This item was obviously extremely valuable, but Julien shook his head slightly. It required participation in a B-level league or higher, and he couldn't even get into the youth team matches at the moment.
But where there's a will, there's a way.
Now he had returned to his peak self, although the past few years had been somewhat wasted.
But that time wasn't truly wasted either.
His career was only just beginning.
As for matches—he would start from the youth team.
Currently, Bastia's reserve team was competing in the French U19 league, and their next match happened to be the Corsican youth derby.
Bastia's reserves would host Ajaccio's U19 team at home.
Matches between these two teams had always been major events on Corsica, even at the youth level.
There was no choice—Bastia and Ajaccio were the two largest cities on Corsica, together accounting for nearly half of the island's population of over 300,000.
One north, one south, their rivalry never ceased.
The north-south conflict extended to the football pitch.
Currently, Ajaccio competed in Ligue 1 while Bastia only played in Ligue 2, having even competed in the Championnat National (French National Championship) the previous season.
This allowed Ajaccio to completely dominate Bastia during this period.
Bastia fans were naturally indignant.
So even a youth derby was taken seriously by the club.
Moreover, Ajaccio U19 wasn't even their reserve team—their actual reserves were competing in the Championnat National 2.
This was only their third team.
But due to Bastia's financial constraints, their reserve team was poorly developed. The fact that it hadn't been disbanded was already fortunate, let alone participating in professional leagues.
Having matches to play was already good enough.
Tavenot took this match very seriously, repeatedly emphasizing to the players during training preparation, "This is a match we cannot lose! Everyone better stay focused! Anyone who makes mistakes during the game will be suspended!"
What disappointed Julien was that Tavenot still showed no intention of including him in the squad list or letting him participate in the team's scrimmages.
Julien felt he needed to actively fight for his chance.
Times had changed.
De Rocca simply approached Tavenot and said directly, "Coach, I want to play."
'Huh?'
Tavenot was somewhat taken aback by De Rocca's words. He had a clear understanding of De Rocca's current level. Although Châtaigner still had confidence in him, Tavenot's expectations had already diminished.
"You want to play?"
"Yes, I want to play," De Rocca said decisively once more.
Tavenot remained noncommittal, turning toward the players who had already been divided into groups and calling out loudly, "Mathieu."
"Here," responded a young player wearing a red training vest.
"Take off your vest and give it to him. You can rest for a while." Tavenot pointed at De Rocca.
Instantly, everyone's eyes turned to De Rocca.
Their expressions were diverse.
Everyone naturally knew about De Rocca's story—from genius to imprisonment in just a few short years.
Now that De Rocca wanted to participate in the scrimmage, most had the mentality of watching a spectacle.
Watching a genius fall, being humiliated by these so-called mediocre players—it was a kind of pleasure for the mediocre.
De Rocca calmly accepted everyone's gaze, put on the vest Mathieu handed him, and entered the field.
Before going on, he instinctively tapped the sideline with his toe—a habitual gesture before taking the field.
The scrimmage had fewer rules and could start at any time.
Tweet!
The assistant coach's long whistle signaled the official start.
Due to being left-footed, De Rocca was positioned at his most familiar right-wing position. Inverted wingers were the current trend.
However, in the first few minutes, his teammates rarely passed to him, and with most possession going to the opposing side, De Rocca hadn't touched the ball yet.
"Pass to De Rocca!"
This was just a scrimmage, not a real match. Tavenot shouted for the others to feed balls to De Rocca.
How could they judge his quality without letting him touch the ball?
Though Tavenot wasn't holding much hope anyway.
Thump!
After Tavenot's shout, De Rocca finally got his touch, and the moment the ball reached his feet, he felt that perfect connection between mind and body.
This was the supreme ball control of an 89 rating!
He immediately pushed forward with the ball, and the nearby defenders tried to get physical, but he nutmegged one of them and broke through.
'Huh?'
Seeing this, Tavenot's heart skipped a beat, and he looked at De Rocca with newborn seriousness.
On the field, this was just the beginning.
Bastia's youth team didn't have many naturally gifted players, and after De Rocca regained his form, they were essentially toys to him.
After nutmegging one player, two more immediately came to block him.
De Rocca had no intention of passing.
He cut inside directly through the middle, forcing his way through. Though not particularly fast, his dribbling ability was fully displayed at this moment.
Using the frequency of his touches, he manipulated the defenders' center of gravity, easily weaving the ball between the two players and breaking through to the edge of the penalty area.
The goalkeeper was already coming out.
Thump!
De Rocca aimed far but shot near, unleashing a powerful strike that thundered into the net.
Whoosh!
When the goal went in, all the players on the field were stunned. What was talent crushing? This was perhaps the best demonstration.
A troubled youth who had been imprisoned, who had been out of training for so long, could still crush them after just a few days of recovery training.
For a moment, after De Rocca scored, everyone stood frozen, no one came forward to celebrate.
De Rocca didn't mind.
He walked back toward the center circle.
Clap clap clap!
Tavenot on the sideline didn't know what he was feeling inside, but seeing such a beautiful goal, he couldn't help but applaud De Rocca.
He shouted, "Beautiful!"
Julien turned and smiled at him.
Tavenot clenched his fist and quickly said to his assistant, "Go get Châtaigner, tell him to come to the training ground immediately."
"Right!"
The assistant had also witnessed De Rocca's entire goal and knew the significance.
On the field, De Rocca's performance continued.
Every time he got the ball, the defense in front of him seemed like paper, bypassed in various ways.
De Rocca wanted to savor the feeling of returning to his peak, so he held nothing back.
Full commitment to breakthrough and shooting.
By the time Châtaigner arrived, De Rocca had just scored his third goal.
"Beautiful!"
What Châtaigner saw was De Rocca dropping his shoulder to beat the wide defender, then cutting inside for a thunderous shot. He couldn't help but cheer.
Applauding frantically.
He kept telling Tavenot and the other assistants around him, "He is now living up to his reputation! Our Bastia has found its core!"
Tavenot never called for a halt, but the other players on the field had already lost their fighting spirit.
They were truly overwhelmed by De Rocca's skill.
At this moment, no one mocked De Rocca anymore.
In the youth team, he was invincible!
Talent crushing was utterly unreasonable!
Châtaigner excitedly pumped his fist, saying to Tavenot, "Excellent! He's really back! Promote him to the first team tomorrow!"
Tavenot, however, showed a worried expression, "Maybe we should let him play an official match with the youth team first? He hasn't played in a long time, after all."
Tavenot's words seemed to be about judging De Rocca's match fitness.
In reality, he was reluctant to let De Rocca leave before the match against Ajaccio U19, having seen such a performance.
If he had to leave, it should be after winning this match.