Emiliano was somewhat stunned when he heard about going to Bastia.
"Dibu" was his nickname, used by people who were close to him.
This came from his middle name Damián.
His full name was Damián Emiliano Martínez Romero.
"Dibu" is a common nickname variant for the name "Damián" in Spanish.
In Argentine culture, such abbreviations or variant nicknames are very common.
Additionally, Argentina had a classic comic called "Dibu," and young Emiliano looked somewhat similar to the protagonist Dibu, so his family and companions all called him that.
Emiliano shook his head, "Bastia is too far away. I don't think Mandinha would want me to be so far from her either."
Giroud shrugged, "Of course, family is important. I was just making a suggestion."
"Mm-hmm, I'm going then."
"Alright."
Giroud returned his attention to the broadcast, where Montpellier was still pressing Bastia.
Bastia's defensive players were far less talented than their attacking players.
They looked quite flustered.
The game wasn't particularly pretty to watch.
Giroud's thoughts turned to Emiliano, this 20-year-old Argentine goalkeeper.
In Giroud's view, his talent was quite impressive.
But he was stuck at Arsenal, where he certainly wouldn't get opportunities.
Arsenal had too many excellent goalkeepers. But Bastia was quite short on that front.
However, Emiliano was right - his girlfriend Amanda "Mandinha" Gama wouldn't want him to be far from London.
Gama's parents owned a restaurant in London that all the Arsenal players knew about.
So, when they gathered privately for meals, there was always gossip.
How did the introverted Emiliano quietly win over the restaurant owner's daughter?
Gama was very outgoing. She didn't mind sharing how she and Emiliano first met—
"He started coming to eat when he was 18. I was still in university then, sometimes helping my parents at the restaurant.
We'd usually see each other on weekends, but we never spoke. Once I asked his friend: 'Why does he always look down whenever he sees me?'
He must have talked to his friend about it, because later he sent me a message: 'I'm not very brave, I'm quite shy, but if you're willing, would you like to go for coffee together?'
That's how it all started.
We met up, chatted, and went back to my apartment next to the restaurant.
We had coffee.
When he first entered my place, he was just so tall. I thought: 'I can't date him, he's too tall and I'm too short.'
When he came in, I just said: 'So tall.'
He's always been so sweet, I've always thought he was the most adorable person in the world."
Every time Gama shared her story with Emiliano. Giroud could see the love in both their eyes.
It reminded him of Jennifer. They were just as in love. Perhaps sending Emiliano to Bastia really wasn't appropriate.
Red Bull Arena, New York.
On the field, De Bruyne was playing somewhat anxiously. Bastia didn't have possession, and there was a serious disconnect between their front and back lines.
Of course, when he came to Bastia, he had already anticipated such situations.
What kind of strength could you expect from a newly promoted team?
De Bruyne came here with the purpose of accepting a challenge.
Chataigner had promised him that the team would definitely strive for the Europa League.
So, his positioning for himself and the team was very practical, they were all "Big Dreamers" with dreams.
"FORZA, Bastia!!"
De Bruyne could always hear the Bastia fans' cheers. He wondered, don't these people ever get tired?
This wasn't even a home game. Bastia fans didn't have the numerical advantage. This wasn't the first time De Bruyne had experienced Bastia fans' fanaticism.
"Kevin!"
Suddenly, Rothen shouted his name.
De Bruyne had been watching the field situation. Montpellier had lost the ball, and Rothen was pushing forward.
De Bruyne immediately moved up. This was Bastia's attacking opportunity!
He scanned the front field and assessed the situation. The left flank attack was paralyzed: Palmieri couldn't even get up.
In the center, Lukaku and De Rocca on the right were both making runs forward.
This was an opportunity, but also the area with the strongest defensive pressure. If it were the left flank...
'Hmm?'
When Rothen passed the ball to De Bruyne's feet, he suddenly saw a black shadow charging up the left flank: Sidibé!
In training, De Bruyne had a deep impression of Sidibé.
Sidibé's physical attributes were explosive. If only his football intelligence were a bit higher, he'd be a top-class left-back.
But for now, he was good enough!
De Bruyne didn't waste time after receiving the ball. In his view, football was actually quite simple: through positioning and passing, create momentary advantages for the team in certain spaces.
Football's biggest taboo was: first stop, then look, then pass.
Whether you could create momentary advantages: that was the difference between top-class midfielders and ordinary ones.
Bang!
De Bruyne played a horizontal pass. He gave the ball to Sidibé who was overlapping, while he moved toward the area where Lukaku and De Rocca were operating.
When they were stretching the space, he could get space for a long shot.
The match time was already 36 minutes.
Bastia finally got a decent counter-attacking opportunity. Hadzibegic watched the front field intently.
"Pass the ball!"
Hadzibegic saw Sidibé still running with his head down and shouted loudly.
Sidibé was indeed useful defensively, but his attacking play still couldn't keep up with the pace. He still needed some coaching.
Sidibé ran all the way with his head down to the left side of the penalty area, with the opposing right-back Congré sticking close to him.
Sidibé finally realized he should pass.
But, Montpellier's players had already gotten back in position. There weren't any great opportunities.
De Bruyne shook his head and quickly pulled out, preparing to go over and provide support.
However.
Bang!
Sidibé suddenly made a touch, creating a positional advantage, then launched a big cross toward the center.
De Bruyne's heart sank. 'Why didn't he pass earlier or later, but only when I've already come out to receive?!'
He quickly looked toward where the ball would land.
Although Lukaku didn't really like physical battles with defenders, at this moment he knew that if he didn't go for the header, it would be hard to justify.
The key was that De Rocca had spoken so nicely, "With your build, you can easily dominate any penalty area."
So, when Sidibé's ball flew toward the center, Lukaku jumped with all his might, planning to deliver a "Belgian thunderbolt."
However, When he jumped up, he realized that Sidibé's cross was somewhat high.
This guy was treating him like a spring-loaded man.
Neither Mbiwa, Lukaku, nor Hilton managed to touch this ball.
The ball flew toward the right side of the penalty area.
Julien had already prepared to fight for the second ball from Lukaku's header, but no one had touched it.
It was coming his way!
Under Estrada's tight marking, he had no space to control the ball, and crucially, Sidibé's cross was too powerful.
He didn't have time to prepare.
Activating his explosive power, taking advantage of the moment when Estrada was watching the ball, he turned his body and met the ball with a volley!
A left-footed blast!
In the moment of the side volley, Julien felt ultimate control over the ball with his left foot.
Flexibility enhancement!
De Rocca managed to keep the ball down.
Bang!
Without losing pace, the ball flew toward the goal.
________________________________________________________
Check out my patreon where you can read more chapters:
patreon.com/LorianFiction
Thanks for your support!