The road to godhood starting from Ligue 1

Chapter 236 You Let Bastia Be Seen

The next day, in the morning.

Bastia, the Old Port, is the most bustling part of the entire city.

The streets built along the old port are lined with Bastia-style restaurants and bars, which are the most important part of Bastia's life.

The iconic colorful houses, balconies filled with colorful flowers, ancient streets, and painted shutters resemble a vibrant oil painting, lively and cheerful.

Right here in the most bustling port, a poster was erected.

The content is very simple—

The Bastia Museum has officially communicated with Bastia and Gaio and will establish a dedicated Bastia football history section within the museum, which will house artifacts related to important moments in Bastia football history.

The poster lists tentative collectibles, including old photos of the ruins from the 1990 Bastia fire, handwritten letters from fans to the club, and more.

as well as,

Regarding Gaio's items: Gaio's jersey from the youth team derby against Ajaccio's youth team, which was his only match with the youth team;
Gaio's jersey from his debut match for Bastia, the shoes he wore when he scored, and the ticket stub from that day's game;

And Gaio's worn-out football boots from training;
The captain's armband that Gaio wore when he first became the team captain;
And Gaio's many other memorable items, such as the jerseys from his two finals as a double champion.

And according to the museum's poster, the story behind each item will be explained in detail—"From here, you will understand why a city is proud of a child."

All of this will officially open after the match between Bastia and Atletico Madrid!
Every Bastia resident who passes by will stop and look at Gaio's poster.

Some people suggested that a statue of Gaio be erected in the square in front of the museum.

The current Bastia Museum is actually a slightly modified version of the governor's palace built here in the 14th century.

The Governor's Palace, as its name suggests, was the political core of the Republic of Genoa's control over Corsica.

The name Bastia comes from the name of the castle that the governor of Genoa originally built on the promontory—Bastille.

Hidden within the castle walls is a village within the city.

Each alleyway leads to a historical site, most of which remain today, such as the Cathedral of Santa Maria with its silver statue, the Chapel of the Société des Saints Cross, and the magnificent Bastia Museum.

When the governor built the governor's house, he may have already considered making his work more comfortable, so he could overlook the old port from the garden of the governor's house.

Now that the garden has been turned into a square, Bastia fans have suggested building a statue of Gaio there.

They could see him by looking up from most of the port area.

Some suggested erecting a statue in St. Nicholas Square, Bastia's largest square, but this was abandoned considering that there was already a statue of Napoleon there.

Mordoso and his team needed to go to Sunset Cafe to discuss things in preparation for tonight's match, which would take them through the Old Port.

After carefully examining the poster, Modoso thought, "Could we ask them to put old Bell's anise barrel in as well?"

That championship-winning fennel wine must have brought tears to the eyes of countless fans.

Someone immediately said, "It should be possible. Ask Bertrand later if he kept the barrels, and it would be best to also ask him if he had any leftover anise liqueur."

Modoso nodded.

He looked more closely at the words on the poster, and suddenly a flash of inspiration struck him.

"Quickly, get a banner made urgently! I need it tonight!"

"A pen! Does anyone have a pen?!"

Modoso seemed a little excited, and soon someone handed him a pen and a notebook.

Modoso quickly flipped through the book and wrote a sentence on it: "TI FATTU VEDE BASTA U MONDU".

You made Bastia visible.

Modoso immediately handed the paper to the person in charge of making the banner and gave him a push, urging him to hurry up.

"it is good!"

The man hurriedly ran away.

The others were still unaware of what had happened. Modoso laughed and said, "Do you remember what happened when we went to Madrid, Spain before?"

As we raised our flags and waved our jerseys, some Spaniards pointed dismissively at the Bastia logo on their jerseys and asked, 'Where's that?' But I think Gaio's hat-trick in the last game had already shown them where Bastia was.”

Now everyone understands.

indeed.

Before Gaio, Bastia was an obscure corner of the football world, unnoticed and ignored by everyone.

Now, Bastia has lifted the French Cup and is heading to the European stage.

Because of Gaio, Bastia's coordinates were added to the football map.

That is the meaning.

The Bastia Museum's inclusion of Gaio and Bastia artifacts in its collection was not only promoted through posters but also featured in newspaper reports.

The Bastia players were also talking about this before preparing for the match against Atletico Madrid.

De Bruyne exclaimed, "You did it all in one go. Many people have played for over ten years and still haven't been able to do it, but you did it in just one year."

Gaio shook his head. "I was just lucky to run into a lovely city like Bastia. They need victory, they need a championship, and I just happened to provide that for them, that's all."

Gay knew very well that other players rarely received such treatment, which presented a paradox.

First of all, to get this kind of treatment, you have to be really good and win a lot of championships, right?

So here's the problem: big teams don't lack one or two championships, while small teams that lack championships can't win them.

If a player is strong enough, they will soon be signed by a big team; but if they are not strong enough, what will happen if they stay with a small team?
At most, all you'll get in return is a word of loyalty.

It's about six o'clock in the evening.

The stadium in Thesari was surrounded by blue waves, with chants and various cheering songs ringing out from time to time.

The excitement reached its peak when both teams' buses arrived at the stadium.

Bastia's team bus was naturally greeted by fans lining the streets, who waved their arms and shouted, "Fight, Bastia!"

When Atletico Madrid's bus arrived, the Bastia players displayed their traditional skill again, rushing forward and banging on the bus, making it difficult for the Atletico Madrid bus to move forward.

Inside the car, Simeone and his players experienced Bastia's "passion" for the first time.

Simeone frowned. He knew tonight's game wouldn't be easy, but he hadn't expected the difficulties to begin before he even entered the stadium.

"Where are the police?"

Someone inside the car asked.

The driver said helplessly, "They're all being blocked by fans, so it's very difficult for them to get over."

After a long and complicated process, the bus finally slowly made its way into the stadium.

When they got off the bus.

Bastia fans were all around, shouting, "Simone, your team's defense is just as porous as your own! All you do is foul!"

Simeone ignored him and walked onto the pitch.

Yesterday, at the pre-match press conference, he claimed that "Atletico Madrid's defense is among the best in La Liga," only to be mocked by the opposing fans. The stadium was already packed when the players came out to warm up.

This time, there was no grand pre-match ceremony, only the heartfelt chants of the Bastia fans.

"Ojé, Bastia!"
To the rhythm of the waves, towards the shore of victory.
Look! Gaio's footprints are the light of a lighthouse.

You have shown the world how resounding the name of Bastia is.

The stadium was filled with the roar of the fans, and everyone inside could feel the emotions flowing through it.

Having finally arrived at the scene, Mbappe, hearing Gaio's name frequently mentioned in the crowd, said to Saliba, "I want to create something like that in Caen!"

As the year draws to a close, he will be heading to Caen at the beginning of the year to sign his first professional contract and officially become a professional player.

Saliba felt a pang of envy, because he didn't yet know where his future lay.

My good friend is about to embark on his career path.

"You can definitely do it. You're so talented. I'll be watching your matches from the stands from now on. I wonder how expensive the tickets are for Caen."

"Haha, don't worry, when you come to watch the game, you won't need to pay me. I'll buy you a season ticket!" Mbappe said confidently. Most young players are taught from a young age that becoming a professional player means making a lot of money.

During their conversation and laughter.

The game is about to begin.

As the players from both sides walked out of the players' tunnel, the entire Thessaloniki Stadium seemed to boil like a sea, with waves crashing endlessly.

"Bastia!"

"Geo!"

On the sidelines, Simeone and Hagi Begic shook hands with forced smiles.

The two had faced off on the sidelines in the last match.

As the most dazzling presence on the court, Gaio naturally received a warm welcome from 20,000 fans.

As the captain, Gaio went to choose sides.

Gaio chose to kick off.

at the same time.

At the Ultras Bastia's die-hard stand, a huge banner stretched across the entire stand, while images of Gaio surrounded the entire area.

The words on the banner were simple, written in Corsican: "You made Bastia visible."

A simple sentence.

A love that is heavy and profound.

After shaking hands with the referee and others, Gaio saw this scene on his way back to the center circle and waved to the surrounding stands.

Bastia had given him everything.

The TF1 commentator broadcasting the match exclaimed upon seeing this, "This is Bastia, this is Gaio. They're going in opposite directions, complementing each other perfectly. Bastia is continuing their incredible second season. Like last season, they are still a newly promoted team, but the difference is that last season they could only compete for the French Cup domestically, while now they will be competing for the Europa League in Europe!"

"Under Simeone's leadership, Atletico Madrid has achieved extremely good results in the new season. So far, they have only lost one game against Bastia. Will tonight be the second one?"
Before the match, Simeone said that Atletico Madrid has the best defense in La Liga, and they will cut off Bastia's attacking chain and neutralize Gaio. Soon, we will see if that's the case.

Walk to the center circle.

Gaião high-fived his teammates Lukaku, De Bruyne, and others, saying, "Come on, this is our home ground, don't be nervous, just play like usual, they're the ones who should be nervous!"

The teammates nodded.

In this match, Hagi Begic's starting lineup was exactly the same as in the previous match against Atletico Madrid.

On the other hand, Atletico Madrid has made some changes.

This time, Simeone started Falcao. If last time Simeone underestimated Bastia and played Costa, he was trying to give Falcao a rest.

So for this match, Simeone fielded Atletico Madrid's strongest lineup.

Falcao starts, replacing young player Koke. Atletico Madrid's number 10, Arda Turan, starts!
Arda Turan, who was acquired by Atletico Madrid from Galatasaray in Turkey for €1300 million, is highly regarded by the club.

Simeone also has high hopes for him in this match.

Turan is currently at the peak of his career, a key player for Atletico Madrid, and the midfield linchpin and captain of the Turkish national team.

He can play in multiple positions, including attacking midfielder, winger, and central midfielder. He is technically versatile, possesses excellent footwork, and excels at breaking through defenses in tight spaces and using changes of pace to overcome opponents. He has excellent vision and creativity, with precise short passes and long passes, especially in counter-attacks where he can quickly find teammates. He is active in movement, adept at linking up attacks through overlapping runs, and actively tracks back defensively, demonstrating strong teamwork.

In the last match, Simeone underestimated Bastia and didn't even include Turan in the squad.

In this match, Simeone brought out Atletico Madrid's full strength.

We must get our revenge!

everything's ready.

The referee saw that the time was up and quickly blew his whistle.

drop!
The game officially begins.

Bang!
Lukaku passed the ball to De Bruyne in midfield. After the ball reached De Bruyne, he did not rush forward but passed it back.

And he pointed at his teammates, showing them how to pass the ball.

Although Bastia is playing at home, they certainly won't go toe-to-toe with Atletico Madrid.

Their tactical coordination isn't that strong, but their individual players are very capable, making them more suited to counter-attacking.

As the media and fans have joked, there's only one tactic on Hagi Begic's playbook: give the ball to Gaio.

Bastia retreated.

Simeone kept waving his hands from the sidelines, signaling his players to rush up and press, denying them space to pass the ball around.

On the right flank of Bastia.

Gaião kept a close eye on his surroundings, ready to launch an attack at any moment, but in this match, Atlético Madrid had clearly planned to sacrifice some of their wing attacks and mark Gaião closely.

Felipe followed him the whole time, but never went up to join in.

This was the only task Simone gave him.

Bastia's back pass ultimately resulted in a mistake, as Atletico Madrid wanted to quickly pass the ball forward to launch a counter-attack.

But the moment Turan got the ball, Kanté appeared right in front of him.

Turan frowned slightly.

He tried to use his footwork to get away, but he didn't fall for the first feint, and he didn't fall for the second one either.

Ok?
Turan was losing face, so he turned his third feint into a real move and quickly started.

But just as he was about to flick the ball, Kanté reached out and poked it away.

Turan was astonished.

Kanté just grinned sheepishly; he'd trained with Gai so much that he saw everyone in slow motion.

(End of this chapter)