The road to godhood starting from Ligue 1

Chapter 239 The Worries of an Eighteen-Year-Old, The Future of an Eighteen-Year-Old
Bastia's double victory over Atletico Madrid has undoubtedly attracted the attention of many European team managers.

The major clubs, like sharks smelling blood, set their sights on Bastia, eager to tear it apart instantly.

But who cares about Bastia?
Everyone was immersed in the joy of victory and overwhelmed by the excitement of returning to the Europa League knockout stage after more than 30 years.

And they were first in their group!

Yes.

In this group, Bastia won all four of their first four matches, Atletico Madrid were defeated twice by Bastia, and the other two teams were defeated by both Bastia and Atletico Madrid.

With this, Bastia has already qualified as group winners with two rounds to spare.

At the Stadio de la Cerro ...

Blue flags fluttered in the stands.

Modoso and several fans stood on the front row seats, waving Bastia and Moorish flags vigorously.

Jerseys were waving behind them.

All these passions converge into one sentence: "Fight, Bastia!!"

Hagi Begic's excitement hadn't subsided by the post-match press conference.

"This is absolutely one of the most wonderful nights of my life. This is a gift we give to all the Bastia fans. We hope they enjoy it."

However, when it came to the goals for the upcoming Europa League, Hagi Bejic remained as conservative as ever.

"We have already achieved our goal of qualifying for the knockout stage in European competitions this season. Every opponent who made it to the knockout stage was a tough opponent. Our focus will remain on the league, and we will do our best in the European competitions."

the other side,
Simeone was the focus of reporters' questions, particularly about how he had conceded goals to Gaio in both legs, and this time, a last-minute defeat.

Simeone didn't mention how strong Gaião was, only saying, "I made a mistake in the final moments of the game, I was a bit too aggressive, giving Bastia a counter-attack opportunity. That was a tactical problem on my part. The players fought hard throughout the game. We still have to focus on domestic competitions, and we will do our best to secure Champions League qualification for next season."

Then a reporter asked, "Bastia's winger Gaio is currently the most valuable player in Ligue 1, even surpassing PSG striker Ibrahimovic. Does Atletico Madrid have any intention of bringing Gaio to La Liga?"

Simeone remained noncommittal, saying, "The summer transfer window is still a long way off, and that's not something I need to think about. I'm only focused on how to lead the team to victory after victory."

at the same time.

The Bastia players were still fired up when they returned to the training base, after all, they had made it into the Europa League knockout stage.

De Bruyne and Lukaku have both played in the Champions League, but it's a completely different experience.

Their team is a top powerhouse in Belgium, and they are not the core players. But in Bastia, a Mediterranean town that is easily overlooked, they are the core players, the team's heroes whose names are chanted by the fans.

"It feels great. Sometimes I even miss my days in Ghent."

As he spoke, De Bruyne sighed, wanting to say something, but Gaio spoke first.

"But we were meant to reach a higher level and defeat stronger opponents. Whether in Ghent or Bastia, there was a sense of helplessness that we couldn't control."

Gaio also sighed.

When Chatham repeatedly asked him about his preferred next team, he knew that many times, he couldn't stay just because he wanted to.

The team needs him to leave.

If he doesn't leave, the team's salary cap will be locked up, making it impossible to make any signings.

Bastia has already exhausted all his resources to assemble this roster this season. If he doesn't leave, the team's finances will collapse immediately next season.

He has to leave.

De Bruyne and Gaio exchanged a glance, and De Bruyne felt a deep connection with Gaio; he understood him, and Gaio understood him.

Take a night's rest.

The next day.

Not just Bastia, but the entire island of Corsica was bombarded with news that Bastia had advanced to the Europa League knockout stage as group winners.

Not only were they first in their group, but they were the first team to achieve this!

Other groups have only determined the spots for early qualification, but the first and second place winners have not yet been decided.

So how could this not be surprising?
"I now realize that Bastia's valuation of Gaio is definitely not inflated. What potential? Does scoring in both legs against Atletico Madrid count as potential? That's already a testament to his ability!"

"I really envy Bastia. When will we, Ajaccio, be able to qualify for European competitions? Otherwise, we'll always be overshadowed by Bastia."

"It's tough. Bastia already has a double, oh no, with the French Super Cup, they've won a treble in a year. What can we compare with? We can't. Let's just hope the team doesn't get relegated from Ligue 1, otherwise we'll definitely be laughed at by those Bastia guys."

"Just bear with it. We've been laughing at Bastia for being relegated to the French national league for the past few years. Now it's our turn."

Besides the frenzied reporting on Bastia in Corsica.

French mainstream media outlet L'Équipe also headlined Bastia's victory over Atletico Madrid to advance to the Europa League knockout stage as group winners.

The article also stated, "Bosnians always talk about avoiding relegation, and always say that Bastia's second place in the Ligue 1 standings is due to luck. But after four Europa League matches, Bastia has proven that they deserve second place, and could even be number one."

It was also mentioned that Bastia's summer signings were "only 10 million euros, just one-tenth of PSG's, but currently PSG is 7 points behind Bastia with 19 points, ranking fifth."

Paris.

Nasser placed the L'Équipe report in front of Leonardo.

"Have you seen this content?"

Leonardo nodded.

Nasser didn't waste any words and said directly, "No matter the price, buy him from Bastia. I've checked, he should have a release clause with Bastia. You can contact Gaio directly, we'll pay the release clause, and we can also give him a substantial signing bonus."

Leonardo is quite familiar with PSG's tactics: simple, direct, and lavish spending.

Not selling?

Then add more!

Paris Saint-Germain desperately needs a star player to carry the team, so they bought Ibrahimovic and gave him a sky-high annual salary.

Now, Gaião's sudden emergence has shown Paris Saint-Germain a different path.

Nurturing French geniuses!

As a French powerhouse, it is natural to make good use of France's abundant youth training resources. In the past, many French stars would leave France after becoming famous and go to leagues such as Serie A and La Liga.

For example, top French stars like Zinedine Zidane didn't reach their peak in France.

Now Gaio fits Nasser's requirements perfectly.

“Okay, I had already contacted his agent, who is also his father, but they rejected us, saying that they would only seriously consider the transfer after the winter transfer window. This clearly means he wants to leave the team in the summer transfer window, which makes sense, since he played in the Europa League for Bastia and won't be able to play there after the transfer.”

Nasser was getting impatient and interrupted him directly, "Within one hundred million, don't ask me, just decide for yourself. So what if he can't play in the Champions League? Just compensate him with money."

Leonardo nodded.

He was indeed worried about this, given UEFA's "Cup-Tied" rule, the core of which is that a player can only play for one club in one UEFA club competition in the same season.

Meanwhile, in Madrid, Spain, during a break in Real Madrid's training session, Zidane casually mentioned Gaio to Mourinho, saying, "Atletico Madrid got thrashed by this kid in both legs."

He asked jokingly, "Does he have a place at Real Madrid?"

Mourinho nodded this time, "A weapon for counter-attacks. I've watched his games, he's a very good lad, but his playing style isn't quite right. He needs to practice more and he needs to track back."

He thought that if Real Madrid had another striker who didn't track back to defend, the game would be over.

He already had some discord with the locker room because of his own tactical issues.

The proud and arrogant Mourinho had already considered leaving Real Madrid.

The reason they haven't made up their minds is simply that they still want to prove themselves in the Champions League.

After all, with a squad boasting Ballon d'Or winners like Kaká and Cristiano Ronaldo, and midfielders including Lukaku, Modric, and Alonso, they should at least win a Champions League title.

This is Mourinho's confidence; he has already won two Champions League titles.

Zidane is a very smart man. As soon as he heard Mourinho's words, he knew that if Gaião came to Real Madrid, he would still be the bench player he had envisioned.

He exchanged pleasantries with Mourinho without making a sound, and temporarily gave up the idea of ​​bringing Gaio to Real Madrid.

But another idea took root in his mind.

If he can't coach Gaio for the national team, what about at the club level?
Zidane now has a strong desire to coach a team.

His ultimate goal is naturally to coach Real Madrid.

Despite the outside world's turmoil, seemingly completely isolated by the Mediterranean Sea, Bastia reveled in its victory.

but,

Perhaps it was a case of too much joy turning into sorrow, as the league match three days later with Atletico Madrid took place.

Bastia lost.

The 2-3 home defeat to Valenciennes was mainly due to the fact that the defense was exhausted in the match against Atletico Madrid, and after some rotation, they simply couldn't hold on.

This match also revealed Bastia's fatal defensive flaw of fielding both Gaio and Klose on the right flank simultaneously; neither of them could defend effectively.

Furthermore, the defense made frequent mistakes, allowing Gai to score a goal and also assisting Lukaku to score another, but they still couldn't win.

The good news is that Marseille drew this round, bringing the point difference between the two teams to 3 points.

The bad news is that the teams behind them are catching up, especially PSG, who have won several rounds in a row. Ancelotti is very steady.

After 12 rounds, Paris Saint-Germain has 22 points, just 4 points behind Bastia.

The race for the championship remains fierce.

When a reporter asked Ancelotti about gradually closing the gap on points with the top teams in the league, he simply raised an eyebrow and said, "Our investment and results are not commensurate. Fortunately, we have gelled well, and all the players are of one mind. We will not only qualify for the Champions League but also keep the score close in the league."

Ancelotti's words are true.

In the 13th round of Ligue 1, Paris Saint-Germain easily defeated Troyes, while Bastia lost 3-5 to Lyon away from home. In this game, Gaio once again gave it his all, scoring twice and creating an opportunity for Mane to score a goal through his presence.

Unfortunately, Lyon's attack was too fierce, with Lacazette and Gourcuff both playing exceptionally well in this match.

Furthermore, Lovren, a key defender, tightly marked Lukaku, making Bastia's attacking options thin.

The situation at the top of Ligue 1 is now particularly chaotic, especially with Bastia's two-game winless streak.

Paris Saint-Germain has a real chance to take their place; they are only one point apart!
Meanwhile, Marseille also started to falter.

Teams competing on multiple fronts, except for PSG, have encountered various problems, such as injuries and physical fatigue.

The current top four teams in Ligue 1 are Marseille, Bastia, Paris Saint-Germain, and Lyon.

Bastia fans understand the team's two-game winless streak, but they also feel a little disappointed.

If they keep losing, they'll drop out of the top four.

At that point, they won't even be able to secure a European qualification spot, let alone compete for the title.

Bastia are back in the Europa League group stage after two winless rounds.

On November 23, Bastia will host Viktoria Plzeň.

Hagi Bejic's tone at the pre-match press conference was not as confident as before. He simply said, "The team is currently facing a serious problem with physical fitness. There are many older players in the defense, which makes it difficult to support multiple competitions. We will make some necessary rotations."

When asked by a reporter, "Even though Gaio has scored in two consecutive league matches, Bastia still hasn't won. Will Bastia make any defensive signings during the winter transfer window?"

Hagi Bejic shook his head. "I don't know the specifics, but what I've heard is that the team doesn't have enough financial space to make signings."

He wasn't telling the truth.

There's no need to tell the truth; everyone knows the team's current situation.

That afternoon.

Gaio, De Bruyne, and the others walked to the beach together; they had all been in low spirits lately.

The promising championship race suddenly vanished.

It turned into a chaotic melee.

A thought involuntarily popped into their minds—perhaps Bastia simply couldn't win the championship?

No one knows the answer.

Throwing this worry to the sea, the sea only roars with waves, unaware of its meaning.

"You'll be 18 in a few days? What are your plans? We're all waiting to confirm your birthday party plans with you!"

De Bruyne changed the subject.

Gaio shook his head. "There probably won't be a birthday party. I'm not used to these things. I can treat everyone to a meal later, just like celebrating my birthday, but that will have to wait until after the competition."

De Bruyne nodded. "Of course!"

Because in the next round of the league, Bastia will face the current league leaders, Marseille.

It's a top-of-the-table clash in Ligue 1!
Simultaneously,

That day was November 29th, Gaio's birthday night.

When De Bruyne mentioned his birthday, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "A year has passed."

But he hasn't even finished Ligue 1 yet.

But also, a thousand heroic sentiments are hidden in his heart.

After watching a complete sunset, with the golden glow melting into the sea, I looked up again and saw another new moon hanging above the mast.

(End of this chapter)