of the focus was on Julien.
From their double victory over Atlético Madrid to topping Ligue 1 after three consecutive losses, Julien had completely captured the attention of major European clubs.
Or rather, he had already entered their sights—this just made them determined to participate in the grand transfer saga surrounding him.
When Julien finished showering and changing, he reunited with his family.
Seeing his younger brothers and sisters, Julien went up and gave them a big hug.
"Happy birthday, Julien!"
Julien smiled. "Thank you all."
Then came his parents, Chataigner, Hadzibegic, every assistant coach, and every teammate.
Everyone wished him a happy coming of age.
After celebrating happily for half an hour, Julien and his teammates headed to the airport. They needed to hurry back to Bastia because their next match was only three days away.
They would face Lille away.
Having just claimed first place, the team didn't want to hand it back, especially since PSG, right behind Bastia, had also won their match this round. The gap between them remained just one point.
PSG clearly had more momentum.
Lupe returned to Paris with his parents, holding the ball from Julien's hat-trick.
Before parting, Richard asked Julien, "The PSG youth coach contacted me again, asking if you'd be willing to join Paris Saint-Germain. They'll make an absolutely sincere offer."
Julien simply patted Richard's shoulder. "Focus on your training and work hard. You'll know my choice by summer. Just tell your coach that, okay?"
"Yes!"
Winter night.
Even by the Mediterranean, Bastia's early morning chill was intensifying.
The cold wind sweeping past the airport's edge could still send shivers across one's skin.
But this cold couldn't dampen the boiling warmth gathered at the arrival gate.
At what should have been a quiet hour, over a hundred die-hard Bastia fans had assembled here.
They had no fancy decorations, wrapped in thick coats, scarves pulled tighter against the wind.
Their faces showed an almost devout anticipation, eyes locked on every figure emerging from the passage.
When that familiar silhouette finally appeared at the tunnel's end, the long-suppressed volcano erupted!
"Julien!!"
Their captain, their legend.
The drowsiness dissipated.
Julien was actually quite tired. Though young, after fighting hard for most of the match, and considering how late it was...
But seeing the fans shouting themselves hoarse, those in front stretching their arms as far as they could, desperately seeking eye contact or a gesture in response—
He perked up, broke into a smile, and waved to the fans.
"Does anyone have a pen?"
Julien suddenly turned to ask the accompanying team staff, who quickly found an ink pen.
Julien took it and walked toward the crowd, holding up the pen and calling to the fans, "I assume you have jerseys?"
"Julien!!"
"Yes!"
The crowd erupted again. The cold wind was blocked outside their circle—they had only come to greet their victorious heroes and cheer.
They never expected Julien would offer to sign autographs.
Fans in the front quickly pulled up their jerseys, giving Julien a good surface to write on.
Behind Julien, other players emerged to similar cheers. Tonight, everyone was a hero.
De Bruyne and the others felt the same drowsiness as Julien, but in this moment, no one thought of anything else. They all found pens and left mementos for these fans standing in the cold wind.
Fans who received signatures quickly stepped back to make room for those behind them, increasing efficiency—they knew the players were exhausted.
This made them even more grateful to Julien.
Those who got autographs sang the team anthem nearby.
They also chanted "Julien."
His name was called over and over, like calling a child home, like worshipping a hero who had saved the city.
Every fan who received Julien's signature trembled with emotion.
"I love you, Julien."
"We'll be champions, you're a Bastia legend."
"Happy birthday!"
A young fan, holding a small cake, came to the front of the crowd. His tender face showed red marks from the wind, looking at Julien with anticipation.
Julien's signing motion paused. He looked at the little boy. "Thank you. What's your name?"
"Léthé. Mom said you can eat cake on your birthday. I made this myself, it might not taste good..."
"It's delicious."
Before Léthé could finish, Julien took the cake and ate a small bite.
Then he asked, "Léthé, would you mind if I share this cake with my friends?"
"No! Mom says happiness should be shared!" Léthé's eyes lit up.
Julien turned and waved to De Bruyne and the others. "Hey, come try the birthday cake Léthé made for me."
Lukaku came over first, scooped a bit with his finger, put it in his mouth, and ate with relish. He even licked his finger, telling Léthé, "You must be a great little chef. It's delicious."
"Thank you!" Léthé's face turned even redder with his smile.
De Bruyne and the others came to share the cake, all praising Léthé enthusiastically.
His parents behind him captured every moment.
Finally, Julien and his teammates all signed Léthé's jersey together.
Léthé received the only jersey signed by the entire team!
Clap clap clap!
When Léthé put on the jersey signed by all the Bastia players present, all the fans burst into applause.
Eventually, after most fans had received autographs or photos, the players finally boarded the bus back to the training base.
Behind them, fans still waved jerseys and scarves. This brief half-hour was a winter night coronation ceremony dedicated to loyalty and love.
On the bus, Julien still held the cake base, eating every bit of frosting and bread.
Looking out the window at the Mediterranean waves rolling along the coastal road, hazy moonlight falling—
This was the first day of his eighteenth year.
The next day, all Bastia players slept well. Some didn't even wake until afternoon.
With only three days between matches, there was no possibility of training time.
So as usual, the team had doctors and therapists help players relax their muscles and accelerate their physical recovery.
Julien didn't do extra training either.
He just warmed up and went for a run.
He took the opportunity to check his recent improvements—
[Age: 18
Height: 184cm
Weight: 71kg
Dribbling (+1): 88 (91);
Passing: 81 (85)Shooting (+1): 84 (88);
Heading: 46 (63)Speed (+1): 74 (76);
Strength: 70 (77)Jump: 60 (72);
Stamina (+1): 82 (85)Defense: 33 (40);
Tackling: 27 (33)Flexibility (+1): 68 (70);
Ball Control: 90 (95)
Hidden Attribute:Injury: 62]
Each key attribute had improved slightly through his diligent training.
Julien was also clear that he needed to continue raising his caps.
Because he had discovered a characteristic of attribute improvement during daily training—the closer to the cap, the slower the improvement, with diminishing returns on training effectiveness.
So, to be most efficient, he needed to continuously raise attribute caps.
After the match against Marseille, his victory points increased by 15, currently leaving him with 55.
He could raise 5 attribute cap points.
Julien didn't hesitate much.
He directly chose to improve dribbling, using 40 victory points to exchange for 4 dribbling cap points.
Raising the dribbling cap to 95.
After 95, improvements required triple points—30 for 1 point.
So, 95 was enough for now.
He chose dribbling because Julien felt his dribbling ability still needed improvement!
As opponents grew stronger, the defense he'd face would become increasingly tough.
He needed stronger ability to break through by force!
With 90 ball control as a foundation, like training his weak foot, dribbling training progress wouldn't be too slow.
After dealing with attribute issues, Julien continued focusing on warm-up training.
Bastia experienced a night rain on November 30th, making the next day quite chilly.
De Bruyne said, "Bastia's weather is already quite good. Back home, playing football in winter means nothing but snow everywhere."
He shared childhood anecdotes about falling while playing in the snow, face-planting, even chipping a tooth on a small stone in the snow.
Haha.
Teammates laughed and each shared their own football stories.
No one discussed the upcoming league match.
Julien also shared stories from when he played in Birdspring Town, explaining to teammates why he always tapped his toes on the sideline before going on field.
Roten sighed, "Those past difficulties are behind you. Now you're France's most dazzling talent!"
Julien pushed Mané forward. "I'm at least a bit better off than Sadio. I at least had a pair of broken boots—he played barefoot in the mud as a child."
Mané hadn't expected Julien to remember these things.
At noon, as players dispersed to prepare for the afternoon departure to Lille, Julien happened to receive a phone call.
Mbappé.
Julien was puzzled—hadn't he just called two days ago with birthday wishes?
The call connected.
Mbappé's emotions were clearly low. He might not have even realized Julien had already answered.
"Kylian?"
Julien asked puzzled, though his mind already guessed why Mbappé was calling.
"Julien..." Hearing Julien's voice, Mbappé snapped back, sighing deeply. "Julien, I don't have a team to play for anymore..."
Hearing this, Julien's tone remained steady. "Caen chose not to sign you because you had no written contract."
"Mm," Mbappé confirmed. Hearing Julien's confident tone, he relaxed considerably. He didn't know why, when learning Caen wouldn't sign him, his first thought was to contact Julien because Julien had told him before to reach out anytime there was a problem.
Julien continued, "It's fine. After tomorrow's match, I'll help you get a contract. I told you—if there's a problem, come to me."
"Yes!"
Mbappé's voice carried excitement. He was very grateful to Julien.
Julien's choice to help Mbappé had no ulterior motive—he simply wanted this world's young Mbappé to grow quickly. The French national team couldn't be carried by Julien alone.
"Don't worry. With your talent, plenty of clubs will want you. I'll have my father Pierre contact your father. We'll choose a better club more suitable for you."
Julien continued. He definitely needed to inform Mbappé's parents about this, but considering his good relationship with them, it wasn't a problem.
After consoling Mbappé a bit more, Julien asked about the details.
Turns out Caen's president felt the club's current economic situation wasn't good. Rather than spend over a hundred thousand euros gambling on someone like Mbappé, it was better to save the money for club operations.
So, they unilaterally broke the agreement.
No compensation was even needed—just a phone call notification, since Caen and Mbappé's family had only a verbal agreement with no written contract.
After hanging up, Julien called Pierre to handle the matter.
Soon after, Wilfried also called, expressing gratitude throughout and inviting Julien to visit their home again.
Julien agreed.
After dealing with this, Julien couldn't help thinking—that 2018 championship squad still needed development.
Especially the true core, Griezmann. He needed to strengthen that connection and bring everyone to his side.
What team has the most unity?
Brotherhood football, of course!!
That afternoon, the entire Bastia team headed to Lille, awaiting the next day's match.
Meanwhile, as time entered December, speculation about the final Golden Boy Award results intensified under media hype.
But this year's Golden Boy Award had no suspense.
Bastia fans even said, "Julien just needs to wait for the award notification. He'll become the youngest Golden Boy Award winner!"
The previous youngest winner was Messi at 18 years and 6 months.
If Julien won, he'd be 18 years and 1 month.
He'd break Messi's record.
However, while the outside world buzzed about this, internally Bastia didn't discuss it much, mainly because Julien actively said to ignore these things and focus on matches.
Hadzibegic also mentioned this at the pre-match press conference—Bastia was now focused on matches.
Lille's coach, Rudi Garcia, facing Bastia once again, said at the pre-match press conference, "Last season's results against Bastia didn't satisfy us. This time at home is Lille's best chance for revenge. The fans will give us maximum strength!"
Staying at the Lille hotel, Lukaku saw news reports about Garcia that included a review of last season's results.
Lukaku looked at Julien in surprise. "We were in Ligue 2 last season and still beat Lille?!"
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