The Stade Armand Cesari under the night sky was a reservoir of Bastia's collective soul.
Every shred of hope, every spark of passion, every ounce of fervor and excitement—all of it converged here, compressed into this cauldron of emotion. If these feelings could somehow ignite all at once, the resulting explosion might level all of Bastia.
At this moment, as Julien led the team onto the pitch, the stadium erupted once more into deafening pandemonium.
"JULIEN!"
The fans roared the name of their Corsican legend, their voices raw with devotion.
As Julien raised his arm in acknowledgment, the roar intensified—like water reaching a violent boil, bubbling and steaming with scalding intensity.
Bastia had dispensed with elaborate pre-match anthems and coordinated chants. They had only one word now, unified and relentless: "JULIEN."
Even the television broadcast couldn't escape its thunderous echo.
In the Ultras Bastia section, Modoso stood shirtless at the front of the terrace, his chest adorned with fresh ink—a number ten in blue, arms spread wide in celebration, the name "JULIEN" emblazoned across the back of the shirt.
A permanent tribute was etched into his skin.
"JULIEN!"
Modoso led the fans, his voice was hoarse and unrestrained.
They wanted to chant it one more time. They needed one more match like this.
When the inevitable separation finally came, every single one of them wanted to ensure that this moment burned bright enough, deep enough, to sear itself into memory forever.
On the pitch, Julien wearing the captain's armband approached Basel's skipper Frei for the coin toss.
Meanwhile, across the Cesari terraces, a different kind of sound began to build. When kickoff approached, Bastia supporters traditionally sang Julien's anthem—an adaptation of Helene's classic "Ce train qui s'en va", transformed into a personal hymn for their number ten.
"Sous le ciel étoilé de Furiani
Le Cesari appelle ton nom
Julien, fils des montagnes
La gloire t'attend, ton nom gravé dans nos cœurs"
(Under Furiani's starlit sky
The Cesari calls your name
Julien, son of the mountains
Glory awaits, your name carved in our hearts)
In this moment, the fans didn't scream themselves to hoarse. Instead, they sang with tender emotion, their voices carrying Helene's timeless melody—a song beloved not just across France, but revered as sacred in Bastia.
Sacred because Julien loved it.
What he loved, Bastia loved.
Listening to the supporters sing with such heartfelt devotion, Julien felt his chest tighten. Though the moment of separation hadn't yet arrived, his mind drifted toward summer. In his head, he could hear Helene's gentle voice completing the verse:
"Je n'aurais pas dû venir—I shouldn't have come
J'aurais dû laisser l'espoir—I should have left hope behind
Ce train qui s'en va—This train departing
C'est un peu de moi—Takes a piece of me
Qui part—Away"
As the final notes faded, the referee's whistle pierced the night.
TWEET!
The match was officially underway.
Basel kicked off.
Julien pushed the sentiment aside, channeling every ounce of focus into the contest ahead. The fans had given him their passion and devotion. The only currency he could repay them with was goals, victories, and silverware.
Both sides opened cautiously, probing and testing. Neither manager could afford carelessness.
The commentary team took advantage of the tentative opening to introduce the starting lineups.
"For Bastia, we have Lukaku leading the line, with Mané and De Rocca flanking him. Behind them, De Bruyne orchestrates alongside Kanté and Rothen. The back four features Van Dijk and Clauss at center-back, with Sidibé and another fullback Angoula completing the defensive line.
Basel have deployed an aggressive 4-2-3-1 formation under Yakin. Streller operates as the target man, supported by a fluid trio of Stocker, captain Frei, and the young Egyptian winger Salah. The double pivot features Serey Die and Elneny. At the back: Voser, Dragović, Schär, and Steinhöfer, with Sommer in goal."
After the lineup introductions, the commentator provided context on both clubs' European campaigns.
"Two genuine dark horses tonight. Bastia knocked out Atlético Madrid home and away, then eliminated both Tottenham and Inter Milan—true giant-killers! Basel shouldn't be underestimated either, having defeated Russian powerhouse Zenit to reach this stage."
The opening five minutes passed without incident, both teams feeling each other out with disciplined caution.
But after the initial exchanges, Bastia gradually seized control. The combination play between De Bruyne and Rothen in central midfield began to suffocate Basel's attempts to establish possession. Basel simply couldn't hold the ball.
On the right flank, Julien faced a double-team—Voser and Stocker forming a defensive cycle specifically designed to contain him.
Yakin had done his homework thoroughly. He understood exactly why Bastia had been so formidable this season.
Julien was the primary reason.
Of course, Bastia's midfield also ranked among Ligue 1's finest—two unknown youngsters paired with a forgotten playmaker who'd been the league's assist king a decade ago. Yet this season, that midfield trio had been nothing short of sensational.
Julien's abundance of attacking opportunities stemmed largely from that midfield's creativity and work rate.
So, Yakin acted decisively. After the opening minutes confirmed Basel couldn't match Bastia's intensity in open play, he instructed his players to drop deeper.
This adjustment caught Bastia slightly off-guard. They'd built their identity on defensive solidity and lightning counters. Now Basel was using that exact approach against them.
The players seemed momentarily unsure how to respond.
An error soon followed.
At 8th Minute:
De Bruyne attempted to switch play to the left, where Mané had more space. But Mané, eager to beat Steinhöfer in a foot race, took a heavy first touch that allowed Elneny to recover and win the ball. The Ghanaian immediately launched it forward with a raking diagonal pass.
Frei collected in central midfield and immediately pushed forward.
Suddenly, Basel had numbers streaming forward on the counter.
Bastia scrambled to reorganize. Frei wasn't particularly quick, but his movement drew the defensive focus. Then
THUMP!
He slid a weighted pass into the right channel.
Salah was already flying down that corridor.
Sidibé attempted to stay tight to the Egyptian, but Salah shifted into another gear, the sudden acceleration catching the Bastia right-back flat-footed. Half a yard. That was all Salah needed.
He latched onto the pass and cut inside.
Practically a one-on-one.
The Cesari erupted in panicked gasps.
The home supporters recognized the pattern instantly. They'd seen it countless times before when Julien was still making his name, this was exactly how he'd terrorized opposing fullbacks. Beat them for pace, cut inside, suddenly you're through on goal.
So, the Bastia faithful knew precisely what came next.
The commentator's voice rose in alarm: "ONE-ON-ONE! The 22-year-old Egyptian Salah—can he give Basel the opener?!"
But then...….
"WAIT! VAN DIJK! The Bastia center-back with incredible recovery speed!"
The Cesari crowd witnessed something extraordinary.
Van Dijk—tall, imposing, seemingly too large to possess such acceleration ate up the ground with those long strides, his legs pumping with relentless power. The sight was genuinely awe-inspiring.
Just as Salah shaped to shoot, Van Dijk's enlarging leg extended in front of the Egyptian, his massive body providing the physical contest. Salah tried to use his quickness to slip past, but the body contact threw him off balance.
He went down.
The ball squeezed loose, and the onrushing Martinez suffocated it.
Crisis averted.
Salah had completely skinned Sidibé on that sequence. Without Van Dijk's blazing recovery run, he would've been clean through. Martinez had already committed, coming off his line to narrow the angle for what seemed an inevitable one-on-one.
Thank God for Van Dijk.
Salah sat on the turf for a moment, adjusting his socks, then quickly bounced to his feet. His lips pressed together in frustration as he glanced at Van Dijk. He hadn't expected this Dutch giant to be that fast. More critically, that shoulder-to-shoulder contact had felt like running into a brick wall.
'So this is the top five leagues, Salah thought to himself. Not easy at all.
Sidibé shot Van Dijk an apologetic look who simply waved it off and reminded him to stay tighter.
WHOOOOSH.
The entire stadium seemed to exhale collectively.
That had been far too close.
Thank God for Van Dijk's pace.
On the touchline, Hadzibegic felt his heart rate spike. They'd nearly conceded at home.
At least the winter transfer window signing was proving his worth.
Up in the directors' box, Chataigner as a former defender himself recognized Van Dijk's natural gifts immediately. The Dutchman had to get more minutes. If Julien left in the summer, Van Dijk might become Bastia's next high-value asset.
His physical profile was absolutely elite.
Back on the pitch, Julien playing the same right-wing position as Salah felt no surprise at the Egyptian's quality.
After all, this was Salah. The future king of right-wingers.
He'd joined Basel last summer for roughly €2.5 million from Al Mokawloon (also known as Arab Contractors) in Egypt, brought in to replace the departed Shaqiri.
Even at this stage, you could see the qualities that would define Salah's career.
Extraordinary self-discipline in training. Within two months of arriving at Basel, he'd gone from knowing just a handful of English words to overcoming the language barrier, seamlessly integrating into the dressing room.
More importantly, his mental fortitude—taking over from Shaqiri as an unknown Egyptian, carrying the weight of fan expectations, yet delivering consistent performances. Especially in high-pressure matches, he didn't shrink. He'd quickly established himself as Basel's starting right-winger.
Off the pitch, he seemed quiet and reserved. But on it, his competitive drive burned fierce. In youth matches, he'd been known to cry after defeats.
Of course, he hadn't become Basel's first-choice winger through personality alone. It was the ability.
Salah's short-burst acceleration was devastating—his explosive first five to ten meters could tear defensive lines apart, particularly lethal on the counter. Scout reports described him as "an arrow released from a bow."
His acceleration over 5-10 meters ranked among Europe's elite wingers. He specialized in cutting inside from the right, combining directional changes with rapid footwork, though his dribbling relied more on pace than intricate skill. Two-footed enough, left-footed naturally, but capable of basic actions with his right.
His off-ball movement was exceptional—constantly finding pockets between center-backs and fullbacks, or dragging wide to create space for teammates.
However, the current version of Salah had clear weaknesses: finishing and passing still needed refinement.
His shot conversion rate was low, especially in positional attacks where his decision-making could be rushed.
His passing consistency was unreliable—clear-headed in transition, but prone to errors with the final ball in sustained possession. He favored cutbacks over traditional crosses.
That semi-chance just now illustrated his hesitation perfectly.
If it had been Julien, the moment Van Dijk committed, he would've chopped the ball back, then used a sudden change of pace to create separation.
But the current Salah didn't have that in his locker yet.
As if sensing the scrutiny, Salah turned and found the source—Julien, watching from across midfield.
Their eyes met for a brief moment.
Julien's lips curled into a slight smirk. Learn something, kid. Let me show you how a right-winger really plays.
Of course, he'd never say that out loud.
Still, seeing Mané, Salah, and Van Dijk all on the pitch at the same time gave him a strange, almost surreal feeling.
Martinez rolled the ball out to restart play.
After that scare, Hadzibegic was energetic on the touchline, shouting instructions about defensive shape. "We need balance! Attack, yes—but don't forget the defensive side!"
Bastia had always been a defense-first team. Once they refocused, Basel struggled to create anything meaningful.
Instead, Bastia's attacking threat began to emerge.
Julien's activity on the right flank became both Bastia's primary offensive weapon and Basel's primary defensive concern.
After several probing runs, Julien had mapped out Basel's defensive setup on that side.
He was locked in now.
His attacking presence put enormous strain on Basel's backline. Voser alone couldn't handle him—one-on-one situations were essentially gifts. Stocker had to drop back to double-team, with Serey Die also drifting over to provide support. Only then could they manage to contain Julien.
But those created problems.
When three defenders committed to stopping Julien, it opened up Bastia's central and left channels.
This was Julien's value.
18th Minute.
CRACK!
From outside the box, De Bruyne unleashed a curling strike that bent viciously toward the top corner. Sommer—not the tallest keeper had no chance.
Bastia finally broke through.
1-0 at home to Basel.
"KEVIN!"
The Bastia supporters roared in approval. De Bruyne never one for decorative celebrations simply pumped his fist and embraced his teammates.
On the sidelines, Hadzibegic punched the air with delight. Bastia's attacking personnel were pure quality over reputation.
Young, hungry players. Explosive.
That goal stemmed from Julien dragging three defenders out of position, Lukaku's intelligent layoff, and Mané's movement pulling the goalkeeper's attention.
Then De Bruyne delivered the killer blow.
Hadzibegic felt a warm satisfaction. The team had evolved from their Ligue 2 days, when everything ran through Julien—into a genuine collective unit.
Everything was trending upward.
Yet as Hadzibegic surveyed his players on the pitch, he understood this might be the pinnacle of his managerial career. The strongest squad he'd ever assembled.
He knew exactly what the summer would bring.
Bastia would likely be dismantled.
That was the fate of small clubs who overachieved.
Unavoidable. Inescapable. Reality.
But it didn't diminish the joy of this moment.
Across from him, Yakin's brow furrowed deeply, his tactical mind racing for solutions.
TWEET!
Play resumed.
Basel considered pushing forward, but immediately noticed Bastia had dropped deeper.
Yakin muttered under his breath, "Are you serious? That cautious already?"
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