Even Yakin, at the pre-match press conference, could only offer carefully restrained words. "Yes, this is an almost impossible task. A three-goal deficit? Four goals? Mathematically it's quite clear, but reality is brutally unforgiving. Bastia are formidable. De Rocca is in the form of his life, riding a wave of momentum. They're coming here with an enormous psychological advantage."
He paused, letting the weight of those words settle before his voice hardened.
"But!
This is St. Jakob-Park! Basel blood flows through these stands! The roar of our supporters will shake the very foundations of this stadium! This is our final fortress, our only hope. We won't speak of miracles—we'll speak of battle. From the first whistle to the final second, we fight."
Those were stirring words, certainly.
The kind designed to set hearts racing and fists pumping.
But beneath the rhetoric? Nothing. No tactical blueprint, no strategic disclosure, no concrete plan to dismantle Bastia's machine. It seemed to be just raw emotion dressed up as inspiration.
The uncomfortable truth seemed and was quite simple: Yakin genuinely didn't know how to stop Bastia.
And who could blame him?
After their comfortable first-leg victory, Bastia's Europa League odds had skyrocketed. They now sat second-favorite behind English giants Chelsea. Several media outlets were already predicting the final would pit these two teams against each other, this was a narrative that had taken on a life of its own.
The numbers told a devastating story. Ten matches in the Europa League, twenty-one goals scored. An average of over two goals per game. And while their attack garnered headlines, Bastia's defensive record was equally impressive and among the best in the competition.
Strong in defense. Lethal in attack.
Yet paradoxically, Bastia remained a deeply counter-attacking side.
What did that mean?
It meant they possessed a counter-attacking weapon of exceptional quality.
The answer was obvious to anyone who'd watched them play.
Julien De Rocca.
One player scored about sixty percent of their goals.
It was an absurd statistic that had turned him into Europe's hottest property overnight.
As the season approached its climax, transfer speculation swirled like smoke around a fire. Whispers grew to shouts, shouts to screaming headlines. Yet De Rocca himself remained silent. Bastia's board offered no comment. The machinery of rumor grinded on, and went unanswered.
When an opportunistic journalist raised the subject at the pre-match press conference, Hadzibegic's response was volcanic.
"Ah! Those buzzing flies again!" His face darkened, his voice cutting through the room. "At the critical stage of our season, there are always voices—always noise trying to distract us with transfer market garbage!"
He leaned forward with blazing eyes.
"Listen carefully, because I'll say this only once.
To anyone who actually cares about SC Bastia: Right now, I care about ONE thing—the next match!
I care about keeping De Rocca, De Bruyne, Kanté—ALL my players—in peak condition!
I care about bringing the league trophy and the Europa League glory back to Corsica!"
He straightened, his tone dropping to something almost dangerous.
"Everything else? Until this season ends, it's just dust in the wind."
His glare swept the room, daring anyone to push further.
"Next question? And make it about football and the actual match. Otherwise—" He shrugged, giving a cold smile. "This press conference is over."
No one dared test him. The remaining questions came and went without incident, perfunctory exchanges that satisfied protocol without revealing anything of substance.
That evening, the Champions League quarter-final second legs continued.
Julien wasn't about to miss it.
The Champions League, except for the World Cup gained attention like no other competition in football. This year's quarter-finals seemed to swore drama on every stage, four matches were brimming with a drama story potential.
Naturally, Julien's focus fell toward the game's current "absolute duo"—Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. The only two players whose transfer values exceeded €100 million. Priceless, in the truest sense.
Barcelona versus Paris Saint-Germain could be summarized in a single sequence: Messi injured, unable to start, sitting on the bench.
On the pitch, Barcelona struggling, fragmented, overwhelmed.
Then—Messi warming up. Messi entering. Messi walking. Messi receiving. Messi escaping pressure. Messi orchestrating the goal. Messi saving Barcelona.
Thirty-three minutes as a substitute. Just 2,828 meters covered—less than most players manage in twenty minutes. No goals. No assists. Not even a shot attempted.
For vast stretches, he appeared to be doing nothing more than strolling through the Camp Nou grass.
And yet, when Barcelona's entire team found themselves suffocated by PSG's defensive wall, Messi needed only one moment—one explosive burst—to shatter everything.
It was the fifth time this season he hadn't started. Each time, the same story: Barcelona incomplete without him, complete with him.
On the other side of Europe, Ronaldo shone with equal brilliance.
Real Madrid versus Galatasaray had concluded the last evening. The Turkish side arrived in Madrid with history on their side—in the 2000-01 season, they'd stunned Real by overturning a 2-0 first-leg deficit with a 3-2 home victory, only for Madrid to win 3-0 at the Bernabéu and advance 5-3 on aggregate.
This time, different journey, same destination: Real Madrid 5-3 victors.
Ronaldo broke the deadlock in the first half, giving Madrid a 1-0 lead. The second half brought chaos—Eboue equalized, then Sneijder and Drogba scored within two minutes to flip the tie on its head. When Arbeloa saw red with minutes remaining, it seemed Galatasaray might pull off another miracle.
But in stoppage time, Ronaldo struck again. 2-3 on the night, 5-3 on aggregate. Real Madrid through to the semi-finals.
Without Ronaldo, the outcome might have been unthinkable. Without him, how far could Mourinho have taken this Madrid side?
Of course, these were hypotheticals. The reality was: Madrid had reached three consecutive Champions League semi-finals, and Ronaldo was the foundation of that success.
Ten matches, eleven goals. He sat on top of the scoring charts, having already surpassed his previous personal best. In Champions League history, only Messi and Van Nistelrooy had scored ten or more goals in a season twice. Now Ronaldo joined them.
He'd also set a personal record with five consecutive Champions League matches with a goal and became the first Real Madrid player ever to achieve such a streak.
His career Champions League tally now stood at fifty goals. In the main competition alone, he'd reached forty-nine, surpassing Shevchenko's forty-eight to rise to fifth place on the all-time list.
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