No matter what Ancelotti said, Paris Saint-Germain had ended the season empty-handed.
With their draw secured, the entire French football world turned its gaze toward Corsica's Stade Armand-Cesari.
Next round, this stadium would host a fixture dripping with historical significance—league leaders Bastia welcoming defending champions Montpellier to their fortress.
For Bastia, the equation was brutally simple: avoid defeat, and they would clinch the 2012-13 Ligue 1 title with two matches to spare, lifting the first top-league trophy in the club's 108-year existence.
This stadium, where blue was religion and the Mediterranean wind carried prayers, stood on the precipice of its most glorious moment.
The dramatic irony wasn't lost on anyone—their opponents were last season's champions, Montpellier.
It felt like fate pulling strings, like a novelist constructing the perfect narrative arc.
A year ago, Montpellier had emerged as underdogs to shatter Paris's championship dreams. Now, twelve months later, they would stand as witnesses to another underdog's coronation—powerless to stop history from repeating itself with a cruel twist.
The media seized upon this narrative symmetry, amplifying it until the match took on an almost mythological weight, dense with tension and gravitas.
Headlines wrote themselves: "From Montpellier's Miracle to Bastia's Fairy Tale." "The Underdog's Curse: Can Last Year's Champions Stop History?"
The complexities of continental France faded into background noise. Overnight, every discussion about French football converged on this small Mediterranean island called Corsica—this rugged, proud place that had produced Napoleon.
Even the island's few non-football fans found themselves swept up in the anticipation. Though, in truth, such people were rare here.
Social media exploded with activity.
Fans—Bastia supporters and neutrals all filled every platform with restless commentary, the digital noise was reaching a fever pitch:
"It's finally here! I'm already on the ferry to Corsica—been waiting my whole life for this day! ALLEZ BASTIA! Julien, bring us the title!"
"108 years of waiting. Since my great-grandfather's time, we've dreamed of this trophy. Never thought I'd live to see it. I'm in tears just thinking about it!"
"45 goals. Julien is our KING. Keep scoring next round—win the championship with another goal! Make it 46!"
"As a PSG fan, my feelings are complicated. Watching another team lift the trophy again... But honestly, Bastia deserve it. Julien is too strong. We had our chance and blew it. Ancelotti GET OUT!"
"Watching Bastia this season has been pure joy. Hope they win tomorrow. Long live the underdog miracle! Julien, get yourself to the Premier League after this—stop stat-padding in Ligue 1."
"Hate to admit it, but you have to respect them. I'm still watching replays of Julien's bicycle kick on loop. Their championship would honor the game itself. But next season, we're coming back stronger!"
"English fan skimming through— I am shocked by De Rocca's performances this year. 45 goals in 35 games is mental. If Bastia win this, it'll be one of football's greatest stories!"
Outside, the world burned with excitement. Inside the Bastia clubhouse, an eerie calm prevailed.
The players avoided public appearances. No interviews. No statements. The club's media officer had to turn away dozens of requests daily from international broadcasters, newspapers from England and Spain, even American sports networks were suddenly interested in this Mediterranean miracle.
Only Hadzibegic faced the media once, and even then, his comments were restrained, almost frustratingly pragmatic:
"We understand what this match means. All of France is talking about it—another underdog dismantling PSG's financial empire, David versus Goliath, all those narratives. But in our dressing room, we're only talking about Montpellier the opponent.
They're not just defending champions. They're warriors who deserve respect. Girard's team never surrenders easily—we watched them last season, saw how they ground out results when everyone expected them to collapse. This will be a difficult battle. But, we're ready.
Our records and point advantage are the product of 35 matches. But tomorrow's 90 minutes start from zero.
My players must maintain absolute focus and composure.
Our fans' expectations are fuel, not pressure. We'll fight for everyone who's ever given something to this club. But most importantly, we fight for each other.
As for the championship?
When the final whistle blows, if the result goes our way, we'll have time to celebrate. Trust me, we'll celebrate.
But right now, my complete attention is on the tactical board and player fitness."
His words were steady as lukewarm water—sensible, restrained, impossible to ignite passion with.
The journalists had wanted fire and brimstone, wanted him to channel Napoleon promising glory. Instead, they got a tactician discussing sleep schedules.
The fans craved something else. They wanted fiery spirits and sweet revenge, the intoxicating rush of a lone warrior charging into legend with blade drawn, declarations of destiny and inevitable triumph.
That's why they loved Julien.
The world always falls toward the exceptional, toward tales of young genius ascending to glory. They didn't want restrained pragmatism—they wanted a hero who believed in miracles, who could make them believe too.
Time crawled forward.
Every soul in Bastia waited for match day to arrive.
In a warehouse behind his home, Modoso directed his companions as they inspected the massive TIFO display. His hands moved across the cloth, checking every seam, every attachment point. During a break, wiping sweat from his forehead, he looked up through the warehouse's open doors at Bastia's sky and smiled.
The Mediterranean blue above matched the blue they'd bleed tomorrow.
At the Sunset Café Bar, owner Bertrand polished an old photograph on the counter—his father Jacques waving a scarf in the stands during the 1978 UEFA Cup final, his face was frozen in mid-shout, young and alive and believing.
The glass frame caught the afternoon light, making Jacques seem to move.
"Jacques," Bertrand whispered, his thumb tracing the edge of the frame, "you never imagined we'd have a chance to win both Ligue 1 and the Europa League, did you? We can finally heal your regret. All those years you told me about that final, about how close we came..."
His voice got caught. "Such a shame you're not here to see it. And your wine... we drank the last bottle last week. I saved you a glass, poured it on your grave. You would've loved Julien."
He set the photograph back in its place of honor, adjusted it until it sat perfectly straight, then returned to polishing glasses.
On the other side of the city at the youth academy, young Roncaglia finished extra free-kick practice as twilight fell. He collected the balls, loading them into the mesh bag, then returned to his dormitory.
Cautiously, aware his roommate might mock him—he extracted a newly purchased poster from his backpack and fixed it to his locker with respectful, almost ritualistic hands. Julien stood frozen in celebration, arms spread wide like a conquering general, mouth open in a roar of triumph—the exact image of glory the boy dreamed of becoming.
He stepped back, admiring it, then whispered to himself: "One day. One day that'll be me."
In Bastia's office, Geronimi stood at the window gazing down at the training pitch. The late afternoon sun turned everything gold. He turned to Chataigner with a soft laugh. "I still feel like I'm dreaming. Like I'll wake up and we'll be fighting relegation again, scrambling to pay wages."
Chataigner smiled back, adjusting his glasses. Wasn't he the same?
On the training ground, before dismissing the squad, Hadzibegic tossed his tactical board aside and delivered a single sentence: "Go win this match for everyone who's given everything to this club."
The players' faces hardened with determination.
For everyone.
For their own football dreams.
This match—they had to take it.
Julien lifted his head, his gaze traveling past the training ground fence toward the Mediterranean.
Though two kilometers distant, separated by the city's jumbled architecture, he could almost hear the waves—pushed relentlessly by Mediterranean winds, crashing day after day against Bastia's rocks and beaches. The sound was deep and eternal, like the ancient heartbeat of this land itself.
Simultaneously, another sound resonated within him. The rush of blood through his veins became audible in the silence. Dreams setting from vapor into solid form—he could hear them taking shape. And beyond that, carried on the breeze, the roar and heartbeat of thousands of Bastia fans preparing for tomorrow, their voices were already rising from the city.
All these sounds, real and imagined, spanning distance and reality surged toward him.
They converged, intertwined, merged, and finally settled in his chest into a searing, overwhelming emotion that made his throat tight and his hands clench.
Not chaotic noise, but a clear call.
A hundred years of waiting. Countless tears and devotion. Generations who'd lived and died without seeing this moment.
All of it had distilled into a mission he could not fail.
He drew a deep breath, letting it fill his lungs completely. The salt of the sea wind seemed to fill his nostrils, mixing with the cut grass beneath his boots.
Pulling his gaze back from the horizon, his eyes had become as clear and resolute as the Mediterranean summer sky.
The weight of a century's history settled on his young shoulders.
And he was ready to carry it. More than ready, eager.
After the final training session ended, De Bruyne bumped Julien's arm with playful intent as they walked toward the dressing room. "Hey, 45-goal man—what are you planning to do to Montpellier's defense tomorrow? Another bicycle kick? Maybe a scorpion?"
Julien shook his head. "That depends on what kind of ball you can deliver."
"So basically, it's my fault if you don't score?" De Bruyne grinned.
"Obviously."
Rothen cut in jokingly. "Kevin, remember—transition quickly into the attacking third, then let Julien handle it. Don't get tangled up in midfield duels with them."
He turned to Julien. "Julien, you're their nightmare. I've watched Montpellier's recent matches—their center-backs have good positioning, but they're terrified of pace and movement. Make them afraid from the first minute."
Julien nodded. "Of course. Their backline better not show any gaps. Otherwise..." He grinned wickedly.
Rothen smilingly clapped Julien's shoulder. "Enjoy this kind of match, boys. I've played professional football for nearly twenty years. Moments like this—winning the title at home, in front of your people—you don't get many in a lifetime. Maybe one. Maybe none."
His tone shifted to something more philosophical, tinged with the melancholy. "Some players go their entire careers without experiencing this. I've won cups, played in Europe, had good years. But this? To be part of this at the tail end of my career? Worth it. Worth everything. No regrets."
De Bruyne, caught up in the emotion, usually so composed and analytical, spoke with unusual solemnity. "We'll win. For you, Jérôme. And for all of us. For everyone."
Rothen's eyes glistened briefly, but he blinked it away, nodding once.
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