Compared to Benitez's lengthy post-match analysis, Hadzibegic kept his comments routinely brief.
"This was a triumph of team spirit. The lads showed incredible resilience and discipline. To come back and equalize at Stamford Bridge—that takes immense courage.
Julien's goals were crucial, absolutely, but this result belongs to every single player. The defense held firm under continuous pressure, the midfield left everything on that pitch, and everyone fought for each other. That unity—that's been the foundation of everything we've achieved."
The 2-2 scoreline, two away goals—it's a vital strategic advantage. But we've only finished half the job. Back in Corsica, with the Stade Armand-Cesari roaring behind us, we'll be even stronger.
Now, we focus on recovery. We will prepare properly for next week's second leg.
See you in Corsica."
As he delivered these words, Hadzibegic's entire body exuded confidence. He could genuinely see a path to victory against Chelsea.
Park the bus and hit them on the break.
The football might be ugly, but it beat losing. In his pragmatic view, what good was beautiful football if it didn't deliver victories or silverware?
This was the utilitarian side of his philosophy—results over aesthetics, always.
After the match, the Bastia players had come down from their ecstatic high. Now exhaustion had set in, bone-deep and merciless.
By the time they boarded the team bus to the airport, several were already asleep. Van Dijk was also among them.
The young center-back had been a colossus tonight, an absolute warrior. This performance was putting him firmly on the radar of bigger clubs across Europe.
As Julien boarded the plane, he looked at his exhausted teammates sprawling in their seats and recalled what some bitter English journalists had written after the match: "This team will be torn apart by summer."
To some extent, they weren't wrong.
The plane's engines roared to life. Through the window, London's glittering lights gradually shrank and blurred into the distance.
Julien leaned back in his seat, his thumb unconsciously tracing the Bastia crest embroidered on his jersey.
Two trips to London, two solid results. But this was far from the end of the journey.
He would return here. He was certain of it.
The jeers from the home fans, the mocking chants: "Chelsea rejects," "Corsican peasant" the contemptuous stares... none of it had wounded him.
He understood that hostility for what it truly was: the instinctive fear of the weak when confronted by a threat.
The Premier League.
The intensity, the physicality, the atmosphere, the spotlight. Julien understood what it all meant. What he craved wasn't occasional moments of brilliance—he wanted sustained dominance. Week in, week out.
He wanted to score at Anfield with the Kop in full voice behind the goal. He wanted to dance through defenses at the Theatre of Dreams. He wanted to tear apart backlines with pure pace at the Emirates. He wanted all of England to know his name, to remember it, to fear it.
The summer transfer window would be his gateway to that bigger stage.
He needed stronger opponents, a broader platform to refine his game and fulfill the grand vision buried deep within him—the blueprint only a reincarnated soul could possess. To become an undisputed legend of world football.
London's lights vanished completely beneath the cloud layer.
Julien closed his eyes. The deathly silence of Stamford Bridge in that final moment, juxtaposed with the wild euphoria of the traveling supporters—both echoed in his mind, intertwined.
He felt no nostalgia, only a fiercer hunger.
The plane pierced through the clouds, bound for the starlit skies over Corsica.
The night deepened across Europe.
Coverage of the Chelsea-Bastia match continued to spread like wildfire through England and France. When fans across both countries woke the next morning, sports headlines were dominated by a single story.
Nobody cared that Fenerbahçe had beaten Benfica 1-0 in the other semifinal.
Sky Sports ran a feature column with the headline: "STAMFORD BRIDGE NIGHTMARE! French Starlet De Rocca Scores Twice to Haunt Former Club, Blues' Collapse Sets Up Summer Transfer Earthquake—Record Fee to Buy Him Back?"
"The scoreboard at Stamford Bridge froze at 2-2, the glaring numbers reflecting the shock on the faces of the Chelsea fans.
What should have been a stepping stone to the final in this Europa League semifinal first leg instead became the bitterest footnote of Benitez's final chapter at Chelsea—and may well trigger a seismic summer transfer saga.
Benitez, already confirmed to leave at season's end, had hoped for a Europa League trophy as his parting gift. Torres and Hazard's goals twice gave the Blues the lead, but the defensive structure the Spaniard had meticulously constructed crumbled like wet paper against France's newest national team sensation, Julien De Rocca.
This French prodigy, once discarded by Chelsea's academy, terrorized Ashley Cole and David Luiz in the first half to pull one back, then delivered a stunning weak-foot screamer in stoppage time to snatch the equalizer. Benitez stood on the touchline; his face ashen. This draw has all but buried his last hope for silverware.
At just 18 years old, De Rocca is no longer the forgotten talent Chelsea cast aside. He's now the beating heart of France's attack, a phenomenon tearing through Ligue 1.
Tonight, he delivered two clinical finishes with his supposedly weaker foot, producing a masterclass in ruthless efficiency at Stamford Bridge. His goals silenced 40,000 fans.
After the final whistle, he calmly pointed to the Bastia crest on his chest—but his performance has set the pulses of scouts from every major club racing."
More intriguingly, up in the directors' box, Roman Abramovich's expression was complex, looking conflicted.
According to well-placed sources, Chelsea's management has already reopened pursuit of De Rocca, identifying him as their top striker target!
After tonight's heroics, his valuation will skyrocket.
Abramovich faces a dilemma: Does he splash astronomical money to buy back the player he once discarded—the very same player who just buried Chelsea's European hopes? Or does he watch helplessly as Julien signs for a Premier League rival?
On this night at Stamford Bridge, Benitez may have lost his final chance at a dignified exit, Chelsea surrendered control of the tie, but the biggest winner? Unquestionably Julien De Rocca. With two golden goals, he proved his worth as France's creative lynchpin.
The second leg in Corsica will be a fight for survival for the Blues—and potentially the ultimate springboard for De Rocca's move to an elite club.
Is Abramovich's checkbook ready?"
Even Chelsea fans had to reluctantly admit—they wanted Julien. Despite his limited involvement in the match, those two goals showcased devastating efficiency. It was far better than watching Torres miss open nets, at least.
Besides, Julien had once been a Cobham Academy product, had once worn the blue shirt. Emotionally, they could accept his return.
Simultaneously, other English outlets began running stories:
"Abramovich Set to Launch Summer Mega-Bid for Julien,"
"Chelsea Preparing to Re-Sign Former Youth Player," and similar speculation.
Julien's future was suddenly, inevitably, being linked with Chelsea.
Of course, neither Chelsea nor Julien's camp offered any official response to the rumors.
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