[Football] Bad Boy Batty

At 6 p.m. on June 17th, local time in Russia, the second match of the first round of Group E of the World Cup was held at the Rostov-on-Don Sports Arena, with the Samba Army facing the Swiss Army Knife.

Tite's lineup was not too surprising.

Alisson is the goalkeeper; Alves returned from injury in time to take on the responsibility of the right side of the defense, Marcelo is the left back, Miranda and Thiago Silva are the central defenders; Casemiro is the single defensive midfielder, Coutinho and Paulinho are the midfielders; Neymar is on the left, Batistuta is on the right, and Jesus is at the front.

The initial position is close to 433. When defending, it changes to 4141. Batistuta and Neymar retreat to the midfield to form the first barrier to prevent Switzerland from launching a quick counterattack. When attacking, it will become 343, with Marcelo or Alves assisting and Casemiro retreating to protect.

Switzerland lined up in the traditional 4231--- formation, with Sommer as goalkeeper and Lichtsteiner, Scherer, Akanji, and Ricardo Rodriguez as the four defenders; Behrami and Xhaka were the double defensive midfielders; Dzemaili and Shaqiri were on both sides of the front line, with Zuber in the middle; and Seferovic was at the front.

"I have analyzed the characteristics of Switzerland. Their defense is fierce and strong. Don't confront them head-on. Do you understand?" Tite gave the players final instructions before the game. "Remember, don't be a hero. Trust your teammates and never let yourself fall into the opponent's encirclement."

In the player tunnel, Batistuta stood at the back of the team, watching from a distance the national flags of the two opposing teams gradually unfolding on the field.

The cheers from the fans at the start seemed tireless, and had continued from yesterday until now. He felt a mixture of nervousness and excitement, and his heartbeat seemed to fill his entire brain.

He really came to play in the World Cup, for Brazil, his homeland that he loves and hates.

"What, are you nervous?" Neymar turned around and teased, reaching out to pinch Batistuta's face, "Don't worry, we seniors will take good care of you."

Batty rolled his eyes at him.

"I'm not nervous, I'm excited," he said. "How soon do you think we'll score?"

"No one can guess this." Neymar combed his hair, which looked more like spaghetti after a few days of grooming. "Remember our celebration, Batistuta. Whether you score or I score, you must jump, okay?"

Batty raised an eyebrow: "You mean the one you made up that looks like Ultraman's transformation?"

"What Ultraman transformation!" Neymar patted Batistuta on the head. "You little bastard, if you don't like it, you should have told me earlier. Why wait until today?"

"I told you from the beginning that it jumped weirdly!" Batty's eyes widened.

"I do not believe."

"Ha! Who is the bastard now?" Batistuta held Neymar's hair and pressed down hard, "Keep being the dwarf king."

The Real Madrid defender who will serve as captain in this game turned around and looked at the two people who had come out of the bed and onto the field, and gave an ambiguous smile.

"Tsk, it's nice to be young."

……

Led by the referee, players from both sides walked into the stadium. The part where the national anthem was played before the game was always moving. Although Batistuta had experienced the feeling of playing for his country in the Olympics and the World Youth Championships, now it is the World Cup, and the World Cup gives him a different feeling.

In the final minutes, players from both teams shook hands and chose sides.

Batty closed his eyes, pointed his hands to the sky, and quickly recited the Bible and said a final prayer.

Neymar smiled, found Batistuta before going to his position, and raised his fist to him. "Good luck in the game," he said. "God is with us."

Batistuta raised his lips and bumped fists with Neymar, "May God bless Brazil, come on."

[beep——]
With the referee's whistle, the game officially started.

……

【Hello, CCTV viewers, you are now watching a match in the first round of the 2018 World Cup Group E, Brazil vs. Switzerland. On the field, the Brazilian team wore their iconic yellow tops and blue shorts, and the first half of the game was played from the left side of the screen to the right. 】

Brazil played very aggressively at the beginning of the game, while Switzerland focused on defense.

In the 3rd minute of the game, the Brazilian team organized an attack from the backcourt. Neymar recovered from the wing and advanced after receiving a pass from Casemiro. Swiss midfielder Behrami pulled and dragged Neymar down, but the referee did not make any comment and the game continued.

Fortunately, before falling to the ground, Neymar passed the ball to Marcelo who was coming up the pitch, and Marcelo made a long pass to Batistuta on the right.

Facing the double defense of Rodriguez and Akanji, Batistuta used a fake move to go outside to confuse the opponent, then quickly dribbled the ball back and cut inside into the penalty area. Akanji did not dare to block him easily, and quickly turned around to try to block Batistuta's dribbling. Behrami also quickly came back to defend, but the space had already been created, and Batistuta seized the opportunity to complete a shot.

It's just that the angle of the ball was a bit straight, and Swiss goalkeeper Sommer got the ball.

"Well done! This is what we wanted!" Marcelo applauded Batistuta to encourage him, "Come a few more times! We will score!"

That’s the role of the captain on the field.

Batistuta nodded and gave Marcelo a thumbs-up in return.

Now their offensive focus is still on the left. Marcelo's pass just now was very good, but it was still not very comfortable to receive. He thought that if Fernandinho or Kevin passed the ball, the effect might be better.

……

So far, Switzerland's defense has been normal, very tough, but not to the point of being "dirty". Taking advantage of the Brazilian team's forward defense, they have also formed several good attacks.

In the 10th minute, the score was changed.

Switzerland defended in front of the goal, Lichtsteiner made a long clearance, Thiago Silva came to the midfield and headed the ball, Brazil got the ball back. Marcelo got the ball, he observed the position of his teammates, and passed the ball to Coutinho, who waited for the ball to advance to the left and formed a cooperation with Neymar.

Batistuta lingered on the right side of the penalty area and was surprised to find that the Swiss team had missed a man.

No one was watching him!

Batistuta, who just arrived in the Premier League, has been shining. Every team has suffered from him. Since last season, two defensive players are standard for him.

Batistuta was unmarked on the right, which is almost impossible in the league.

Swiss full-back Rodrigo was coordinating defense against Jesus in the middle, while keeping a close eye on Paulinho who might make a run into the midfield. Akanji was still in the midfield and had not returned. There was a large open space around Batistuta, big enough to hold the Pacific Ocean.

"here!"

Looking up and seeing Batistuta raising his hand, Neymar understood what he meant. He cooperated with Coutinho and successfully beat the offside and passed the ball to the goal near the baseline.

Akanji signaled to the referee that it was offside, but the attacking side had the advantage and the referee did not suspend the game. As a result, the ball passed right between Akanji's legs, blocking goalkeeper Sommer's view. By the time he reacted, the ball was already in front of him at a distance that was difficult to touch.

The ball is there!

It is usually difficult to judge the landing point of a ball bouncing off the ground, but this time Batistuta was full of confidence. He couldn't fully explain why, perhaps it was belief, or perhaps something else, he ran towards the position he judged.

Turns out he was right.

Feeling the breeze created by the movement of the ball, Batty quickly turned sideways, raised his right foot, and shot directly without stopping the ball!
The ball rushed into the net like lightning.

The Swiss goalkeeper is powerless, 1-0! Brazil is leading!

[The ball went in! Only 10 minutes into the first half! Brazil leads Switzerland 1-0!] The commentator said excitedly in the studio, [Bati, who scored the goal, just celebrated his 3th birthday in March this year. This was his first World Cup appearance and his first World Cup goal! In the Champions League match that just ended last month, Manchester City won the first Champions League trophy in team history with his goal. It's true that a young hero emerges from his youth and his future is limitless!]

"You're great, Batistuta, you picked up a bargain!" Alves ran over to celebrate, he jumped up and ruffled Batistuta's hair.

"It's not a lucky chance! It's a brilliant cooperation!" Neymar also ran over, hugged Batistuta's face and kissed him on the forehead, "I knew he would be in that position, right!"

"Of course!" The young man laughed loudly, "And this!" He pulled Neymar off his body and patted his shoulder, "Watch out, your Ultraman moves--"

"Hey! Wait for me!"

Neymar, who had just assisted Brazil's first goal in this World Cup, was not ready yet. In a panic, he followed Batistuta's rhythm and danced their own celebration dance. But to be honest, he was very dissatisfied with this time.

"How can you start just like that?" Neymar pinched Batistuta's chin. "Remember to wait for me next time. I'll pass the ball to you."

"Oh?" Batty blinked. "Are you bribing me?"

"What would you do if I said yes?" Neymar asked.

"If it's --" Batty dragged out the last word, "Congratulations, the bribe was successful!"

Tsk tsk tsk, my eyes are going to be blinded by the light.

Alves expressed his disgust at the two men's sticky behavior on the court, and he pushed the two boys' heads on the left and right.

"Okay, go back quickly, the game is still going on!"

"Why are you in such a hurry? This is my first goal in the World Cup! The referee didn't say anything!" Batistuta waved his fist and smiled brightly, then glanced at his teammates, "I scored a goal, how about you?"

The broadcast camera gave Batistuta a close-up, just catching him turning around and running back to his position with a smile on his face.

The comment section below the live broadcast was instantly flooded with comments——

"Ahhh who is he! Who is this beautiful baby!?"
"3 minutes! I want all his information!!"
"I didn't like dark skin before, I was wrong!! It smells so good!"

A few minutes later, this short 2-second animated picture swept the Internet at a rapid speed, and related entries quickly became hot searches.

#Who is number 11 of the Brazil team?
#Batista
#Battie is only 19 years old

Of course, there are other entries, such as this one——

#This is what love should be like
#Brazilian NB combination looks good

If you click on it, you will find that it is a screenshot of Neymar assisting Batistuta to score a goal, and the two hugged and danced together to celebrate.

"My goal is just for you! Who are you kidding me?"

……

The Swiss players were a little anxious after falling behind by one goal in the first 10 minutes. Obviously, they committed more fouls. Batistuta guessed that this was the tactical requirement given by their head coach. In the 1th minute, Batistuta dribbled the ball from the right. This time, Switzerland did not dare to relax its defense against him. Behrami stepped forward to block the ball.

In this World Cup, the average height of the Swiss team is not among the top few, but it is still much higher than that of Brazil, which ranks last. I don't know if it's because of the jerseys, but Batistuta feels that the chest muscles of the defensive players around him are particularly developed.

The gap in physical confrontation can be made up by technology, but just as Batistuta was about to pick up the ball and turn to avoid the collision with the Swiss player, Behrami grabbed his jersey, exactly the same as he did to Neymar at the beginning of the game.

"Leave far away!"

Batistuta was not so easy to bully. He staggered two steps to steady himself and used his toes to pass the ball to Alves. The speed of the ball was a little slow, but fortunately Alves was experienced and got in position in time to grab the ball.

Seeing that the ball was not lost, Batistuta's sights turned to Behrami.

"Sorry." Behrami shrugged and said insincerely, "It's just a tactic."

Batty glared at him, cursed him under his breath, and ran away.

Tactical fouls and restricting the opponent's offense are understandable on the court, but using small moves to target players for profit will never be respected.

Alves passed the ball back to the midfield and the two teams fought for the ball on the left side of the midfield.

……

"Take it in! Batistuta!" Tite commanded from the sidelines, "They have the advantage in numbers!"

Batti nodded and ran towards the middle while observing the situation.

The situation in the midfield is not very clear now, but Switzerland's defense is not fully standing, and they have the opportunity to take a long shot.

But before that, Switzerland committed a foul.

Coutinho and Neymar did not have a tacit understanding and collided with a car while running. In desperation, Neymar stepped on the ball and turned around, intending to pass Coutinho and the defensive player and then advance into the penalty area.

It was Behrami again. He knocked Neymar down from behind without even touching the ball. He just went for it.

The referee stopped the game and gave Brazil a free kick in front of the penalty area, but did not give a yellow card.

"What a convincing performance! I didn't even touch that guy!" Behrami complained after getting the upper hand. He shook his hands and said, "He should be given a yellow card and convicted of diving!"

This happened right before Batty's eyes.

"What the hell did you just say!" Batty blocked the referee's view with his body and bumped Behrami with his shoulder. "It's a foul, so why don't you admit it?"

Behrami was a little surprised by Batistuta's toughness, but he remained indifferent to Batistuta's accusations. "Where did you see me commit a foul?"

"You know whether it's a foul or not!"

"If the referee didn't blow the whistle, then there's no point. Get out of my sight, you son of a bitch."

"What! What did you call me—"

"Okay Batistuta, stop arguing with him." Marcelo quickly came over and dragged Batistuta away, "Neymar is going to take a free kick."

"No! He called me—"

"We'll tell the referee about that later. The most important thing now is the free kick." Marcelo patted Batistuta on the back to comfort him. "There's a lot of trash talk on the court. Don't let him affect you. Your mother will be proud of you."

No one had ever comforted him like this before.

Batti was stunned for a moment, then took a deep breath, rolled his eyes at Behrami and ignored him.

For the sake of his mother who has gone to heaven, let it go this time.

Neymar took a free kick, but unfortunately it failed to get over the wall and the ball bounced back to the center circle. The two sides started a fierce fight again.

……

Neymar was the one who suffered the most violations in the first half. 30 minutes into the game, he had been knocked down at least four times. Batistuta was targeted less than he fell to the ground as many times.

So naturally, Neymar was angry.

When Neymar gets angry, he won't pass the ball, as if he is determined to break through the Swiss defense line. He chose to take the ball himself several times when there were good passing opportunities.

"Just pass the ball, why do you need to push yourself? I was right in front of you!" Batty complained with his hands open, "I know it hurts you, but Ney, I remember your eyes are still intact!"

Neymar frowned at him. "You were in a bad position, so I didn't pass it to you." He said, "There were two people there, you couldn't hold the ball."

"I can!" Batty raised his chin and said, "You don't trust me!"

"How could I not trust you, Batistuta?" Neymar showed an expression of disbelief. "Of all people, I trust you the most. Have you forgotten who passed the ball to you just now?"

"That's different." The boy shook his hair and reached out to clear the grass debris from Neymar's head. "Anyway, you'll be targeted when you have the ball. You might as well give it up."

"Give it up?"

"Yes, the offensive focus should be on the right. I play in the Premier League and am more resistant to injuries than you."

"These are two different things, Barty. Let's wait and see what the gentleman wants."

……

Since those fouls against Neymar were not called, Switzerland started to use more tricks, such as blatant pulling and mainly relying on fouls for defense. The referee seemed to have no eyes, as long as the Brazilian players did not bleed on the spot, he would pretend nothing happened!
Neymar listened to Batistuta's complaints and made significantly more passes to the right than before.

Then--

Do you think the Brazilian team can quickly regain the advantage and score 3 or 5 goals?
No, not at all.

Since Brazil's offensive focus shifted to the right, Batistuta has enjoyed the same treatment as Neymar. Having his jersey and arm pulled were considered light punishments. Akanji's hand hit his face intentionally or unintentionally, and Behrami was even more ruthless, kicking Batistuta who was already lying on the ground.

And Batistuta, like Neymar just now, was too excited.

He takes the ball on the right and dribbles it by himself without passing it. He has the technique, but he can't score magical goals or make wonderful dribbles in every game. What's more, his purpose is not just to score a goal but to take revenge on his opponent.

This takes the difficulty to a new level.

Batistuta was knocked down by Behrami's small move, and the referee still did not take any action. At this moment, Behrami pretended that he could not stop due to inertia, but actually stepped on Batistuta's thigh.

"what!!"
Batty's eyes turned red instantly, but he tried to hold back the tears. Along with the pain came a fire of rage that burned directly to his head.

"Sorry." Behrami still looked like a rogue. He pretended to reach out his hand to Batty. "I didn't mean to step on you. Who made you fall there?"

Go to hell!!
How dare you say that!!!
Curse you!
Batty cursed in his heart, rolled his eyes, and came up with an idea.

"It doesn't matter. It's a tactical requirement, right?" He smirked.

Seeing the right moment, the boy grabbed Behrami's hand, pretended to stand up, but actually snapped his fingers downwards.

then.

There was a 'swish' sound.

There was a bloody mark on Behrami's arm.

"Ah - referee! He caught me!" The Swiss midfielder jumped away in astonishment, and then immediately put pressure on the referee, "He deliberately hurt someone, it's a foul!!"

He was going to be disappointed this time. The referee didn't call a foul not because he was on their side, but because his own standards for penalties were relatively lenient.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it." Batty put on his most innocent expression, and combined with his already kind face, the referee completely believed that he did not intend to scratch his opponent.

"Be careful next time. I'm watching you." The referee from Mexico only gave him a verbal warning, "Go back to your positions, or I'll have to show you all yellow cards."

Batistuta was very satisfied with the result. He smiled at the referee and ran back to the right.

[Another Swiss player committed a foul on the field. They made arrangements based on Brazil's passing routes, especially Neymar and Batistuta. As the two most valuable star players in the team, they received extra special care.]

Before the game started, Neymar and Coutinho switched positions to the middle, closer to Batistuta. "Are you okay, Batistuta?" He pointed in the direction of his thigh.

"It's okay." Batty lifted his legs and pulled his shorts up. "It still hurts a little, but it's not a big problem."

Neymar:!

"Put it down!" He gestured to Batistuta to cover his thighs. "This is the World Cup, the whole world is watching!"

However, it was too late. The speed of 4G network was beyond imagination. At the moment when he was desperately gesturing, the photos and animated pictures of the boy's bruised and red thighs had spread all over the world and were saved in the photo albums of thousands of people.

"Sorry, Ney, my bad," Batty said quickly, patting his shorts back into place. "Those fouls are really annoying. I'll pay attention from now on."

Neymar was stunned for a moment, then realized that the boy was apologizing for his impatience just now. He laughed and said, "Don't worry about those things. We all want to win. That's all. Try harder and kill the game completely!"

Batty nodded.

"We are five-star Brazil, 1-0 is not enough! Keep going!"

(End of this chapter)