At that moment, the drum sounds grew denser. In the ultras' section, fans pulled out scarves and waved them high in the air.
As they waved, they began singing "Julien's Song."
The broadcast showed the special footage.
The TF1 commentator noticed the writing on the scarves: "They're holding scarves that say Bastia and Julien. The scarves are blue text on white backgrounds and white text on blue backgrounds, arranged alternately. The letters are positioned—wait..."
The commentator suddenly realized something.
When the camera pulled back for a full view, the commentator was stunned: "Is that... De Rocca?!"
Gasps erupted from other sections of the crowd.
They all saw it now.
The ultras had arranged themselves to form Julien's image, with each fan's scarves serving as pixels.
On the pitch, just as Julien was walking toward the center circle, he saw this display.
He waved toward the stands. The fans' songs grew louder:
"From the peaks where eagles fly,
Julien lights up Corsican skies,
Stade Armand Cesari roars,
Three crowns for a legend born!
Je-u-lien! Je-u-lien!
King of this island tonight!
Je-u-lien! Je-u-lien!
Burning with unstoppable fire!"
The other players watching felt nothing but envy. Few players could inspire such devotion.
In the stands, both Blanc and Zidane were taken aback by the display.
Blanc said, "Does he always attract this much attention? He shouldn't be stuck in Ligue 1. He belongs on a bigger stage."
Zidane smiled and said nothing.
A long whistle sounded, pulling everyone's focus back to center field.
Both teams quickly settled into match rhythm.
Boom! Boom boom!!
But Bastia's supporting roar continued relentless.
After Bordeaux's kickoff, Bastia didn't press aggressively. With substitute players fielded across multiple positions, Hadzibegic had predictably chosen a conservative approach.
Defend first, attack later.
Bordeaux hadn't intended to rush either. In Gillot's view, Bastia was riding high momentum, and Bordeaux, playing away from home, needed to stay composed.
But they hadn't expected Bastia to be even more reserved.
More composed than they were!
Gillot frowned deeply. This was going to be difficult. There were already significant gaps between the teams—mainly in attacking capability. Now that Bastia was being cautious too, it put Bordeaux in an awkward spot.
Attack or sit back?
Meanwhile, Hadzibegic repeatedly gestured downward with both hands, signaling his players to stay calm.
With Bastia voluntarily sitting deep and Bordeaux unwilling to attack, the opening rhythm crawled.
Julien strolled around the front line. But nobody dared ignore him.
Bordeaux was using a 4-3-2-1 formation specifically to defend against Bastia's flanks.
On the left, they had Tremoulinas and Sertić, both ready to mark Julien constantly.
Whenever Julien touched the ball, they'd immediately close him down. Their sole job was to shut Julien down; they had no attacking responsibilities.
Though Gillot had praised Julien pre-match genuinely, he still applied strict defensive tactics accordingly.
Yet when Julien made his first touch, Gillot's heart skipped.
Klostermann made a run down the wing, executing a one-two with Julien.
Julien cut inside as Klostermann sent a cross.
Facing the double-team pressure from Sertić and Tremoulinas, after receiving the ball, Julien suddenly executed a sharp stop-and-cut, sidestepping them both with a lateral drag.
He left them completely bewildered.
Thump!
Julien sent a delicate chip pass with his left foot, threading over their defensive line to find Lukaku at the tip.
Lukaku controlled it with his chest and wound up for a shot.
But Djibril Cissé and Gaël Danic couldn't help it. Planiteus, providing tight coverage, poked the ball out for a corner.
Both tumbled into the box.
Lukaku, now on the ground, waved both hands at the referee demanding a foul.
The referee's gesture was clear: corner kick.
The corner came in; Bordeaux cleared the first ball, but Bastia controlled the second.
After three minutes, the shape subtly transformed.
Bordeaux was now defending; Bastia was attacking.
Julien surveyed the opposition's iron-clad formation and felt some headaches brewing.
The problem was Bastia lacked a true striker and had lost De Bruyne's playmaking. Cahuzac, replacing De Bruyne in midfield, was clearly overextended. So Hadzibegic had pushed Rothen forward with Cahuzac and Kanté as the double pivot.
Both were defensive specialists, so playmaking duties fell entirely to Rothen.
Fortunately, the former Ligue 1 assist king still had some fuel left in the tank.
Multiple passes created two occasions of chaos in the opposition box.
But through the fifteenth minute, Bastia still hadn't found a clear chance to score.
"Bordeaux is fully committed to defending away from home," the TF1 commentator analyzed. "Perhaps Gillot's target was just a draw from the start. Ghoulam is their only attacking option in the front; everyone else stays in defensive positions.
Bordeaux's defense is one factor, but Bastia's own attacking issues are substantial. Lukaku at center-forward has no aerial presence. Once Rothen gets marked, passing into him becomes difficult. De Rocca has had trouble linking with teammates. His repeated breakthroughs into dangerous areas have resulted in through-passes that go nowhere. Only Klostermann's crosses have been somewhat noteworthy."
As the match progressed, Hadzibegic repeatedly shook his head on the sideline. De Bruyne was simply too important.
Like Julien, he was irreplaceable to Bastia.
Without De Bruyne in midfield, Bastia's attacking threat was cut in half.
Julien functioned more as a finisher and explosive force, but he needed support from teammates.
Otherwise, the opposition could simply stack numbers and smother him.
In the national team setup, Julien thrived because Giroud and Ribéry created space. The opponent couldn't concentrate everything on Julien.
But this match? Bordeaux dared to do exactly that!
With their all-back approach, three or four players were positioned to defend him whenever he touched the ball.
"This is annoying," Julien thought to himself.
But he wasn't overly concerned.
Chances did exist; Bastia just hadn't capitalized yet.
Julien considered trying some long-range shots.
He'd attempted one earlier, on target but the keeper made the save.
Julien expanded his range of movement.
He ceded his original right-flank position to Klostermann pushing up, while he cut inside slightly.
This shift didn't reduce the defensive attention on Julien.
But in the nineteenth minute, after Bordeaux's counter-attack was broken up, Kanté played to Rothen, who switched play wide.
Bastia rapidly transitioned to attack.
Bordeaux's defense held firm.
Julien feinted for the pass, actually darting forward into open space, letting the ball go through.
Klostermann collected it and immediately fed it back to Julien ahead of him.
Whoosh!
The pass threaded cleanly through Mornèse Bellère and Sertić's gap.
Julien controlled it and, facing Enrique's incoming pressure, suddenly planted his left foot and curled a shot!
The ball bent with an exquisite arc through the air before two thousand fans.
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