[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-emperor-of-football-julien-de-rocca":3,"chapter-emperor-of-football-julien-de-rocca-emperor-of-football-julien-de-rocca-chapter-9":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Emperor of Football: Julien De Rocca",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1555796,2020,"Chapter 9: A Chance","emperor-of-football-julien-de-rocca-chapter-9",9,"\u003Cp>Julien was the young player Elion valued most highly, far superior to Oscar, whom the team had set their sights on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For this reason, he spared no effort to bring him to Chelsea.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unfortunately, his wishes were not fulfilled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking back now, he didn't know if it was right or wrong. But Julien, whom he thought was already finished and lost among the crowd, had actually scored a hat-trick?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His assistant brought him the news from The Bastia Daily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knew that Elion's greatest regret was Julien—otherwise he wouldn't have paid attention to this story.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Players like Julien, these verified \"dud lottery tickets,\" would never return to their consideration.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The newspaper's account of the process was unclear, only making a big fuss about the results.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elion automatically ignored the bragging about Bastia's youth team defeating Ajaccio U19, reading the parts about Julien several times over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The smile on his face grew brighter and brighter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he said to his assistant, \"Book me a flight to Valenciennes for the 22nd, and remember to buy me a copy of The Bastia Daily—this exact issue. I want to keep it as a memento.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His assistant was somewhat surprised. The 22nd was right after Lyon's match ended in the afternoon, and he wanted to go to Valenciennes immediately?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, he knew Elion was going to watch Bastia's match.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because The Bastia Daily stated emphatically that Julien would return to the first team and was expected to play in the French Cup Round of 16 away match against Valenciennes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But wasn't this giving Julien a bit too much importance?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The French Cup match—this is a rare training opportunity. Give me your best performance. Playing against a Ligue 1 team early is like a preview of our promotion.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Césaire Stadium.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When there were no matches, it served as Bastia's training ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After training ended, Hadzibegić gathered the players and repeatedly emphasized the importance of this match.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Don't slack off just because we're not fielding our full starting lineup. Every one of you will be watched by the fans.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The players naturally understood this too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For lower-division players, matches against higher-level teams were always rare opportunities to show themselves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If they could perform well against strong opponents, even if they couldn't make it to top-tier league teams, at least they'd have more confidence in future contract negotiations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking of this, some people secretly glanced at Julien De Rocca.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the past few days, Bastia had held two or three practice matches, and Julien had gotten about twenty minutes of playing time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He left a deep impression on many people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching Julien play, the word \"genius\" involuntarily popped into their minds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no helping it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Julien's playing style was too different from theirs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bastia's overall style was fierce and aggressive, daring to fight and compete, but the flip side was that it was rough. So, they could only rely on physicality.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A technical player like Julien stood out particularly among them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even though Hadzibegić naturally harbored some prejudice against Julien, seeing his performance couldn't help but improve his impression of him somewhat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, since Julien had joined the first team these past few days, he had been almost excessively quiet, doing nothing but training with his head down, with almost no extra presence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nothing like his previous rowdy behavior.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This made Hadzibegić, who originally didn't want to give Julien a chance in the French Cup, soften his stance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the match against Valenciennes drew closer, Hadzibegić finally convinced himself the day before announcing the squad. \"He's just a kid. If he knows his mistakes and can change, he deserves a chance.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After finishing those words, Hadzibegić paused and continued.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Now I'll announce the French Cup squad. I'll read it briefly—it will be posted on the bulletin board. Everyone whose name is called, prepare well!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Immediately, many people looked up expectantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone knew this match would feature a semi-starting lineup, which meant many substitute players had opportunities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, most substitutes inevitably had hopes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This included Julien.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Maolida, Rothen, Vincent, Choprlinovic, Maridavid... and Julien.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The eighteen-man squad was read out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some were happy, others disappointed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some substitute players were selected, while others still had no chance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Julien heard his name, he lowered his head with a smile, secretly clenching his fist to encourage himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This match—he had to deliver something significant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps returning to the French scouts' attention would happen in this very match.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wouldn't stay at Bastia forever. For him, this place was just a temporary stepping stone. So, he needed to make a name for himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Let many people know and say: 'oh, that guy called Julien De Rocca plays football very well.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Many people were quite envious of Julien's selection. After returning to the first team for the first time since his imprisonment, he could already make the French Cup squad.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But no one felt it was undeserved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At least in training, Julien had convinced these rough players.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Congratulations, I hope you get to play,\" Vincent said, walking over to congratulate Julien after Hadzibegić dismissed them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Thank you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Making the squad was just the first step; Julien actually didn't know if he'd get playing time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two chatted casually for a bit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Julien said, \"I'm going to train.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Vincent gave Julien a thumbs up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The current Julien really made them see him in a completely new light, making people wonder: could one robbery and imprisonment experience really transform someone so completely?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Julien had been insisting on extra training during this period.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides finding his form again, the most important thing was watching his attribute improvements.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over the past few days, he had roughly figured out the difficulty of improving his attributes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The higher the attribute value and the closer to the upper limit, the harder it became to improve.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For example, dribbling and ball control were already at a first-class level, just a few points from the attribute ceiling, with no movement at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, he felt this was also related to his training intensity and time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He couldn't rush it; he had to take it slow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Attributes like defending and tackling were slightly easier to improve, but not by much. After all, given his current physical foundation, improvement was quite difficult.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over about a week, he had only improved 1 point in speed and 2 points in strength—speed was now 65, strength 57.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The improvement was slow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Julien was already very satisfied. Being able to see a path forward was the best motivation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What people fear most is being lost in confusion, not knowing where the road ahead leads.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once you see the path to success, many people can move forward boldly—like the college exams he had experienced in his previous life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Time flew by.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On January 22nd, the entire Bastia team assembled to head to Valenciennes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before departure, Hadzibegić specifically talked to Julien. \"Get ready. Tomorrow you'll play. Don't mess up your first-team debut.\"\u003C\u002Fp>",1156,"2026-06-06T07:35:05.902Z",1,"novelbin.me","36494c9e3b0239ad09e3f523524c6e5f7e55872f5342ede4c52174231036016d","emperor-of-football-julien-de-rocca-chapter-10","emperor-of-football-julien-de-rocca-chapter-8",628,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Femperor-of-football-julien-de-rocca-cover.jpg"]