The road to godhood starting from Ligue 1

Chapter 10 Turning the Tide

Nord, Pas-de-Calais, northern France.

Bastia and his party arrived in Valenciennes.

On the bus's way to the hotel, Gaio leaned against the window and casually looked around at the city that was almost completely destroyed during World War II.

It is located in the heart of Europe, close to many European countries, and has very developed transportation, otherwise it would not have been completely destroyed in World War II.

When pedestrians see the Bastia bus, they stop and watch.

The people of Valenciennes, of course, know that the French Cup round of 16 will be held at their home stadium tomorrow night.

Facing a French Ligue 2 opponent, Valenciennes fans are full of confidence.

So when the Bastia bus was driving on the street, some fans raised their middle fingers at the bus and shouted: "Go home! Shorty!"

Shorty is a derogatory term used by people from mainland France to refer to Corsicans.

Such a call will attract a wave of response.

"Go back to your island and catch some fish!"

"It's better to admit defeat and go home early."

Valenciennes has the confidence to do so, as their form this season is not bad, ranking in the middle of Ligue 1.

We can't lose to a French Ligue 2 team, right?

After losing to Bordeaux in the last Ligue 1 game, Valenciennes fans felt that the team was in urgent need of a soft persimmon to squeeze.

Coincidentally, in the French Cup, the French Ligue 2 team Bastia came to our door.

So it seems a bit unscrupulous.

The Bastia players turned a deaf ear to it; they were used to it.

That night.

Outside the hotel where they stayed in Bastia, the players could always hear some strange noises.

Gaio lay in bed, listening to the noises, and found it unsurprising. It was the local fans trying to disturb the Bastia players' rest.

The weird things that French fans can do are probably only comparable to English football hooligans.

The next day.

After breakfast, the Bastia players, led by their assistant coach, ran on the rooftop of the hotel to warm up.

When big teams play away games, they will rent training grounds in advance, but Bastia obviously does not have this ability, so they just make do on the rooftop.

Gaio felt the morning breeze blowing from the Scheldt River, and his heart calmed down a little.

He actually didn't get enough rest last night.

It was not just the harassment from local fans, but also the complicated emotions of making his debut - anticipation, nervousness, and all kinds of fantasy moments, thousands of fans' arms waving in front of him, thousands of cheers just for him, and countless streams of consciousness converging together, which made him go to bed a little late.

Fortunately, my young body recovers quickly, so it won’t affect today’s game.

But that feeling still cannot be calmed down.

The river breeze soothed it only slightly.

After the simple training, Chatham noticed that Gaio was preoccupied, so he found Gaio alone and asked, "Did you sleep well last night? How do you feel today?"

"is acceptable."

Chatham smiled. "That's good. Don't be so stressed about tonight's game. I know your strength. You'll have no problem performing normally. Relax. Winning or losing isn't that important to us. Just focus on yourself."

Gaio smiled slightly bitterly. "I understand the truth, but when I really know I'm going to play in the French Cup, I still can't calm down."

How could he possibly calm down?

In my previous life, I was just a football fan. The mentality of watching football and playing football are completely different.

In his opinion, the match against Ajaccio U19 was more like a training match, and they were just little kids.

And now, when he is about to face a top league team, thousands of thoughts come to his mind.

Chatham sat down next to him and patted him on the shoulder. "I understand how you feel. I've forgotten how I felt when I first played for my club, but I'll never forget the feeling of my first appearance for the national team. The anticipation, worry, nervousness, fear, and other mixed emotions kept me awake all night."

"But someone told me something, and I want to give it to you, maybe it will be helpful to you."

"That man was Zinedine Zidane. At that time, he was just a newcomer to the national team, but his eyes were shining with confidence. I could see that he was not timid, but was looking forward to it." "It was a warm-up match against Belgium. Zinedine saw my embarrassment. It was also under such circumstances. After the training before the game, we chatted and I asked him if he was nervous or timid. He said to me, 'The game will not get better because of your timidity, it will only get worse. It will make the opponent celebrate. Do you want to see them showing off their strength after the game?' Relax, you are still young, and you will eventually need to experience these things."

As he spoke, Chatham saw Hajibegich waving to him, looking for him.

Chatham patted Gaio's shoulder again, got up and left without saying anything else.

Gaio turned his head to look at the backs of Chatham Hajibegich and the others, and let out a deep breath.

When a very important day is approaching.

Then the last half of the day will be the most difficult time.

But time is fair.

Six p.m.

The entire Bastia team gathered and went to the Dueno Stadium.

At this time, tens of thousands of Valenciennes fans had already gathered around the Doueno Stadium.

The number of fans of a team is often linked to the team's performance.

This season, Valenciennes is considered by many local fans to be worth watching live.

Tickets for the Dueno Stadium, which has a capacity of more than 20,000, were sold out long before the game.

As Bastia's bus pulled into the stadium parking lot.

The surrounding Valenciennes fans booed.

The fans, including the broadcaster's commentator, didn't think Bastia had a chance to take victory away from here.

"Although Bastia is currently ranked second in the French Ligue 2 and has a good chance of returning to Ligue 1 next season, Valenciennes is currently in very stable form.

This season they have defeated Montpellier and Lyon in the league, and drawn with strong teams such as Lille, Marseille and Rennes. Their strength should not be underestimated.

On the contrary, Bastia has a good record in the French Ligue 2, but it is relatively difficult to win, and judging from the starting lineup given so far, Bastia is not a full-strength team. "

Dueno Stadium.

During the warm-up, Gaio didn't feel much, but when the game started and the shouts of tens of thousands of fans exploded in his ears, his mood was inevitably affected.

Especially since they are the lagging side.

"Beautiful goal! Kadir! A powerful shot! He is the backbone of Valenciennes' midfield this season!"

"2-0! Danich's movement completely bypassed Bastia's iron bucket formation, and it collapsed! Even if Bastia deployed a 5-4-1 iron bucket formation, it was still difficult to withstand Valenciennes' attack!"

'They don't stand a chance'

drop! !

The halftime whistle sounded.

More than 20,000 fans at the Dueno Stadium cheered together, and the sound swept across the entire stadium. The Bastia players felt like a lone boat in the waves.

Gaio followed his teammates into the player tunnel.

The fans on both sides of the tunnel were shouting, "Go home, shorty!"

"Three more of you guys need to score in the second half! Four more!"

Gaio walked silently into the passage.

The sound became quieter.

But the voice in my heart grew louder.

He stopped and turned to look back. The ball of light at the entrance of the passage absorbed countless sounds, including ridicule, sarcasm, cheers, celebrations, and so on.

He turned and walked towards the locker room with his head down.

My heart calmed down.

Zidane’s words seemed to echo in my mind - the game will not get better because of your timidity, it will only get worse, and it will make your opponents celebrate. Do you want to see your opponents showing off after the game?

Want to?

Gaio asked himself this question over and over again, and there was only one answer in his heart.

of course not!
(End of this chapter)