[Football] Bad Boy Batty

"Hurry up Batistuta, there's no time to be sad, we have to score a goal!"

Neymar's voice was almost drowned out by the cheers of the audience. He ran over and ruffled Batistuta's hair, then grabbed his arm and pulled him up, and also helped him straighten his collar.

“Don’t be too hard on yourself,” he said.

Batty shook his head: "This is the last thing I need right now, don't comfort me."

"I just want you to know that you did nothing wrong. We are playing football and nothing is absolute." Neymar spoke quickly. Seeing Subasic was about to kick the ball, he patted Batistuta on the back and said, "Come on, you said we must not go into overtime. We still have time!"

Batistuta bit the corner of his mouth and tore his lips. The pain made his brain clear again. He nodded at Neymar and then gave him a thumbs up.

"Okay, continue."

……

As Batistuta slowly got into the game, Brazil's attack on the right became smoother and smoother, and Croatia tightened its defense to give them no chance to take advantage.

In the 73rd minute, Paulinho passed the ball to Batistuta in the middle. Batistuta saw the opportunity and tried a low shot, but the angle was too straight and not very threatening. The ball was easily caught by Subasic.

Taking advantage of the dead ball opportunity, Brazil made a substitution, Firmino replaced Paulinho, and continued to strengthen the attack.

Two minutes later, Casemiro predicted the ball in the midfield and Brazil launched a quick counterattack. Alves assisted and passed the ball to Batistuta from the right. Batistuta headed the ball, but there were more interferences this time and the ball was blocked by Subasic and went out of the baseline.

Corner kick for Brazil.

Neymar took the corner kick, Batistuta was lurking in the middle, overpowering Rakitic to get the ball, but his header again failed to pose a threat because the angle was too straight.

Subasic hugged the ball, then quickly called on his teammates to attack and counterattack quickly.

In the 76th minute, Croatia took advantage of Brazil's corner kick to launch a quick counterattack. Modric ran with the ball in the middle and advanced to the right side of the penalty area to pass it to Mandzukic. The Juventus striker raised his foot and shot.

Fortunately, Alisson fell to the ground in time and punched the ball out with both fists, and Thiago Silva cleared the ball with a big kick.

[As the second half progressed, we could clearly see that Batistuta's form had improved, and the offensive pressure was not all on Neymar's side, which raised Brazil's overall offense to a higher level, but they were a little bit unlucky.] The commentator commented, [The defense of the Checkered Army was very good, and they withstood the Brazilians' bombardment. Brazil should be careful, as Croatia's counterattack was very deadly. If they failed to stop it at the last moment and let Croatia score, it would be bad.]

……

In the 81st minute, Brazil won a free kick in the frontcourt.

Nearly 28 yards away, slightly further to the right, it was a highly maneuverable position, where one could pass or shoot. Neymar, Coutinho, and Batistuta surrounded the penalty spot.

"We can try the front point." Coutinho said, covering his mouth. "We have practiced that."

"No, they have too many people in front and we will lose the ball." Neymar supported his knees and answered, "Drive to the middle and there will be a chance to grab a second penalty. Maki is there and Jesus is also there."

Coutinho hesitated: "What about a direct shot?"

"That's fine." Nemar paused, "Are you coming?"

"No, you come," Coutinho said.

Neymar estimated the distance, but before he could say anything else, Batistuta interrupted him.

"I come."

The young man showed no expression, which was rare. He pinched the tip of his nose with his index and middle fingers and said, "You guys try to trick the opponent into jumping off the wall. I want to kick the ball to the far corner."

Neymar agreed and Coutinho had no objection.

[beep——]
The referee's penalty whistle sounded, and Coutinho and Neymar responded, but the Croatian human wall was very focused and waited until both of them ran over and Batistuta took the shot before they jumped together.

'Bang! '

[The quality of Batistuta's free throw was very high, but unfortunately, the distance was too far, and the force was not strong enough, so the ball hit the goal frame and flew out of the baseline.] The commentator said pertinently, [Although it did not hit the goal frame, it did hit the stadium's radio device at the back. I wonder if the fans watching the game on TV were startled by the sudden explosion.]

It was unclear whether the fans were scared, but the England players who were gathered together to watch the game shouted at the ball flying towards the camera.

"Is Batty... anxious?" Walker, who was relatively calm, was sitting on the carpet. He scratched his nose, raised his elbow to touch Stones' calf and said, "I've never seen him like this before."

"Of course, there are only 10 minutes left. If it's still 0-0, we'll have to play overtime." Stones scooped a large spoonful of yogurt into his mouth. "Croatia's overtime is not easy. Brazil's physical strength is a problem."

"We have to go into overtime," Walker said confidently. "Brazil - even though they are attacking and surrounding Croatia, they are actually very passive. I always feel that this is not going to work."

Sterling also came to join in the fun. He sat down next to Walker: "The Brazilian defense is too far forward. If they are counterattacked, they will lose the ball."

"Maybe Brazil can score first." Stones said, "As a club teammate, I hope Batistuta can reach the final."

"Then we will beat them and get to the top. After the game, you can bully our Rose Boys as much as you want, right?" Walker smiled and finished the second half of Stones' sentence.

"That's you, I didn't think so." Stones hit Walker's head hard with a yogurt spoon. Because of what he just said, he really began to imagine what Batistuta would look like when he lost.

Soon, he thought of the Champions League final of the previous season. At that time, he and Batistuta were both newcomers. Manchester City lost to Real Madrid. Everyone was very upset, including him and Batistuta.

But in the end it was Batty who comforted him.

Stones thought of the boy who reached out to him when he was crying in the bathroom. So much time has passed, but that figure is still as vivid in his memory as yesterday.

That's their little king.

"Bati won't be bullied even if he loses," Sterling shrugged. "But this is the World Cup, his first World Cup. If he's eliminated, he'll still cry."

"He will, for sure." Walker swung his legs. "To be honest, I've never seen anyone with red eyes more easily than him. I always feel like he's going to cry at me the next second. I really want to--"

The England defender couldn't find a better description, so he stretched out his hands and made a crazy version of the empty fist gesture.

"You look like a pervert, Kyle." Sterling looked at him with disdain, then stretched out his leg to touch him, "You always say you want to bully Batistuta, but I guarantee that he is the strongest player in Manchester City, you can't beat him at all (Walker: Hey! Of course I can!), and don't be funny, if he starts to cry, Kevin will be the first to rush up, Kun will be the second, and you will definitely be the third."

Kyle Walker looked slightly embarrassed, as if something Sterling had said had hit him hard, but he refused to admit it.

At this time, Brazil attacked. Casemiro intercepted the ball in the midfield and launched an attack. Batistuta made a lob pass, and Neymar dribbled past Strinic at the edge of the penalty area and shot, but unfortunately it hit the side net. Under Croatia's tight defense, Brazil returned without success again.

In the 88th minute, Walker regained his focus and stretched himself: "Let's clean up and wait for overtime."

"Croatia's overtime is difficult." Sterling shook his head. "Look at this, hiss - Batistuta is trying too hard. If it goes into overtime, he may not last more than 120 minutes." The screen showed a replay of Brazil's corner attack opportunity. The first point was headed by Mandzukic and Croatia launched a quick counterattack.

Batistuta was originally concentrating on scoring in front of the goal. He failed to win the header against the Croatian defender and was squeezed to the baseline. But when he saw Croatia launch a counterattack, he sprinted with all his strength without thinking, crossed the entire field to return to his own goal, and made a crucial tackle.

If he hadn't intercepted Modric near the right baseline, the ball might have been passed in front of the goal. At present, the field in front of the Brazilian goal was open, and Perisic and Kramaric had been lying in ambush at the back post, so the ball would have been a threatening one immediately.

"Pep is about to cry. When has he ever seen Batistuta defend so hard?" Walker smacked his lips and sighed. "But his two tackles were really beautiful. Croatia didn't even get a yellow card when they wanted one. It's very much my style."

The regular game ended and entered the injury time period, and the referee gave 4 minutes of injury time.

The camera kept showing the Brazilian players, and everyone could see that they wanted to end the game within 90 minutes, but the situation was not favorable for them. Batistuta was the most anxious, as if he was haunted by the nightmare of that day. The more he didn't want to play overtime, the more the situation was heading towards overtime.

[Halfway through injury time, Brazil's corner kick, Neymar takes it again - in front, good kick! Header! Firmino misses the target. Croatia's goal kick.] The commentator calmed down, [If the score remains 0-0, the two sides will go into overtime, and if the overtime still fails to decide the winner, then the only way to decide the game is through penalty kicks.]

The time came to the last minute of injury time.

Kyle Walker yawned again, stood up and stretched his shoulders: "No more watching, no more watching, I'll take a break, and then I'll shout when it's a penalty kick - WTF!!"

Lore!

[Brazil's last chance to attack, Neymar took the ball from the outside and lobbed it in - Batistuta! The ball went in! Oh my God! Batistuta scored a wonderful sideways volley! This is his seventh personal goal in this World Cup! Unbelievable! In the last half minute of the game! Brazil's two wingers jointly contributed a wonderful lore! ]

Everyone couldn't believe their eyes.

The last minute of injury time!

Croatia still failed to hold on during regular time.

"Oh my God! 93 minutes and 20 seconds!" Sterling almost jumped up from the carpet and exclaimed, "It was exactly the same as Aguero's winning goal! Oh my God, Batistuta! I can't believe it, he is so - damn! My fingers are shaking now!"

Walker's jaw dropped to the floor.

The decisive goal at 93:20.

Stones behind him had also stood up. He almost forgot that his vocal cords still had a function. He pressed his pounding heart in his chest and felt dizzy.

Batty, his little king.

There are no words in the world that can describe him, and all praise is pale.

"O-Bati, he really cried." Sterling's voice pulled Stones back to reality. "Yes, he was under too much pressure in this game. He played like that in the first half. If Brazil is eliminated, he will definitely be blamed when he returns home."

Stones mechanically turned his eyes to the screen.

The camera stayed on Batistuta for a long time. The young man who had tried his best was now kneeling on the grass, with red eyes and his hands pointing to the sky.

"The children of the City of God are all favored. Praise the Lord."

The lights from the stadium shone on him, creating a floating halo in the surround shot.

Beautiful and sacred.

……

[Brazil defeated Croatia in the last seconds and entered the final again after 16 years]

De Bruyne was watching the game in his living room, holding the remote control, which was dim and unclear, even though he had just cheered for Batistuta's winning goal two minutes ago.

Batistuta was still kneeling on the screen, but now he was no longer alone. Neymar followed him and almost slid to his knees in front of Batistuta. Then, unable to hide his excitement, he pulled the boy into his arms. The two of them knelt in the middle of the court and hugged each other.

The sound reception at the scene was very good, but the fans' celebrations were too loud. In addition, Neymar and Batistuta were communicating in Portuguese, so De Bruyne could not hear clearly what they were saying.

but--

He could clearly see the kiss Neymar placed on Batistuta's cheek.

The next second, De Bruyne turned off the TV.

But less than a minute later, he turned on the TV again and saw the two of them still in a sticky hug, and this time De Bruyne happened to see Batistuta leaving a series of kisses from Neymar's nose to his chin.

So De Bruyne turned off the TV again.

Of course, this time he endured for a full three minutes before resuming the live broadcast of the game. Unfortunately, Sky TV had already cut the camera back to the studio, and the Belgian midfielder could no longer see what happened on the court afterwards.

‘Click! ’

The remote control made a protest sound when it was squeezed, and De Bruyne came to his senses and put it down.

What to do now?

Watch the news?
No, at this moment, everything must be about the game. In any case, Neymar's pass in the final stage was indeed beautiful, and Batistuta's operation did not disappoint his wonderful pass.

From a purely competitive perspective, De Bruyne can appreciate Brazil's perfect attack.

But when he thought about the hug between Batty and the boy afterwards, and what they might do after the hug that was not visible to the camera, he couldn't help but want to smash something.

envy?

No, no, no, this is not called jealousy.

De Bruyne took the phone, opened the chat page with Batistuta, quickly edited a message of congratulations and sent it to him. Five minutes later, Batistuta did not reply to his message, but at the same time posted an IG story on IG of the Brazilian team singing in the locker room to celebrate the victory.

From the video, Neymar was standing next to him, beating a drum in his hand, and in this short 13-second clip, he put his arm around Batistuta's shoulders a total of 6 times.

De Bruyne quit IG and opened Amazon. 30 minutes later, he finished his shopping trip with satisfaction, with an order for toys worth several thousand yuan that had to be blurred or he could not broadcast them.

Regardless of whether Brazil wins the championship in the end, when Batistuta returns to Manchester, he thinks he needs to make up for it.

(End of this chapter)