Emperor of Football: Julien De Rocca

French fans sang the Marseillaise as they walked toward hotels and bars, celebrating their first victory in the European Championship.

The dejected English fans were still cursing the French for their lack of sportsmanship.

A draw would have benefited everyone, but the French stole one from them. The French are always up to no good!

The French, meanwhile, were writing little jokes online like:

Question: "How do you make English fans shut up?"

Answer: "Open their national team's trophy room and remember to bring a flashlight, it's too dark in there."

Chaos and commotion was everywhere.

Soon, interviews with coaches and players from both sides were gradually reported by the media, adding fuel to the fans' discussions.

Blanc said, "What comes to mind when you mention the England-France battle? The 'Guerre de Cent Ans'? No, that's a military enthusiast's favorite. Football fans only think of Zidane's two goals in three minutes to reverse England's lead. And tonight, Julien's debut goal that sealed victory against England.

I'm very happy he scored. Before the match, various media outlets questioned Julien's selection. When he was facing such criticism, being able to deliver this kind of performance is the best answer."

As for Hodgson, he only said that there was no way out in the next two matches: the team must, absolutely must, win against Sweden and Ukraine.

Meanwhile, France continued to maintain their unbeaten record against England in the European Championship.

The media went crazy.

What was expected to be an extremely dull and boring match ended up reaching its climax in the final three minutes, with Julien De Rocca's first attacking possession for the national team.

This result also made the group dramatically interesting.

France 2-1 England.

On the other side, host nation Ukraine, after Ibrahimović scored first, saw veteran Shevchenko burn bright, scoring twice to reverse Sweden 2-1.

This meant England's last two matches were do-or-die, they could only win!

Le Parisien used a cartoon as their headline: Julien stepping on Big Ben, wielding a Corsican curved sword to topple the Three Lions flag, with two letters "N, B" carved on the blade.

The meaning was self-evident.

L'Équipe wrote a column piece: "From Bastia's double champion to delivering a debut goal for the national team, this seventeen-year-old boy, just like his playing style, has always been in king mode.

And France indeed needs a king to emerge.

Of course, this is also the biggest obstacle to Julien's summer transfer window. No top club is willing to give unlimited ball rights to a seventeen-year-old kid, and no established stars are willing to play second fiddle to De Rocca.

This is also where Julien is smartest, he understands all this very clearly, so he announced his intention to stay early, giving Bastia sufficient time to bring in reinforcements.

Don't forget, Bastia, who won the French Cup, will appear in the UEFA Cup next season."

In the evening.

Amid all the external commotion, Giroud was scrolling through news on his phone while saying to Julien, "Julien, you're famous."

The two were roommates during the European Championship.

The entire French team was staying at the Victoria Grand Hotel in Donetsk, just a few hundred meters from the Donbas Arena.

Besides the French team, the English and Swedish teams were also staying at this five-star hotel.

Julien nodded, "Actually, there's no need to pay attention to these things. When I have a bad performance someday, the same media that's praising me the most now will be the ones criticizing me the hardest."

"Haha." Giroud laughed, glancing at Julien and saying, "I know that's the principle, but I don't believe you'll ever have a bad performance."

Giroud really thought this way. After looking up Julien's matches, he had the most direct feeling of what the word "genius" meant.

Julien was the most concrete embodiment of genius.

He also said, "I think you might start in this European Championship, and we might even win it."

Julien remained noncommittal.

He actually didn't have much confidence in this European Championship, this definitely wasn't a team that one person could influence alone.

Beating England looked like a bed of roses now, but the internal contradictions hadn't been resolved.

Benzema had almost no impact in this match.

And France's midfield seemed to be full of talent, but was actually incredibly weak!

In the past ten years, across five major tournaments, except for the 2006 World Cup where they narrowly lost to Italy, France's record in official major tournaments was appalling.

The French seemed to still be living in the golden age of the 1998-2000 double championship.

That generation of French stars had given the French too many dreamlike memories.

Who was that generation's spine?

Barthez, Blanc, Deschamps, Zidane.

All legendary names.

What about now?

Only Ribéry could still be considered as maintaining France's last bit of reputation.

Back then, France had a constellation of stars.

Players like Frédéric Kanouté couldn't even make the squad during his peak ten years ago and had to helplessly change nationality to play for Mali.

But now, while France had abundant wing talent, no one could support the midfield backbone.

So, their scoring methods relied more on the peripheral flashes of individual brilliance from Ribéry, Nasri, and others to create goals.

The so-called wing advantage became empty talk because the forward pivot and central players couldn't follow up with runs.

This was also why France didn't need Benzema.

The national team Benzema and Real Madrid Benzema were two different people.

Julien understood this clearly.

He was able to score in this match purely by surprise. In a real head-to-head battle, he would find it difficult to break through England because no one would set him up or coordinate with him.

Julien stole a glance at Giroud. This was the hardworking, dependable target man that France really needed!

Of course. There was another very important position: defensive midfielder.

Julien smiled.

The answer to France's defensive midfield problem would definitely surprise Bastia's opponents next season!

Perhaps it was because France's former defensive midfielders had performed the role of offensive-defensive transition hub too perfectly, making it impossible for successors in the post-Zidane era to match them.

Deschamps, Petit, Vieira, Makélélé, any of these names was thunderous.

Back then, even Dacourt, who won the title with Inter, lamented being born at the wrong time for the national team, when even making the French squad for friendlies was a luxury.

Now France only had 31-year-old veteran Alou Diarra, who played for Marseille.

This kind of French team couldn't be saved by one person.

But there was no rush. The starlight would illuminate France, and Julien hadn't spoken rashly to Giroud as their legendary story had indeed not yet begun.

Julien and Giroud chatted casually for a while longer.

Then they washed up and went to sleep.

After today's match ended, Julien had celebrated with his teammates, met with family, and seen Zidane, Mbappé, Kanté, and others.

He was somewhat tired. So, Julien quickly fell into a deep sleep.

In his dreams, countless stars scattered across the Milky Way. And he, like a bright moon in the sky, with the stars around him growing ever brighter.

This is called: all stars revolving around the moon.

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