On the pitch, De Bruyne, Kanté, Martinez, and the rest of the squad swarmed Julien, pulling him into a massive embrace. Five goals across two legs—he was the heart and soul of this team, the engine that powered their dream.
Some players wept openly, overcome with emotion. This was Bastia's first quarterfinal appearance in thirty-four years. For many of them, it was the first time in their careers they'd reached this stage of a European competition.
Hadzibegic clenched his fists and roared toward the heavens.
His tired face, etched with years of struggle, was now booming with raw passion. He sprinted toward the touchline, embracing every substitute, every staff member, every person who'd been part of this journey.
He'd taken this team from Ligue 2 all the way to the Europa League quarterfinals. The struggles, the sacrifices, the doubts—only he truly understood what it had taken.
But in this moment, the former Yugoslav defender let it all out. Every ounce of emotion, every bit of pride, every tear he'd held back.
In the stands, Geronimi and Chataigner stood with the fans, shouting at the tops of their lungs:
"VIVE BASTIA! VIVE JULIEN!"
The chant spread like wildfire, rolling through the stadium in wave after wave.
"LONG LIVE BASTIA! LONG LIVE JULIEN!"
The sound was deafening, relentless, like the roar of the Mediterranean crashing against the Corsican cliffs.
Elderly fans, who'd witnessed Bastia's last European adventure decades ago, wept openly, transported back to that era of passion and glory.
Children sat on their fathers' shoulders, waving scarves and flags, their eyes reflecting the light of heroes.
Couples kissed in the stands, their joy immortalized in this singular, perfect moment.
Every emotion—love, pride, disbelief, euphoria wove together into a single, unforgettable tapestry.
But football, as always, is a tale of contrasts.
On the other side of the pitch, Inter Milan's players lay sprawling on the grass, staring blankly at the sky now dominated by Bastia's blue.
Zanetti stood with his hands on his hips, gazing at the scoreboard, his face showing silent anguish. Sweat and tears of frustration mingled as they dripped from his chin.
Cambiasso buried his face in his hands, his shoulders were trembling.
Stramaccioni stood on the touchline, a small, lonely figure against the backdrop of Bastia's celebration. His face was blank, as though his soul had already left his body.
The pride of the San Siro had been incinerated, buried beneath the volcanic passion of Corsica.
The commentators had no grand speeches left. Just simple words:
"Bastia. Congratulations to Bastia."
Emotion poured from every syllable.
Pride. Tears. Joy. Disbelief.
When the players finally made their way to the stands for the traditional lap of honor, they walked arm-in-arm, shoulder-to-shoulder, toward the Bastia ultras section—the most passionate, most ardent supporters in the stadium.
They bowed deeply.
At the front of the section, Modoso waved the Moor's Head flag with everything he had, screaming himself hoarse:
"LONG LIVE JULIEN!!"
The chant was picked up instantly—not just by the ultras, but by every remaining fan in the stadium, regardless of where they sat.
"LONG LIVE JULIEN!!"
It was Julien who had led them, step by step, into history.
It was Julien who had made them believe in the impossible.
It was Julien who had given them the courage to dream of trophies, of glory, of greatness.
The fans roared his name with everything they had.
Julien stood at the front of the group. He pulled off his jersey and hurled it into the crowd.
Then he turned toward the stands, raised both arms high, and shouted back:
"LONG LIVE BASTIA!"
"LONG LIVE BASTIA!!"
The response was instantaneous, deafening, earth-shaking.
Photographers captured the moment—it was a perfect snapshot of the bond between player and supporters, between a hero and his people.
Bastia chanted "Long live Julien," and Julien chanted back, "Long live Bastia."
It was a story of mutual achievement. Of love given and returned.
The crowd answered him with a new roar:
"JULIEN! JULIEN! JULIEN!"
His name echoed into the night sky, merging with the sound of the Mediterranean Sea in the distance.
Eventually, even the most fervent celebrations must end. The noise fades. The crowds disperse.
The players left the pitch. The fans slowly went out of the stadium.
The Stade Armand-Cesari returned to silence, standing quietly beneath the stars as it always had.
But ripples from tonight's match continued to spread out, like waves radiating from a stone dropped into still water.
News articles. Forum threads. Conversations in bars and cafés. The story of how Bastia had fought through Tottenham and Inter Milan, emerging victorious against all odds, would live on in the memories of football fans everywhere.
At least until an even greater story came along to eclipse it.
Hadzibegic's face was still flushed with emotion as he sat down in front of the microphones. The image of the fans and players together during the lap of honor was seared into his mind.
What should the relationship between fans, club, and players look like?
He thought Bastia and Julien had just provided the answer.
The emotion still churned in his chest.
Back in the dressing room, the celebrations had continued. Lukaku, always the loudest presence, had even shouted, "We're going to win the Europa League!"
Hadzibegic—a coach who usually preached caution, who always talked about survival and staying grounded hadn't stopped him this time.
In fact, when he sat in front of the journalists and the microphones, he didn't give them the usual cliches or safe answers.
Instead, he spoke with fire in his voice:
"Tonight belongs to Bastia! To Corsica! To every heart that beats for the blue flag!
Inter Milan are a great opponent. They have a glorious history. But tonight, at the Stade Armand-Cesari, with twenty thousand warriors roaring behind us, our belief was stronger than their history!"
"5-1.
This is not a fluke. This is not an upset. This victory was earned with our legs, forged with our sweat and blood, won with our will!
The quarterfinals are not the end—they're just the beginning of our journey. Tomorrow's draw? Who's our opponent? Chelsea? Newcastle? Benfica? Someone else? We don't care!
Bastia's path has never been determined by the draw. It's determined by THIS—"
He slammed his hand against his chest.
"—by Bastia's undying fighting spirit!"
Finally, he allowed himself a smile, his tone was softening slightly.
"We'll enjoy tonight. We'll savor the moonlight and the sea breeze of Corsica. But when the sun rises tomorrow, our eyes will already be locked on the next target: the semifinals. The final. And yes—the trophy itself.
Because this team, these warriors, these fans—we deserve to dream bigger."
While Bastia dreamed of greater glory, Inter Milan were left with only silence and heartbreak.
Stramaccioni's collar was crumpled, his tie was crooked showing the physical evidence of the frustration and panic he'd tried so hard to suppress.
When he faced the press, he tried to sound composed, but the cracks showed through.
"Congratulations to Bastia. They deserved to go through. Julien proved tonight that he's a world-class player.
But for us... this result is a disaster. A complete and utter disaster.
There are no excuses. As the head coach, I take full responsibility.
I failed."
The word failed came out quietly, but it landed like a hammers blow, shattering whatever remained of his idealistic vision for this team.
He spoke briefly about the match itself, his answers were vague and detached.
When a journalist asked deliberately about his future, he let out a short, bitter laugh:
"My future? Right now, my future doesn't matter. What matters is Inter Milan's future. This club needs change. It needs new energy. It needs to rebuild.
The club will make the right decision. I'll respect whatever that decision is."
With that, he stood and left the room.
The journalists exchanged glances, unsure what to make of his abrupt departure.
One reporter from Milan shook his head as he watched Stramaccioni's retreating figure.
Stramaccioni had arrived at the San Siro like a gust of fresh wind—young, ambitious, full of ideas about beautiful football, tactical innovation, and restoring the Nerazzurri to their former glory.
For a brief moment, his vision had seemed real. His team had played with vigor and creativity, igniting hope in the hearts of Inter's long-suffering supporters.
But idealism, no matter how pure, couldn't withstand the cold weight of reality.
Injuries, yes. But also, his stubborn insistence on playing a certain way, his inability to adapt when circumstances demanded pragmatism—these things had become shackles.
The flickering hope he'd ignited had been snuffed out, one poor result at a time, until nothing remained but disappointment and silence.
The wind from Corsica swept through the empty corridors of the press room, carrying away the last echoes of Stramaccioni's voice and the last remnants of his broken dream.
All that remained was a man whose ideals had been crushed by reality.
And a long, mournful sigh about what might have been.
If only there hadn't been so many injuries.
If only the club had invested in quality reinforcements.
If only...
Back at the Training Base:
"If we draw Chelsea, we're in serious trouble. We'll need to bring everything we've got. They're absolutely terrifying this season—Hazard, Mata, Oscar... they're practically unstoppable."
By the time Julien and the others returned to Bastia's training facility, Lukaku was already deep into speculation about the upcoming quarterfinal draw.
The Europa League Round of 16 had concluded. All eight quarterfinal teams were now confirmed.
Chelsea had demolished Steaua București at Stamford Bridge, completing a dominant aggregate victory. With their strongest lineup firing on all cylinders, the Blues had lived up to their billing as tournament favorites.
The final eight were set:
Bastia, Chelsea, Rubin Kazan, Benfica, Newcastle United, Lazio, Basel, Fenerbahçe.
Seven different leagues represented: the Premier League, Ligue 1, Russian Premier League, Primeira Liga, Serie A, Swiss Super League, and Super Lig.
It was an incredibly balanced quarterfinal lineup.
Chelsea, after years of heavy investment, were genuinely formidable this season. Players like Lukaku and De Bruyne—talented youngsters with real potential hadn't even been given a sniff of first-team football at Stamford Bridge. That's how stacked the squad was. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been loaned out.
De Bruyne jumped into the conversation:
"If we draw Chelsea, the only option is to fight to the very end. There's no point overthinking it. Once we're on the pitch, we play to win. We win every match, and at the end, we're champions."
Julien laughed.
De Bruyne turned to look at him, a trace of reproach in his expression—this was supposed to be a motivational moment, and here was Julien, laughing?
Julien shook his head, still smiling.
"I'm not laughing at you. I just thought of something. If we do draw Chelsea and actually beat them at Stamford Bridge... can you imagine how good that would feel?
Imagine the headlines: 'Cast-Offs Return to Haunt Chelsea.'
The media would absolutely love it."
Lukaku's eyes lit up immediately.
"Oh man, YES! They barely let me train with the first team, let alone play. If I could go back there and tear them apart... that would prove they were wrong! That I can do it at that level!"
Lukaku's mind was already racing with the fantasy. His thought process was simpler, more instinctual than De Bruyne's. He didn't always connect with Kevin's more intellectual approach to the game—but Julien? Julien spoke his language.
Just imagining that scenario made Lukaku tremble with excitement.
Suddenly, drawing Chelsea didn't seem like such a bad thing after all.
De Bruyne sighed and smiled despite himself.
He was more reserved, more thoughtful by nature. He didn't share Lukaku's boisterous energy. But somehow, Julien who De Bruyne respected more than almost anyone always managed to connect with Romelu in a way Kevin couldn't.
Julien always knew how to get Lukaku fired up, how to make him run himself into the ground for the team.
As De Bruyne thought about it, he realized something: Julien was a natural-born leader. He had the ability to unite everyone around him; to make each player believe they were capable of greatness.
Then another thought crept into De Bruyne's mind:
If Julien joins a big club this summer, will he still have that same leadership quality? Will he be able to bring people together the way he does here?
De Bruyne had no doubts about Julien's ability to adapt. He'd spent enough time with him—training, playing, living alongside him—to know exactly how good Julien really was.
As long as someone could create even a little bit of space for him, Julien would tear the opposition's defense wide open.
Tonight's match against Inter was proof of that. Julien had completely dismantled them.
So far, they hadn't encountered a defender capable of stopping Julien one-on-one.
Maybe Zanetti could have done it—ten or fifteen years ago. But not the Zanetti of today.
The three of them talked and laughed as they returned to their rooms.
A good night's sleep awaited.
For many of them, international duty emerged on the horizon—World Cup qualifiers that absolutely had to be won. Because this wasn't just about club glory.
This was about next summer's World Cup.
Clubs had their own honors to chase. But for players, the World Cup was the ultimate dream.
Julien was no exception.
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