Emperor of Football: Julien De Rocca

Tonight, in Donetsk, torrential rain poured down. Accompanied by thunderous roars.

For a while, many fans worried the match might be postponed, but it ultimately began as scheduled.

In this weather, compared to England vs Sweden at Kiev's Olympic Stadium, France vs Ukraine was destined to be a hard-fought battle.

Twenty minutes before kickoff, when France's starting lineup was announced, it had already sparked a series of discussions.

Blanc's team selection was too bold!

Julien was starting as right winger. Giroud was replacing Benzema as starting striker.

These two changes left French fans somewhat bewildered, they felt this was too daring in team selection?

The TF1 commentator said. "We know Julien has ability and talent, but to let a seventeen-year-old boy start in such a crucial match determining the team's advancement, isn't Blanc being too aggressive?

I believe Julien as a substitute impact player might have achieved better results. Currently, various media are reporting that after the internal strife incident, Blanc might not renew his contract with the French Football Federation due to discouragement.

Could this tactical arrangement also be influenced by that?"

As for French fans, they were divided into three camps: opponents, supporters, and the indifferent.

The opposition mostly shared the commentator's view, believing Julien lacked top-level league experience and might falter in such an important match.

The supporters mainly came from Corsica, particularly Bastia.

Some Bastia residents who hadn't planned to watch this match became eager to turn on their televisions upon learning of Julien's start. They were desperate not to miss a second of footage featuring Julien.

Sunset Café Bar was packed again.

"Julien, crush them! Show these doubters your strength and make them shut up!"

"He's starting! Blanc is brilliant, he clearly has good judgment and knows Julien's ability."

"We must win! This start, if we make it to the knockout stages, Julien will definitely get more opportunities. For a young player, this kind of international tournament is a rare training opportunity. I believe after this match experience, Julien will improve further next season!"

"We must win! I was just in the final moments, about to score, when a message popped up on my phone saying Julien was starting. I grabbed my clothes to rush out and watch, but my wife grabbed my jersey asking, 'Which referee's whistle can blow more urgently than mine?'"

"Hahaha!"

Boom!

Lightning flashed above Donetsk's Donbass Arena.

The fans from both sides tirelessly sang their support songs in the heavy rain, harmonizing with the sound of raindrops.

Players waited in the tunnel.

Referee Kuipers assessed the rain outside the tunnel, and when kick-off time arrived, he led the players onto the field.

Boom! Boom!!

The host nation Ukraine had a clear home advantage, with Ukrainian fans' thunderous cheers greeting the players as soon as they entered.

However, when the French team appeared, French fans responded with equally resounding cheers throughout the stadium.

Among them, the Corsican fans were the most passionate.

They chanted "Julien's" name.

While others were full of doubts about Julien, their eyes held no right or wrong, no rational analysis, only absolute support.

"Julien!!"

Hearing the voices from the stands beside the tunnel, Julien turned and waved to the fans.

This made that fan jump with excitement.

Soon, the players stood on the field for the opening ceremony.

Julien felt raindrops falling on his body and face, the icy sensation seemingly freezing his body. He felt his body was slightly stiff.

But the excitement of his first international start made the blood under his skin boil, surging through his veins.

In the stands, fans waited for the match to begin wearing raincoats, while in the stadium boxes, many legendary stars had come to watch.

The most eye-catching was naturally Zidane.

This made most fans think of Zidane's evaluations of Julien, even making people wonder if Julien was Zidane's chosen "successor."

A successor didn't necessarily have to play the same position or style but rather hold the same status.

On the field, after French captain Lloris and Ukrainian captain Shevchenko finished the coin toss, referee Kuipers quickly blew the opening whistle.

The match officially began!

Ukraine kicked off.

Julien moved in his right-wing area, with defending not yet his turn, he simply retreated, waiting for opportunities.

On Ukraine's side, "Golden Arrow" Blokhin deployed a 4-2-3-1 formation with Shevchenko at the very front.

As the 2004 Ballon d'Or winner, Shevchenko at his peak was undoubtedly formidable. But now he was already 35 years old.

Since returning to Dynamo Kiev in 2009, he had basically withdrawn from mainstream football's view, preparing for retirement.

If Ukraine weren't the host nation, Sheva's name might have already faded into fans' memories, and would no longer mentioned.

When he wore the yellow jersey and walked onto the field, countless heartstrings were touched.

This Poland-Ukraine European Championship was the swan song of his career. So, he hoped his career could have one more match, just one more.

The rain gradually intensified.

Under the pincer attack of French center-backs Mexès and Rami, Shevchenko had almost no opportunities. He fought hard. But his individual combat ability had declined, and he desperately needed support from teammates.

And Ukraine's players were far inferior to the French team.

Shevchenko was somewhat isolated.

France's pressing was fierce, and although Ukraine started with a 4-2-3-1 formation, both flanks quickly retreated to defensive positions.

Soon, the ball came to Julien's feet. He pushed forward from the right flank, but immediately discovered that the rain significantly affected technical players.

The ball wouldn't stick to his feet. It was slippery.

When he attempted to change direction and beat his man, the football slipped away from his foot control. The ball was intercepted.

Ukrainian midfielder Voronin immediately played a long ball forward, looking for the target man Shevchenko.

Behind Shevchenko, Yarmolenko and Nazarenko quickly followed up, planning to compete for the second ball.

This was Blokhin's tactic for tonight.

Shevchenko was the pivot, not the breakthrough point.

In the rain, the slippery football, combined with the weight change when the ball got soaked, made passing somewhat difficult to control.

Voronin didn't reach Shevchenko's position.

The ball was controlled by Diarra.

Diarra passed forward, Nasri dropped back to receive the ball, and France's attack progressed layer by layer.

Nasri saw open space on Julien's side but, after thinking, passed to Ribéry instead.

However, Nasri misjudged the power of this pass, it was too light, and the football's speed quickly decreased.

Instead, it gave Ribéry a difficult ball to handle.

Ribéry was caught off guard chasing the ball, lost his footing, and slipped.

He got up and wiped the rainwater from his face, feeling somewhat annoyed.

Fortunately, Ukraine's long ball tactics, without a reliable passer, posed no threat to the French team.

France controlled possession. They lobbed several balls into the penalty area, with Giroud competing for headers, while Nasri had a shot from outside the box that flew over the bar.

When Julien got the ball, he hadn't yet succeeded in beating his man.

Rather than forcing forward upon receiving the ball, he passed back to teammates, mainly because he hadn't yet adapted to the slippery football.

Time continued to pass. The rain grew heavier.

Watching the opening seven minutes, the TF1 commentator said: "This match is somewhat difficult for the French team. Their technical advantage is hard to exploit due to the heavy rain. And the rain at the venue seems to be getting heavier."

Splash!

Just as the commentator spoke, the crowd let out a gasp of surprise.

Julien received the ball, his perfect ball control helping him quickly adapt to handling the football.

Facing Voronin's pressing, he executed a simple nutmeg and accelerated past him.

The Bastia fans smiled slightly. "Julien still can't forget about nutmegs."

After winning the ball, Julien quickly moved forward.

Boom!

At that moment, thunder exploded above the stadium, startling many fans.

Especially female fans, who shrank their necks, somewhat frightened by the sudden thunder.

Ukraine had many female fans, after all, Ukraine's traditional industries were well-developed, and practitioners were working day and night during the European Championship to capitalize on the attention.

UEFA and Ukrainian officials were said to have tacitly approved this.

This rather loose official attitude had drawn protests from women's rights organization FEMEN, criticizing Ukrainian officials for legalizing such activities.

However, occasional FEMEN protesters were quickly arrested by police.

On the field, the players didn't let up despite the thunderclap.

Julien's quick forward run alerted Ukrainian defenders. Blokhin had carefully studied all of France's attacking players.

Julien's dribbling ability was a key focus of their preparation.

Especially Julien's appearance in the first group match, where he scored the winner against England just three minutes after coming on.

Blokhin thought Julien would likely play in this match. He just never expected Julien to start!

Seeing Julien break through, Nasri quickly ran to open space, pointing to himself, signaling for Julien to pass quickly.

He had a good opportunity. But Julien didn't pass—instead, he charged toward Ukrainian left-back Selin.

In the torrential rain, Nasri felt somewhat anxious in the downpour. Wasn't this reckless dribbling?! In this rain, what tricks could he pull off?!

But the next moment, Nasri was stunned. 'Was this possible too?'

Julien's footwork remained unchanged, he simply paused and dropped his shoulder, and Selin was deceived off balance. In this rainy weather, when Selin saw Julien hadn't changed direction and tried to plant his foot to recover defensively, but he slipped.

He somewhat embarrassingly supported himself as he got up, but Julien had already burst into the penalty area.

Without seeing Julien's movement clearly, this scene looked like Selin had simply slipped and fallen upon seeing Julien charging at him.

In the Sunset Café Bar, fans laughed heartily. "This Eastern European big guy was scared silly by Julien!"

"Julien's ball control is really strong. Although he made mistakes initially, now it seems he's adapted to playing in the rain."

"It has to be Julien, Bastia's legend! Tear through their defense line, we want to advance!"

"Good thing it's raining, otherwise these big guys would have been dizzy from Julien's moves long ago. Besides fouling, they can't stop Julien!"

This scene also drew gasps from fans at the venue. Julien's dribbling ability was truly strong!

Mbappé's initial excitement about Julien starting was dampened by this play. "How am I supposed to learn this?"

He had resolved to master Julien's dribbling ability. But the movements Julien was displaying now, he couldn't learn them!

Zidane in the stands nodded slightly, his gaze was locked on Julien, wanting to see his next choice.

On the field, Julien cut inside into the penalty area, already looking up to observe goalkeeper Pyatov's position.

In this torrential rain battle, it wasn't suitable for forwards to control the ball, but it was equally extremely disadvantageous for goalkeepers.

Slippery conditions, unpredictable ball trajectory, fumbles, all were deadly!

Center-back Khacheridi and defensive midfielder Tymoshchuk both rushed toward Julien.

For most players, even coaches, the choice at this moment would be to pass.

Teammates were already in good positions, passing to them would be the best choice. The safest choice.

But Julien remembered what Zidane had told him. "Remember, when you're confident enough to tear through the defense line, yet still able to spot teammates' positions with your peripheral vision, that's the temperament of a football king."

Zidane wanted to teach Julien what it meant to play like a king.

That wasn't selfishness, that was confidence!

And Julien saw the opportunity, he didn't reduce his speed.

On the sideline, Blanc watched Julien's choice with some concern. As head coach, he could see that Nasri and Giroud had better positions.

Julien should pass. But he didn't.

In the penalty area, with water already pooling on the grass, Julien chose to force his way through.

What he saw was exactly the one-step gap that appeared between Khacheridi and Tymoshchuk in their hurried positioning. Cut through there, and it would be a one-on-one with the goalkeeper!

And because of Giroud and Nasri's movements, the defense against him wasn't so resolute.

They all seemed to think he would pass.

Julien didn't hesitate. He drove the ball toward the gap between the two players. While advancing, he glanced at Nasri, this look gave Tymoshchuk the wrong impression.

It made Tymoshchuk hesitate to follow up immediately.

Julien surged forward, activating his explosive mode, and collided solidly with the approaching Khacheridi.

Both men staggered.

Julien supported himself with his hand, and his enhanced flexibility allowed him to maintain control of the football even in this situation.

Pyatov had already rushed out to collect the ball.

But from his half-risen position, Julien hooked the football around Pyatov, then smoothly got to his feet and took what looked like an awkward push shot.

Empty net!

Goal!

Splash!

The crowd was instantly stunned. Ukrainian fans frowned deeply.

They had conceded already?

French fans cheered excitedly, while Bastia fans were even more passionate.

"Julien!!"

This was the most familiar sight to them, Julien's way of scoring, with his ultimate ball control ability, it was always so incredible!

They celebrated wildly, their hot blood driving away the cold in the rainy night, frantically chanting Julien's name.

In the torrential rain, the Donbass Arena filled with French fans' thunderous roars.

After scoring, Julien turned and sprinted toward the corner flag, sliding on his knees and creating two streams of water spray.

While sliding, he roared and spread his arms wide!

Boom!

Thunder sounded above the stadium at that moment.

The reporters by the corner flag were stunned. He frantically pressed the shutter, capturing an image that would shock him—

Julien sliding freely on his knees, torrential rain hitting his blue jersey and scattering in all directions, lightning filling the sky, elevating the entire frame in that moment.

Under the lightning, Julien appeared like a descending god!

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