Emperor of Football: Julien De Rocca

France was in turmoil again. But when the French media reported it, French fans weren't particularly shocked.

Internal strife?

Wasn't this just France's standard operating procedure?

The current French team simply didn't have a super core who could keep everyone in line.

France had grown accustomed over the past few decades to playing around a central figure.

Unfortunately, after Zidane, no such player had emerged.

The current generation of players, the "Four Little Swans" had already shown all fans through their actions that they wouldn't become France's leaders.

They would only become France's problems.

Perhaps the only glimmer of hope French fans could see was seventeen-year-old Julien De Rocca.

Whether it was leading Bastia to the Ligue 2 and Coupe de France double, his personal Golden Boot award and Ligue 2 Player of the Year honors, or his three-minute comeback winning goal for the national team.

All of it was enough to keep fans hopeful about him.

At the Post-Match Press Conference, Reporters packed the press room.

Blanc didn't avoid the defeat, as it was something every coach had to face.

"Sweden beat a mediocre French team. They performed better in every aspect. The whole team was off today, so naturally we couldn't win. We anticipated this would be a difficult match and prepared extensively.

In the second half, we tried to control the game and had opportunities, but the team disappointed me. We could have made it 1-1 or 2-2 in the second half. I won't comment on particular individuals, the entire team was subpar."

When a reporter asked him regarding the next match, Blanc said, "I will make some adjustments I consider reasonable. This is a must-not-lose game. We have no way back and must fight for qualification."

Blanc emphasized the phrase "adjustments I consider reasonable" particularly heavily. But no journalists seemed to notice.

Their entire focus was on France's internal strife.

Faced with these types of headache-inducing questions regarding internal strifes, Blanc smiled dismissively. "You shouldn't ask me, you should ask van Marwijk."

He then ended the interview.

Van Marwijk was Netherland's coach, who had now completely lost control of his dressing room. No one was playing for him anymore.

Netherland's group stage exit and van Marwijk's dismissal were, according to Dutch media, foregone conclusions.

With two rounds complete, fans had a pretty good sense of all sixteen teams' conditions.

France was still favored by most people. After beating England, France's championship odds had soared to third place, behind only defending champions Spain and Germany.

Even after losing to Sweden, they still ranked fourth, allowing Italy, who were in good form, to overtake them.

Italy's current standout was naturally 22-year-old Balotelli's "thinking pose."

In Spain's 1-1 draw with Italy, Balotelli had inexplicably missed a one-on-one chance.

Of course, Italy's coach Prandelli defended Balotelli afterward. "He told me he was trying to find Cassano, so he didn't notice the recovering defender. He had two ideas, but chose the wrong one. He's just a 22-year-old kid, on the path to greater maturity. He's not afraid of making mistakes, but next time he faces this situation, he needs to make the right choice."

Twenty-two years old.

Indeed, he was young enough, but Italian fans had seen someone even younger, Julien De Rocca.

His three-minute goal performance had Italian fans discussing how to bring De Rocca to Serie A's elite clubs.

The European Championship was not only a competition for national team honors but also a window for Europe's major clubs to scout players.

De Rocca was currently the most closely watched player.

Being able to get playing time in France's wing-heavy squad and deliver the winning goal against England was no small feat.

However, when interested clubs looked into De Rocca, they were disappointed to learn he had already announced he would stay with his team for next season.

Of course, some persistent clubs contacted Pierre, only to receive rejections.

Back at the Hotel.

After the post-match press conference, the entire French team returned to their hotel.

Back in their room, Giroud was still in shock. He asked Julien, "Why didn't you choose Karim? He'd be more suitable for you."

Julien shook his head. "Don't you remember what I told you? In my opinion, you're France's main striker for the next ten years."

Blanc had just asked him in front of Giroud, "For the next match, who do you want to start alongside you?"

How could Julien not understand Blanc's meaning?

Blanc was trying to help him win favor with the new Ligue 1 top scorer. Julien had already been thinking of Giroud anyway. So, the answer naturally came out smoothly.

Giroud walked to the window and opened it, revealing Donetsk's nighttime skyline.

He took a deep breath, then looked at Julien and said, "You know, I worked over ten years to get into the national team. I knew my talent was limited, so I could only work harder and be more disciplined. Finally, last year, I got called up to the national team."

He paused, looking at Julien. "In my heart, I was satisfied just making substitute appearances. I never thought about starting, the French national team has never lacked top-class players."

He touched his chest. "I never imagined that a European Championship starting opportunity would come so suddenly. My heart is still racing."

"Thank you, Julien."

The last sentence came from Giroud's heart.

Julien just smiled at his words and said. "This is just the beginning. But I'd suggest you stop thinking about this and call Jennifer instead. She'll be proud of you."

Jennifer was Giroud's wife, they had just gotten married last year.

"Right, right!" Giroud rushed to the landline phone, his hands were trembling slightly as he dialed her number.

Julien looked at the window Giroud had opened, feeling a night breeze carrying traces of the day's restlessness.

He was already looking forward to his first international start.

"Ukraine."

Just Shevchenko in the twilight of his career.

London, England

Cobham Training Ground

Kevin De Bruyne, who had just transferred to Chelsea in January, was still considering his future.

The European Championship was in full swing, but it didn't concern Belgium, they hadn't qualified through the preliminaries.

"Bastia or Werder Bremen?"

He'd been told he had no chance of first-team football at Chelsea and would need to go out on loan to prove himself.

These two clubs were his options.

De Bruyne watched European Championship coverage, his mind was yearning to be part of a title-contending team.

Perhaps Bremen would suit him better?

Werder Bremen was a Bundesliga club, finishing ninth in the league this season. They had decent strength.

Bastia was just a Ligue 2 promoted side.

But Bastia had Europa League football to play...

It was truly puzzling. He thought he could ask Romelu how to choose, they'd both be going out on loan.

Just then, his girlfriend Caroline texted: "Honey, want to go to Madrid for vacation? We could hang out with Thibaut."

De Bruyne, worried about his uncertain career prospects, wasn't in the mood for vacation. For him now, Training hard was the priority.

He replied: "I need to train. Have fun."

With Thibaut Courtois there, his national team teammate, De Bruyne wasn't worried about Caroline's safety.

He and Courtois had always gotten along well, both at national team and club teammates, though Courtois was on loan at Atletico Madrid.

Courtois would look after Caroline for him.

"Okay."

Caroline's reply came with a heart emoji.

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