The road to godhood starting from Ligue 1

Chapter 276 Little Krenk
The second leg against Tottenham is a big event in Bastia.

The day before the game.

At Sunset Cafe, Modoso and his team had just returned from Paris a day ago and were about to begin preparing for a new round of home cheering events.

They didn't even have time to celebrate their victory over Paris.

There was no time to celebrate their points lead at the top of the table expanding by three points.

"To be honest," Modoso said helplessly, "I didn't even play football. I was just running around and I was exhausted. This game against Tottenham will be tough."

His lament was not unfounded.

According to a reporter covering the team for the Bastia Daily, Bastia has hardly conducted any training since returning from Paris, with the players spending most of their time on physiotherapy and relaxation.

Most of the starting players have problems such as muscle tension and excessive workload.

"After a tenacious away win against Tottenham in the Europa League last week, just 72 hours later, the team staged a historic 2-0 away victory against Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes on Sunday!"
However, the price of this epic victory was cruel: the physical strength of the entire main team was severely depleted, their spirits were highly exhausted, and they only had less than three days to recover before facing the do-or-die second leg of the Europa League.

Physical fitness!

Bastia's greatest enemy!
On the other hand, Tottenham?

Villas-Boas' team got a whole week of valuable rest after the game at White Hart Lane!
As the Bastia players dragged their weary bodies back to Corsica, Tottenham were conducting meticulous tactical drills in preparation for a comeback victory away from home.

At Tottenham's pre-match press conference, Villas-Boas addressed the issue of physical fitness.

“We have certainly taken note of Bastia’s tight schedule and their great victory in Paris. It was a game that required a tremendous effort, especially for their key players, and there is no doubt that it will pose a challenge to their recovery.”

But we focused on ourselves: we used this week for high-quality training and targeted preparation. Our physical condition and overall fitness were at their peak.

We know the atmosphere at the Cesarí stadium, but we need to stay calm and play our game.

Regardless of the opponent's condition, we must ensure that our intensity and quality can be maintained for 90 minutes or even longer.

Therefore,
Even the most die-hard fans at Sunset Cafe had to admit, "This game is going to be tough!"

Modoso continued, "That's precisely why our cheering should be even more intense! UEFA won't let us set off cold fireworks, so let's use our roar to show those English cowards what Bastia is all about!!"

Bertrand chimed in at the opportune moment, "Come on, team! Hopefully, we can win this game. If we advance, all drinks will be 50% off for three days straight! We're going to celebrate big!"

Hearing this, everyone was very excited.

However, everyone was also a little worried. With only a one-goal lead and in such a state of extreme fatigue, what would the final result be tomorrow night?
None of them knew.

In the corner, Roncagliari and his best friend listened to the various opinions of Bastia's most die-hard fans, remaining noncommittal.

As a fellow player who aspires to a professional career, he silently thought that whatever the outcome of tomorrow night's match, even a loss would be fine, as long as no one in Bastia got injured.

We're currently leading the league by 10 points, but that's not safe.

As Bastia's first team continues to perform well, the players in Bastia's various youth teams are becoming more confident, and it's said that the number of players registered for youth training this year has increased significantly.

Previously, you could join the training program by paying money, but now, due to the increased number of participants, the Bastia youth academy has limited capacity and is starting to restrict entry based on talent.

Roncagliari will never forget the number 29 jersey he wore at the Bastia youth academy.

That's an example for all Bastia fans!

Now, almost everyone in Bastia knows that Gaio will be leaving in the summer.

So who can fill Gaio's role?

Roncaria knew that the guys in the youth team were training hard, eager to prove themselves and earn a chance to join the first team.

But Long Kalia couldn't help but wonder, how many people in this world have talent like Gaio?
The commotion in Bastia grew stronger as the match drew closer.

The whole city is preparing for the second leg of the Europa League.

Tickets for this match sold out well in advance.

Not to mention fans from other places, many local fans couldn't even get tickets.

Game day.

Hagi Bejic couldn't help but feel worried when he saw the players' physical condition at the final gathering.

He saw only one word in the players: "heaviness".

Three days is simply not enough time to recover.

Haji Begitch couldn't help but shake his head. The media was right; this was the price of fighting on two fronts.

Many smaller teams occasionally qualify for European competitions due to a breakout performance from their key players, but if they try to compete on two fronts, they are likely to collapse on both.

Gaio's name was not on the starting lineup arranged by Hagi Begic before the game.

Fabricio assessed Gaio's muscle load, and his exact words were, "There's simply not enough time to recover. At most, it will take sixty minutes. Any longer and an injury will definitely occur."

Therefore, Hagi Begic placed Gaio on the bench as a substitute surprise player.

In fact,
It's particularly difficult to arrange a starting lineup for Hagi Begic.

After two consecutive high-intensity matches, almost all of the key players were experiencing muscle fatigue.

When finalizing the starting lineup, Hagibis gritted his teeth and decided to give it one last shot.

Let's get past Tottenham first!
If he can get past Tottenham, he must rotate his squad as much as possible in the league.

If we can't beat Tottenham, then there's nothing more to say; we'll fight tooth and nail for the league title!
Ultimately, Haji Begic didn't say much at the rally; he simply said, "Be careful on defense, and be careful not to get injured."

The current Bastia doesn't need those motivations at all.

Each of them has a clearly visible common goal.

This team, with its unbalanced age structure—sometimes old, sometimes young—is willing to give everything for this goal.

Young people need to make a name for themselves and announce their arrival to the world.

The veterans, on the other hand, want to seize their last chance, burn brightly one last time, and make their careers even more perfect.

But whether it was the veterans led by Rothen or the young players led by De Bruyne, they all closely surrounded the team captain, Gaio.

No one can deny that Gaio is the core of this team!
7 p.m.

The bus from Bastia headed towards Thesari.

Along the way, the blue tide created by the fans seemed to stretch from the streets directly to the sea!
This long blue stream followed the bus all the way to the stadium.

When Gaio and the others got out of the car.

All that could be heard was the deafening roar of the fans – "Fight, Bastia!"

8:45 PM.

At this moment, the Thessaloniki stadium was already boiling like a volcano, and was even accumulating more intense energy, ready to unleash its power.

The Cesarri Stadium reached its first climax of the night as the players walked off the pitch.

A deafening roar filled the air.

With Gaião absent, Rothen, as captain, and Tottenham captain Gallas played a coin toss before the match.

at the same time,

Modoso, along with his Ultras Bastia die-hards, once again displayed a giant TIFO from the stands.

There wasn't much extra information above, just silhouettes of the backs of some jerseys.

There's De Bruyne's number 17, Lukaku's number 11, and Kante's number 13.
The number 10 jersey is in the center position.

Below these jersey silhouettes, there is only one sentence, the sentence most deeply etched in the memories of the Bastia people—"Fight, Bastia!!" *Beep!*

At 9 p.m., the referee blew the whistle and the match began!
The broadcast camera focused on Gaio on the bench after the game started.

The TF1 commentator said, "After two consecutive high-pressure matches, Bastia made some personnel adjustments, the most important of which was moving Gaio to the bench and giving young Mane a starting opportunity."

As the commentator spoke, Tottenham's attack gradually unfolded.

Their only goal in this game is to turn the tide and win!
however,
On their first attack, they encountered Damian, who was firing at full force.

Bale made runs down the flanks, and just like in the second half of the first leg, he had plenty of freedom and the right to shoot in the attacking third. Less than two minutes into the game, he unleashed a curling shot from the left side of the penalty area.

Damian leaped out and made a save.

Adebayor, who followed up, was a step faster than Van Dijk and poked the ball first under pressure.

After making the save, Damian, half-standing, stretched out his leg to block Adebayor's follow-up shot, while Kahusac quickly cleared the ball with a long kick towards midfield on the other side.

Wow!

Bastia fans gasped in surprise, not only for Darmian's brilliant save, but also for how threatening Tottenham's attack was right from the start.

Damian pounded his chest and roared, forcing the Bastia players to quickly get into the game.

Van Dijk rubbed his hair. He had a big problem with that shot, mainly because he didn't hold on in the last few steps. Otherwise, Adebayor wouldn't have had the chance to get a rebound.

This round is just a microcosm of the entire match.

Tottenham completely controlled the tempo.

Bastia played defensively at home, relying entirely on Mane's lone striker runs.

Hagi Begitch set up a 4-2-3-1 formation.

However, both wingers, Palmiri and Klose, actually dropped deep to help with the defense.

Kante has relatively free positioning in this match because he needs to keep Bale in check.

Although he can't keep up in terms of absolute speed, Kante's defense has gradually become the most reliable part of Bastia's arsenal.

Tottenham's attacks came wave after wave, with shots coming one after another.

On the sidelines, Villas-Boas would sometimes hold his head in his hands, sometimes look regretful, as if a goal was just around the corner.

however,
Bastia's defenses were like reefs in the sea.

But on the offensive end, it's not working.

Without the support of his teammates, Mane alone will find it difficult to break down Tottenham's defense like Gaião did.

Whenever he loses possession of the ball, the camera always finds Gaio on the bench.

Gaio looked serious on the sidelines.

The main problem was that Tottenham's attack was simply too fierce, and Mane was no match for Lukaku and himself in one-on-one situations.

Currently, Bastia's two most aggressive players are on the bench.

Fortunately, Mane has a great attitude, charging forward on the counter-attack and also providing deep defense.

At times, Bastia's formation was flattened into a 5-5-0 formation.

As most of Bastia's players gradually found their form, Tottenham's attacking space was continuously compressed.

For a time, Tottenham's attacking threat gradually decreased.

Both Tottenham fans and players were a little impatient.

They need to score at least two goals!
Oops! !

In the 31st minute, gasps erupted from the Cesarian stadium as fans clutched their heads in astonishment.

On the field,

When Angula was defended by Holtby's dribbling advance, both of them fell to the ground during the challenge.

Holtby passed the ball before falling to the ground.

He originally intended to pass it on to Lennon.

However, the force was too weak.

Lennon quickly pushed off the ground and moved forward at great speed, just as he was about to control the ball.

Angula, who had fallen to the ground, actually managed to head the ball away while lying on his stomach!

As he pushed out, Lennon kicked out.

Lennon pulled his foot back, but not completely, and the stud caught on Angula's eye, instantly cutting it open and causing blood to flow freely.

Angula, oblivious to the danger, immediately got up and cleared the ball with a long kick.

At this moment, his jersey was stained red with blood.

drop!
The referee immediately stopped the game and signaled for the team doctor to come onto the field.

Angula touched the corner of his eye and saw that his hands were covered in blood, but he was not alarmed.

For him, this was just an ordinary occurrence.

The TF1 commentator exclaimed, "This is Bastia! Some people ask why a small island team can become the top team in Ligue 1 and beat PSG's squad worth hundreds of millions! This might be the answer! They not only have talented players like Gaião and De Bruyne, but they also have tough fighters like Angoura and Joplin! This is why Bastia has become a dark horse."

When the Bastia fans saw Anguilla catch Lennon's foot with his head, they felt a surge of pent-up emotions, and only shouting could release them.

"Fight, Bastia!!"

"fighting."

The sound is rolling.

The team doctor quickly bandaged up Angula, wrapping a bandage around his neck.

He also changed his jersey.

Continue the game!

Watching his teammates fight so hard from the sidelines, Gaio felt a surge of emotion.

This is Bastia, this is the team he's willing to give everything for.
at the same time.

North London, England.

Unlike usual, Wenger wasn't watching the game alone in his office.

He now had another person by his side, Josh Walton Kroenke, a super-rich second-generation heir who had just joined the Arsenal board of directors.

This is what is commonly known as "Little Kroenke".

He's called a super-rich second-generation because he's the only son of sports industry tycoon Stan Kroenke and Walmart heir Ann Walton Kroenke!

He just joined the Arsenal board this year, which is the second time the young man has actually held a position of power.

My first job was as the president of the Denver Nuggets in the NBA.

At this time, young Klenk maintained the gentlemanly manners and demeanor that his family had always instilled in him.

When asked, "Will Tottenham lose?"

(End of this chapter)