The days passed in this rhythm of grueling training sessions interrupted by occasional media frenzy.
That weekend, Stade Armand-Cesari still buzzed with Europa League euphoria as Bastia hosted Brest in Ligue 1's Round 31.
Managing fixture congestion, Hadzibegic rotated heavily: midfield stars De Bruyne and Kanté rested, leaving veteran Rothen to shoulder the creative burden.
The old guard delivered. Against relegation-threatened Brest, Rothen practically carried Bastia's midfield single-handedly.
Julien, continuing his scorching form, played only the first half before being substituted. In those forty-five minutes, he contributed one goal and two assists, effectively deciding the match before halftime.
Final score: Bastia 4-0 Brest.
They maintained their position atop the Ligue 1 table.
PSG, who had played a day earlier, also won. The gap between them remained eleven points which was still a reasonably comfortable margin for Bastia.
Following the match, L'Équipe ran a front-page headline: "11-Point Chasm! Bastia Lead Ligue 1 as PSG's Focus Shifts to Camp Nou—Promoted Side's Miracle Run Continues While Paris Eyes Champions League Survival."
The article expanded to:
"Bastia, last season's Ligue 2 champions, comfortably dispatched Brest to maintain their stunning eleven-point lead on top of the Ligue 1 table. After 31 rounds, the Corsican club continues writing the most improbable promotion story in recent memory...
Hadzibegic's squad showed no European hangover. Core player Julien De Rocca maintained his ruthless efficiency (1G, 2A), driving the team forward. The league trophy is closer than ever to this island club.
Meanwhile, Paris Saint-Germain has strategically pivoted completely toward the Champions League. Trailing Bastia by eleven points, Carlo Ancelotti has clearly staked the season's success on continental competition.
Last midweek, Parc des Princes witnessed PSG's 2-2 draw with Barcelona. Ibrahimović's goal couldn't secure victory. Next week's second leg at Camp Nou will determine Paris's entire season.
Ancelotti admitted post-match: 'The league gap is what it is. Our focus must be on Camp Nou. That's a match requiring 200% commitment from everyone.'
This basically sums to an official announcement: PSG has strategically allocated all resources toward the Champions League. Their domestic title hopes are effectively over."
Reading these reports filled every Bastia player with excitement. The club's first-ever top-league championship might actually happen this season.
With PSG surrendering and no other Ligue 1 club capable of posing a challenge, and with only seven rounds remaining, Bastia could potentially clinch the title three or four weeks early.
If they advanced further in the Europa League, it would provide crucial rest before the final.
Julien had lost interest in Ligue 1. The Brest victory earned him just one victory point. By contrast, beating Basel had yielded ten.
His current tally: 96 victory points.
He wondered if another win against Basel in midweek would push him to 100.
Undeniably, his growth in Ligue 1 had weakened. Summer couldn't come soon enough. He needed to leave.
Regarding his next destination, Julien hadn't reached a final decision. But the outside world was pressing him constantly.
As the season approached its conclusion, his agent plus father Pierre was overwhelmed. Representatives from various clubs contacted him daily, inquiring about Julien's preferences.
The offers kept escalating.
Julien's performances for the national team in World Cup qualifying and in the Europa League were undeniably top class. More crucially—he was young.
This was a generational talent who could anchor a top club's project for a decade.
What surprised Julien was that Pierre had even received a call from a woman: Marina Granovskaia.
However, she hadn't directly discussed transfer terms. Just suggested they "have a conversation."
When Pierre asked, Julien told him to hold off. Wait.
He wasn't ready to decide yet.
Julien was waiting for the Europa League final. That's when he'd open negotiations fully. That's when he'd use 'The Players' Tribune' to bid farewell to Bastia.
Until then, he refused to let transfer speculation distract from Bastia's title push.
Even without any response from him, the media was already manufacturing stories. If he actually met with clubs? There will be complete chaos.
Once a player shows interest, journalists immediately report the transfer as done. They had no ethical boundaries at all.
This was precisely why Julien had created The Players' Tribune—not mainly for money, but to control the narrative.
Simple as that.
Though indeed, it was also laying groundwork for the future.
April 10th
EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg
This international airport occupied a unique position in Europe—physically located in France yet jointly operated by France and Switzerland, with Germany closely connected. Hence its nickname: "Europe's only true tri-national airport."
While situated in the French commune of Saint-Louis, it sat just six kilometers from Basel, Switzerland, and approximately seventy from Freiburg, Germany.
Travelers from all three nations regularly used the facility, making it a vital Western European air hub. The terminal contained a dedicated Swiss customs corridor, allowing direct access to Basel without French border formalities.
For French passengers, access was even simpler.
After clearing the airport, the Bastia squad boarded coaches for the short journey to Basel. The Europa League quarterfinal second leg awaited.
Following the Rhine River as it carved through northern Switzerland, at the precise junction of German, French, and Swiss territory, lay a city that married ancient solemnness with precision modernity: Basel.
Switzerland's third-largest city after Zürich and Geneva though with a modest population of just 200,000.
The city's pulse beat to the rhythm of the Münster Cathedral bells echoing across the Rhine, and to the chemistry of light and shadow in museums housing world-class contemporary art.
This wasn't Monaco's ostentatious, suffocating wealth. Here, fortune operated like clockwork mechanisms, quietly, precisely within modest banking towers and the laboratories of internationally renowned pharmaceutical giants.
Novartis. Roche.
These weren't merely company names but Basel's economic DNA, symbols of the city's identity.
Yet within this metropolis steeped in knowledge and order, a fundamentally different passion burned: football.
On the city's eastern edge stood St. Jakob-Park—a massive ruby embedded in greenery. More than concrete and steel, it was the city's spiritual temple, the totem of Swiss football's modern glory.
Opened in 2001, the stadium had laid the foundation for FC Basel's glorious renaissance.
Step inside, and your eyes met the distinctive "RotBlau"—red and blue kits. Unlike most clubs, Basel's crest sat centered on the chest: a shield outlined in gold, left half blazing crimson, right half deep ocean blue, with proud golden letters spelling "FCB".
Intriguingly, legend held that Barcelona's world-famous blaugrana (red-blue) colors and crest design originated here from a lineage tracing back to Swiss founder Hans Gamper, who captained Basel before establishing the Catalan giants. A bloodline running through European football.
Though unlike Barcelona's true red-blue legacy, Swiss media framed Basel's upcoming match in tragic terms:
"Down 4-1 from the first leg, the second leg presents an almost impossible task. But Basel has no choice—it's backs against the wall, fight or die."
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