The road to godhood starting from Ligue 1

Chapter 249 The Changes the Team Needs
Toulouse, located on the Garonne River in southwestern France, is the fourth or fifth largest city in France.

Why is it "or"?

The main reason is that there is a competitor, Bordeaux. The two sides have been arguing for a long time over the fourth place. One has a larger territory, and the other has a larger population. In short, neither side is willing to concede to the other.

Toulouse is known as the "City of Roses." Before coming here, Gaio thought it was because the city had many roses. In fact, it's simply because all the buildings in Toulouse are made of red brick.

It looks like rose color.

However, the use of red bricks is not unique to Toulouse. In Gaio's memory, there are many small towns south of Lyon that use red bricks as well, but Toulouse is the only major city in the region. North of Lyon, the climate is more austere and German, with more use of blue tiles and black bricks.

Gaio arrived here with the team a day early. If I had to pick an impression, besides the red brick buildings, it would probably be the delicious food, especially the foie gras and roasted duck breast.

These are minutiae.

The most important opponent this time is Toulouse FC.

This team is not well-known in French football; their only title is the 2008 French Cup.

That's it.

The only player in this team that might need to be watched is their midfielder, Moussa Sissoko, who was selected for the French national team in 2009.

He is currently also a member of the national team.

Overall, Toulouse's strength is average, so Bastia players were generally optimistic about the match before it started.

Even the Toulouse coach said at the pre-match press conference, "We are prepared to lose."

however,
On the evening of the 9th, when they were down 2-0 in the 41st minute...

At the Toulouse Municipal Stadium, over 30,000 fans erupted in a frenzy of cheers.

"Allez le TFC~~~"

Even the TF1 commentator couldn't help but say, "Bastia's performance tonight was poor. They seemed a bit lost. You could see that the players' steps were heavy. Playing a game every three days is too much of a burden for them. De Bruyne's handling of the ball in midfield felt clumsy to me, like his legs were made of lead. The defenders also seemed a bit tired. Anguilla on the wing was outmaneuvered by Toulouse's Tabanu several times."

Hagi Bejic also saw the team's problem: insufficient physical reserves.

Even young players like De Bruyne stumbled a bit, let alone veterans like Rothen and Joplin.

Gaião sat on the bench, with Klose to his left and Mane, who was also resting for this game, to his right.

Mane looked at the situation on the field and shook his head, "I have never played such an intense season before."

Gaio nodded.

Mane is actually one of the better players in the team. Players like De Bruyne, Rothen, Lukaku, and Anguilla are almost always starters, and many of them play the full 90 minutes in every game.

Mane and Palmieri will also be rotated in.

De Bruyne has virtually no substitutes, and Bastia currently has no one who can replace him either. Playing on two fronts is indeed exhausting.

Hagi Bejić saw De Bruyne's creativity in midfield, and given that he was a loan player, a high-EQ approach would be to give him plenty of opportunities, while a low-EQ approach would be to tell him to stand up and kick.

Gaio replied, "After all, the intensity is high and the match density is high, so we will most likely have to give up the French Cup next year and focus on the league and the Europa League."

Klose, standing nearby, asked curiously, "Gaio, do you think we can win a championship? The league, or the Europa League?"

As he spoke, he contradicted himself, saying, "Forget it, there are too many strong teams in the Europa League, it's too difficult. Maybe we should focus on the league."

Gaio remained silent.

Given the current squad, he would definitely want to focus on one player, but he knows what signings are likely to come in the winter transfer window.

Now that the team has made up its mind to compete on multiple fronts, there is no reason for them to back down!

Furthermore, the strength of Ligue 1 is not considered high.

drop! !

Soon after, the referee blew his whistle, and both sides entered halftime.

In the locker room, the Bastia players didn't seem to be in much of a mood; all that could be heard were the starting players' heavy breathing.

They just played a game three days ago, and now they're playing away. It's really tough.

Seeing this, HagiBejic pursed his lips and said, "I'll try my best to make personnel adjustments in the second half. Let's focus on defense first and not concede any more goals. It's only two goals; we still have a chance."

As he spoke, he emphasized how to defend against Toulouse's tactics in the first half.

After he finished speaking, teaching assistant Dominic leaned close to his ear and whispered a few words.

Hagi Bejic nodded, then looked at the players, "Paris Saint-Germain's match this round has just ended. They won 4-0 against Evian at home and are currently leading us by two points."

Upon hearing this, the players' expressions all changed.

Hagi Bejic's expression was grave. "I know what you're thinking, but I must emphasize that the league is never decided by a single match! The three consecutive losses last time, and this loss in this match, are lessons learned, and punishments for my inadequate performance!"

As he spoke, Hagi Begic suddenly apologized to the players, saying, "I'm sorry."

"Ok?"

"Boss?"

The players all looked at Hagi Begic, looking somewhat puzzled.

Hagi Bejic said with a determined look, "I was greedy! I wanted to win every game! I kept saying we were a relegation team, but I didn't really prepare for the games with the mindset of a relegation team. I ignored the team's actual conditions, and I ignored your physical problems under the tight schedule. These should have been the job of me and the coaching staff. It was because we didn't plan well that the team got into this situation!"

After saying that, he apologized again, "I'm sorry!"

After hearing what Haji Begitch said, assistant coaches Dominic and others apologized.

this moment,
There was no authority from the head coach, only a sincere apology.

But this only fueled the players' fighting spirit; they wanted to win!

They wanted to burn themselves out to serve Hagi Begic.

Gaio, the team captain, immediately stood up in the crowd and said, "Coach, let me play!"

He was confident that he could create some opportunities for the team through his performance.

But to everyone's surprise, Haji Begitch resolutely refused.

"No, the reason I said those things was to make some changes, but it's definitely not to make you fight with all your might to win this match. No, that's not my idea."

He looked intently at everyone and said, “Let me emphasize again, the league is definitely not decided by a single game. If we want to win the championship, we can’t focus on this one game. I will think carefully about our next opponents after the game and how we should rotate our players. You all need to rest.”

Hearing this, the players felt a warmth in their hearts.

Yes, Bastia's problem is actually quite simple: she's not getting enough rest.

"I'm sorry!" Hagi Bejic sighed and apologized again. He opened up, "I have to admit that I have no experience in leading a team to compete for the title. The intensity of Ligue 2 last season is far less than this season. I made the wrong decision. I wanted to win every game, but reality hit us hard. It's not realistic. The team needs to make changes."

The players stood up. "Coach."

This was the first time they had seen Haji Begitch show this side of himself; in the past, he was known for his demanding and rigorous training.

Now, he is simply an elder analyzing his own mistakes. Gaio stepped forward, "Yes, this is just one game. We need to look further ahead to the second half of the season. Even though Paris Saint-Germain has a deeper squad than us, they can't win every game! They still have the Champions League, which is more competitive than the Europa League, and we have a certain advantage there."

Haji Begichi looked at Gaio with admiration in his eyes; in his mind, Gaio was a born captain.

They have the ability and the ambition!

More importantly, he serves as an absolute role model, trains diligently, never has any scandals, and proactively distances himself from the media.

It's worth noting that some team captains set an example in other ways.

There's even a unique captain like Terry, whose teammates are most afraid of hearing them training without Terry around, fearing their base will be raided.

Gaio walked to the center, stretched out his hand, and looked at all his teammates. "Come on."

De Bruyne and the others wiped their sweat, stepped forward, and extended their hands in return.

Everyone formed a circle, holding hands, and then together they pressed their hands together and shouted—

"Fight, Bastia!!"

Toulouse Municipal Stadium

The team was now immersed in the cheers and laughter of the fans. They felt that the night had become brighter as they saw their team take a two-goal lead against league leaders Bastia.

As the players came out.

The atmosphere reached its peak once again, with applause and shouts filling the air.

In the away section in the corner of the stadium, Modoso was also leading the Bastia fans, tirelessly chanting "Bastia," even though it was drowned out by the vast roar of Toulouse fans, and even though no one was listening.

They remain the same!

As Gaio and Hagi Begic walked towards the bench, Gaio was still saying to Hagi Begic, "Coach, let me play. You let them defend, I'll drive!"

Hagi Begic patted him on the shoulder, "I know you want to win, but you have to understand that it's hard to get support from your teammates when you go up there. You'll most likely be facing their entire defense alone. They're ahead, and they won't give you much space."

"I know, but I need to play. I'm the captain, and I can't sit on the bench when the team is in such a crisis. I can lose, but I can't accept losing like this."

Gaio's gaze was very firm.

As he said, he accepts losing; after all, what football game is without losses?
Not losing is a myth, not football.

But he couldn't accept sitting on the sidelines watching his team lose!
drop! !

The whistle blew, and the second half of the game resumed.

Haji Begitch nodded. "Get ready."

Gaio smiled and said, "Yes!"

The broadcast camera also captured a moment of Gaio and Haji Begitch exchanging words on the road.

The TF1 commentator said, "I don't know if Hagibejic was explaining the tactics for Gaio when he comes on later. It was a bit unexpected that Gaio didn't start in this game, but as Hagibejic himself said, Gaio needs to rest. He's only just turned eighteen. Players of the same age at this age only play a maximum of thirty games a year, and those are all youth team games."

But when he talked about the result of the game, he said, "It will be too difficult for Bastia to turn things around away from home."

Sunset Cafe Bistro.

The Bastia fans sat together, their eyes filled with anticipation.

With each sip of wine, shouts of "Fight, Bastia!" echoed throughout the tavern, even drifting outside and merging with the sounds from other taverns down the street.

Everyone is cheering for the team!
On the field.

The Bastia players have shown some improvement, but it's only a mental improvement; their physical fatigue is still evident.

As expected, Toulouse began to focus on possession and slowing down the pace of the game, abandoning their aggressive attacks.

Time passes minute by minute.

Gaio and his teammates got up and went to the sidelines to warm up. Seeing him, all the Bastia fans felt a spark of hope.

They haven't lost yet, they still have Gaio!
Wow!

Suddenly, gasps erupted from the Toulouse Municipal Stadium. Bastia had finally managed an attack, and after a combination between De Bruyne and Rothen, De Bruyne unleashed a long-range shot from the edge of the penalty area.

The ball headed straight for the corner of the goal, but it wasn't going very fast, and the opposing goalkeeper, Ahmad, had a good view and immediately judged the direction of De Bruyne's shot.

He saved the ball.

De Bruyne lifted the hem of his jersey to cover his head, clearly unwilling to accept defeat.

He was a competitive person by nature.

This is why he and Gaio are so close and get along so well, because he can sense that beneath Gaio's gentle exterior lies a heart that is equally determined to win.

Bastia's corner kick.

drop!
The referee blew his whistle, pointed to the sidelines, paused the game, and signaled for Bastia to make a substitution.

Iran leaves the field.

Gaio has arrived!

"Geo!"

"Geo!!"

In the away section of the stadium, Bastia fans were chanting Gaio's name with all their might.

They saw hope!
Gaio and Ilan hugged, touched the sideline with their toes, and walked towards the front.

He and his teammates made hand gestures to indicate their positions.

De Bruyne felt somewhat more confident when he saw Gaio enter the game at the corner flag.

It's only two goals, there's still half an hour left, there's still a chance.

drop!
The referee blew his whistle again, signaling for Bastia to kick off.

Bang!
De Bruyne took a running start and then curled the ball into the center of the penalty area.

Both teams' players jumped.

Someone in the crowd touched the football, slowing its speed and changing its direction, turning it towards the outside of the penalty area.

Gaio stood at the top of the arc.

He was being watched by the opposing defender, Regartin, but his sudden burst of speed caught him off guard, and he couldn't keep up.

One step at a time, one step at a time.

Gaio rushed forward, met the falling ball, and without stopping it, volleyed it directly into the air.

Bang!
This was his first touch of the ball after he came on the field!
(End of this chapter)