[Football] Bad Boy Batty

The game on the screen was in the 61st minute, and Lukaku headed the ball in the Japanese team's penalty area and almost scored a goal for the team.

"Belgium needs to have more of these if they want to beat Japan," Batty commented, crossing his arms. "As long as they can't open up the situation, high-altitude bombing is always the best choice."

Jesus nodded and said: "In terms of physical fitness, Belgium has a clear advantage. Japan looks like they are almost exhausted."

"But there are only 30 minutes left. Belgium needs to score at least three more goals if they want to survive." Alves still doesn't think Belgium will win. "One goal in 3 minutes, who do you think they are? The next Brazilian team?"

"Don't underestimate Belgium." Batty looked over with disapproval.

"What's the harm in underestimating them? Even if they really turn the tables in the end and let the Japanese team score 3 goals first, are we still afraid of such a team?" Alves said nonchalantly.

If it were any other team, it would be Batistuta who would say this today, but now it is Belgium, and Batistuta believes that Belgium with Kevin De Bruyne will not fall before Brazil.

"But Japan is doing well this year. They played against Belgium and were ahead by three goals." Marcelo suddenly interrupted, calming the atmosphere. "No matter which team wins in the end, we have to be vigilant. There is a reason why there are no weak teams in the World Cup."

Batty said nothing and ended the conversation with a few nasal sounds.

In the 64th minute, Belgium made a substitution, and the Manchester United defender Fellaini with the shaggy hair came on the field. The camera turned around and finally landed on De Bruyne. Batistuta suddenly had an idea, and inexplicably remembered the experience of joining forces with the opponent to win the game in Manchester City. It was during this moment of distraction that Belgium scored a goal!

Fellaini, who had just come on as a substitute, assisted Vertonghen to score with a header, and the score became 3-1!

"Beautiful!" Firmino couldn't help but exclaimed, "Belgium's counterattack is about to begin. If this momentum continues, the Japanese will not be able to withstand it."

"Was that a header?" Alves frowned and leaned closer to the screen. "It was really far, about 20 yards."

But before the camera could be replayed so that people in front of the screen could see the header clearly, Belgium scored again! This time it was De Bruyne, and just like Inui Takashi's long shot, De Bruyne looked up and shot directly at the right front court of the Japanese team!
"3-2!" Jesus jumped up and screamed.

Batistuta's heart began to beat wildly, but he remained relaxed on the surface. He leaned back on the sofa with his hands folded and raised his chin: "What did I say? Belgium has the ability."

Alves glanced at him and smacked his lips: "Indeed."

At this point in the game, Alves had to admit that the little bastard was right, Belgium this year was stronger than he thought. Then he began to worry, the European Red Devils' high balls were indeed a threat, and in terms of air dominance, Brazil had no advantage at all.

"Maybe Belgium will come back, but we scored eight goals against Germany, no, nine!" Marcelo shrugged, seeing Alves' well-hidden worry, "Neither Japan nor Belgium are our opponents."

The game soon came to the 80th minute. Hazard passed the ball on the left and made a cross into the penalty area. It was Fellaini again. The Manchester United defender jumped high and headed the ball into the goal, beating Hasebe Makoto!
3-3! Belgium equalized the score!
"I'm beginning to feel sympathy for Japan. They scored three goals in 20 minutes." Ederson shook his head and said, "Did you see that? I just gave the Japanese coach a shot. I feel like his mentality is about to collapse."

"It's not that their mentality collapsed, it's that their tactics and physical fitness collapsed," Batty said. "From 3-0 onwards, they hesitated between continuing to attack and retreating to defend. They didn't make substitutions even when they were exhausted. Look - Takashi Inui still wanted to take a long shot, but he didn't have the strength."

As the game was about to enter overtime, Belgium and Japan began to make substitutions one after another, and it was obvious that they both wanted to resolve the battle within regular time.

But Batti's mind was no longer on this, as the news that had just been exposed had captured all his attention.

[The defending champion was eliminated in disgrace, and the German tank was destroyed by internal strife and arrogance! ]——The Times
[Hollywood reappears on the green field? Bayern boss scolds someone for poor performance, and there are many conflicts in the locker room] - "Bild"
[Breaking news! Sane is unhappy with too few starting opportunities, and the Bayern Munich team warmly invites him to join the team] - "Kicker"

Kicker is a famous German football magazine. Most of the time, it upholds the fine tradition of serious German media, and its news accuracy is second only to the authoritative British newspaper The Guardian.

Looking at the message above, Batty frowned.

Everyone is aware of the competition within Manchester City. It's not just Manchester City, the entire Premier League is like this. Under such a heavy game task, the team must ensure the depth of the bench in order to get through each season intact.

Batistuta understands Sane's feelings about not being able to get a regular starting position. After all, not all players are as talented as him. But if Sane transfers after the World Cup, Manchester City will not have much time to recruit new players.

and--

[Real Madrid considers exchanging Cristiano Ronaldo for Neymar, but Paris refuses to do so! ]——Marca
[Neymar: Leaving Barcelona was a mistake. Willing to pay for his return to Camp Nou] - AS
[Not returning to La Liga to the Premier League? Manchester City may pursue Neymar to fill the vacancy on the left] - The Sun
[Brazil's two cores team up? Insiders reveal Batistuta once invited Neymar to join] ——The Times

Yes, that's the trickier part.

Batistuta stared at the screen for a long time saying "Neymar is open to moving to Manchester City".

If Sane really wants to go to Bayern, then Manchester City does need to recruit players on the left, but Paris Saint-Germain offered 2.2 million euros for Neymar. In order to ensure financial fairness, Manchester City may not pay this money. In addition, they also have to consider salary issues and the Premier League's restrictions on the number of foreign players. Neymar's arrival means countless troubles.

Tsk tsk, he is just a player, why should he start to consider the issues that the head coach and the owner should think about?

Batty smoothed his slightly longer hair and purred twice in impatience.

In a sense, he both wants Neymar to come to Manchester City and doesn't want him to come.

"Oh! The ball goes in!"

The sudden heated noise in the room interrupted Batistuta's thoughts. He shook his head and looked at the screen. The game time had reached the 93rd minute, injury time.

"Who scored?" Batty asked. The score on the screen was still 3-3, without any change.

"It's Belgium!" Jesus winked at Batistuta exaggeratedly, "Can you believe it? Just now, Courtois passed the ball to Kevin! Kevin! "

Batty was stunned.

"What?" He asked again as if he didn't hear clearly.

"Yes, you heard it right! Courtois! Pass the ball to Kevin!" Jesus waved his hand and said, "Look - replay!"

Batistuta looked over and saw that it was a corner kick opportunity for the Japanese team. Courtois grabbed the ball and then quickly served the ball for a fast break, and the person he chose to pass it to was De Bruyne.

De Bruyne dribbled the ball to the right side of the penalty area and passed it horizontally. Lukaku cleverly missed the ball and Chadli followed up and scored! Belgium reversed Japan to an extreme 4-3! Japan was eliminated at the last moment!

"This is really - unbelievable." After being surprised, Batistuta's mouth curled up into a playful arc. He patted Jesus on the shoulder and said, "After the game, let's go to the group and ask Kevin what it felt like to receive Courtois' pass and reverse the game. By the way, ask him if he will hug Courtois when celebrating in the locker room after the reversal?"

Jesus waved his hands in horror: "Just ask these questions yourself, don't drag me into it. Kevin won't do anything to you, but I can't say for sure about others."

"I will ask him, there is no rush." ​​Batistuta said, "but before that I have an important matter. Does anyone know where Neymar is? I haven't seen him since I came here."

"He's probably in a bad mood right now," Alves said.

"Because of the transfer?" Batistuta asked. "I saw the report."

"No, it's not. Well, not completely at least." Alves pulled his phone out of his pocket. He opened a page and showed it to Batistuta. "Someone posted it online just before the game. I saw him click on the video, so - leave him alone for a while."

Batty frowned and looked over. It was a YouTube video with a familiar soundtrack, "Shooting Stars", which is a common song in spoof videos in recent years. The title of the video was -

【Neymar Rolling】

Batty: ...

Still Batty: Poof!

I'm sorry, he is guilty, but please wait, let him finish laughing and then repent.

……

Batistuta believed that Neymar was not someone who would be defeated by a spoof video, so the most urgent task was to find him. After leaving the garden, he made phone calls and listened to the ringtones everywhere to find Neymar.

But just when he had searched half a floor, De Bruyne called him during the break. Batistuta thought about it and pressed the answer button: "Hi Kevin, long time no see."

"We won! Did you see that, Belgium won!" De Bruyne said excitedly. His background noise was very messy, filled with celebratory roars. Batistuta guessed that he had just come off the court.

"Of course, I watched the whole process of your comeback without blinking an eye." Batty lied naturally, "Congratulations, Kevin, I hope you can maintain this level in the next game. Belgium vs. Brazil, I will not show mercy."

"You too." De Bruyne was still breathing rapidly. The match with the Japanese team had consumed a lot of his energy. "I watched the game where you took revenge on Germany. Brazil is very strong, but not unbeatable. Wait for me, the spot in the quarterfinals will go to Belgium." "Then see you on the court." Batistuta's mouth curved wider. He really wanted to talk more with Kevin, but the most important thing right now was the World Cup, the national team, and Neymar. "Listen, dear, get some rest, and don't let down your guard. I have to go. See you later. Bye!"

After saying that, he didn't give De Bruyne time to react, he just hung up the phone and continued to look for Neymar on each floor.

This is not selfish.

Neymar is an important pillar of the Brazilian team. If anything happens to him, it will be a big blow to the entire team.

De Bruyne, who was still on the field, looked down at the disconnected call, his eyes darkened.

……

Batistuta finally found Neymar in a small room near the bottom floor. He turned up the ringtone very loudly, but he just didn't answer the phone, no matter what he said. Batistuta swore that if he opened his address book, there would be 20 missed calls from him.

Neymar was sitting on a box and Batistuta walked over to him and sat on the ground.

"Why are you hiding here?" he asked.

"I'm not hiding, I just need a change of mood." Neymar glanced at Batistuta and said, "This place is very similar to my childhood home."

Batistuta put his hand on his chin and looked at Neymar with his most innocent face: "Dani (Alves) said you were heartbroken by the spoof video and told me not to bother you."

"You should listen to him." Neymar tried not to look depressed, and then begged Batistuta to leave with his eyes. "Next, I might get angry with you for no reason. I'm already annoyed enough and don't want to lose you again, so... don't make it difficult for me, Batistuta."

"I don't believe it." Batty didn't listen to him. "Is it just because of the Neymar Rolling spoof video?"

Neymar did not answer directly: "Have you seen the video?"

"Um, about that—"

Batistuta didn't expect him to ask this question suddenly and was a little stuck for a moment, but before he could come up with a perfect answer, Neymar quickly took out his mobile phone and played the video.

When the background music known as the Flying Divine Song sounded, Batty, as expected, couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Neymar: (stare)
Neymar: “I knew it!”

"I'm really, really sorry, dear Ney." Batistuta leaned over, hugged Neymar's waist, and rubbed his face against his. "I'll laugh for a while, just for a while, and then I'll scold them! I'll scold them severely."

Neymar smiled and reached out to rub Batistuta's furry head at his waist. In fact, he didn't care that much about the annoying video, and Batistuta's rare flattering behavior made him feel a lot more comfortable.

"Don't pay attention to those people on the Internet, they are all idiots." Batty added, "They are just trying to get attention because they have nothing better to do. Yesterday I saw Cantona mocking your hairstyle, which is obviously very cute."

"I watched it, including Cantona's sarcasm, I watched all the videos." Neymar patted Batistuta's face to signal him to sit up, and then he pulled him to his side, "I'm not that angry, really, at least not as angry as you think - you don't have to run to the bottom of the video and leave a message 'FUCK YOU', or use a large size."

Batty rolled his eyes at him slightly: "Then tell me, why did you come here to stay alone while we were watching the game? Is it because of the transfer?"

Neymar was silent.

After 3 seconds he nodded.

"It's because of the transfer," he said.

……

"You know, Batistuta, they are right. I did think about returning to Barcelona." Neymar started to talk. "I know it is difficult to adapt to a new environment, and I am prepared, but I didn't expect that French football is so-"

He couldn't find a suitable word to describe it yet.

Neymar added: "In addition to Barcelona, ​​I also thought about Real Madrid. There are many players who have played for both Barcelona and Real Madrid in history. What will happen if I join them? But the progress does not seem to be smooth. No, it should be said that there is no progress. Real Madrid does not really want me. They just want to put pressure on Ronaldo, and Florentino is still angry that I chose Barcelona in 13."

"As for Manchester City, I won't lie to you, never. I also want to go to Manchester City and the Premier League, but there are too many restrictions there. My father said that there were many obstacles in communicating with Manchester City. I don't understand the details of the transactions they talked about, but the restrictions on local players in the UK almost directly blocked me out." Neymar said with his head down.

"Of course, staying in Paris is also an option, and now it seems very likely to be this one." He continued, "Many people said that I left Barcelona to escape the shadow of Leo Messi and for the Ballon d'Or. I have thought about it, but to be honest, the Ballon d'Or has never been the biggest factor."

Batty never liked to be a listener, but he held back today.

After speaking a lot, Neymar finally looked up at Batistuta again: "Sometimes I am really confused. I can't see the future, as if there is a fog in front of me."

Neither of them spoke again and the room was silent for a while.

About 2 minutes later——

"Are you done?" Batty asked.

Neymar was a little dazed and nodded.

"Then it's my turn to speak, right?" Batty asked again.

Neymar didn't understand what he meant, but then Batistuta grabbed his jaw and stared at him sternly. The boy's eyes still showed his usual arrogance and arrogance.

"It's the World Cup now, you should only think about the World Cup. As for transfers, that's not that difficult." Batistuta said with disdain, "As long as you ask, I can go to my godfather. Whether you want to go to Real Madrid, Barcelona, ​​or Manchester City, he can help you solve all your problems."

Neymar felt as if he had lost his vocal cords. "Bati, you..."

"You have to understand that what matters is always what you think." Batty interrupted him, "Those things are not what you should worry about, Ney, you only have to think about how to win the World Cup with me, do you understand?"

Batty, who is serious to the point of being rude and unreasonable, has a completely different charm from usual.

Neymar looked at him for a long while, and suddenly said without any context: "Do you know how good you are?"

ha?
Several question marks appeared above Batty's head.

"What are you talking about? Of course I'm fine." He said with a raised eyebrow.

Neymar shook his head: "You don't understand what I mean. What I mean is that no one knows how much pressure I am under. Since the last World Cup, they said that I carry the hopes of the whole of Brazil."

After a pause, Neymar pulled Batistuta's hands, hesitated for a moment, and then held them firmly.

"I really, really, really like you," Neymar said. "Thank you."

as well as--

Thank you for existing, Neymar thought.

Batistuta was silent for a long time. He looked at his hand, then looked at Neymar's eyes, as if he was confused and a little shocked.

Then he pursed his lips and spoke slowly: "Why are you suddenly being sentimental? Do you have any intention? Let me make it clear first, don't use that [vibrating particles] anymore. Although it is very useful, I don't want my legs to be weak when I play against Belgium."

Neymar: …
Neymar: “Well, no thanks.”

(End of this chapter)