[Football] Bad Boy Batty

[Both sides presented us with a wonderful game. In the last 8 minutes, the French team and the Brazilian team reversed the situation one after another. In the end, the game returned to the starting point and entered the overtime with a score of 3-3. In the past 5 World Cup finals, 4 times were played into overtime, but only the 06 World Cup finals went to penalty kicks. That year, the French team lost to Italy. What will be the final outcome of this game? Let's take a break and bring it to you later. ]

No matter how much you hate overtime, the facts are there.

For the Brazilian team, they still have a slight advantage because the equalizer was scored by Batistuta. Two minutes ago, most of the French players thought they had secured the victory, but now they have to play for 2 more minutes. Judging from the morale, it must be lower.

Physical strength is a big issue.

In the last few minutes, the Brazilian team tried their best to play the same high-pressure game at the beginning of the game, which broke through the French defense and created an opportunity for Batistuta. Otherwise, Lori's position would have allowed him to block the ball.

The French team's physical strength has been almost exhausted, but they have the "indefatigable" Kante, who is relatively stable in the defensive midfielder position, and they also have Tolisso from Bayern Munich and Matuidi from Paris Saint-Germain on the bench. In comparison, the depth of Brazil's bench is not so good.

In this way, the head coach's tactical arrangement becomes the top priority.

We cannot allow France to stretch their formation or increase their speed. In modern football, high-pressure pressing and space cutting are the mainstream, and the possession-based style of play is slowly being eliminated. Tite understands this, but like many people, he is unwilling to admit it.

Before the World Cup, he had intended to transform the team into a defensive counterattack type. With their personnel configuration, they are fully capable of doing this. They have the perfect defensive midfielder Casemiro, plus the engineer-type Paulinho. The double central defenders of Paris Saint-Germain are as solid as a rock on the back line. In the frontcourt, there is the impact of Batistuta and Neymar. Although Firmino and Jesus are not classic center forwards, they have strong finishing abilities.

But no.

They are five-star Brazil, they must play beautiful offensive football, not only to win, but also to look good on the field, defensive counterattack? What is that?
When the Brazilian team got the fourth and fifth stars, they just played defense first and were criticized a lot in the process, but when they won the championship, those voices became smaller. Brazil is now going through the same moment. People want the game to be entertaining, the scene to be good, and to win, and the pressure is on them every day.

Tite failed to withstand the pressure and, as expected, Brazil played gorgeous offensive football.

It was indeed beautiful, pleasing to the eye and highly aggressive. Neymar and Batistuta's flying on both wings made many teams envious. However, once entering overtime, the advantage became a defect. When attacking, the players could not maintain the high-intensity pressure and retreat, which gave France room to counterattack.

Difficult.

The five-minute break was over, and the players returned to the center of the field. Just like at the beginning of the game, France kicked off. Tite stood on the sidelines, feeling lost. He had long since lost track of what to do.

"Hold on a little longer! Push forward, Firmino and Jesus retreat, and do as we agreed!" The assistant coach next to him saw Tite was silent and took over the task of arranging the players. "Score a goal! We can't let down our guard in overtime! Score one goal, then retreat! Do you understand?"

At the start of overtime, Brazil gritted its teeth and attacked, while France held back and retreated.

France coach Didier Deschamps realized the mistake in his tactical arrangement and asked his players to patiently shrink their formation and wait for the exhausted Brazil to make mistakes.

Offense wins hearts and defense wins championships.

This is not a joke.

In the European Cup two years ago, France played offensive football. In the quarter-finals, they surrounded Iceland and finally broke their iron defense. However, offensive football was useless in the semi-finals, and they still relied on defense to beat Germany. Later in the final, Deschamps did not insist on defensive counterattacks. He let the players attack, and as a result, Portugal won the championship by defensive counterattacks.

In this World Cup, France played conservatively from the group stage, with a clear focus on defensive counterattacks. But in the final, Deschamps looked at the magnets representing the players on the tactical board and somehow decided to play an offensive game against Brazil.

The result was a draw in regular time.

Ignoring the players' individual highlights and magical shots, the head coach looks at the overall picture.

So what to do.

Decisively change tactics.

……

"The French are trying to wear us out." Batistuta complained as he stood in the human wall. This was a free kick for the French team, which was obtained by a tactical foul when the Brazilian team failed to attack and was forced to counterattack.

Halfway through the extra time, Batistuta had lost count of how many times France had counterattacked despite Brazil's offensive opportunities. He only remembered that he was either desperately attacking or desperately chasing back.

"Shut up, Batistuta. The human wall can't talk." Marcelo squeezed Batistuta's arm. "Save your energy. You may have to take a penalty kick later."

Batistuta doesn't like penalty shootouts, nobody does, but sometimes things don't go their way.

The French team's tactics were realized by 90%. They took advantage of the gaps left by Brazil's attack and launched countless counterattacks. The Brazilian team was in a panic in front of the goal and they were just one step away from scoring.

In the 121st minute, Neymar dribbled the ball from the left, dribbled past Pavard and passed the ball to the middle. Jesus missed the ball to the back post. Batistuta's powerful left-foot shot was blocked by Varane, who then counterattacked with a long kick. Pogba won the header and passed the ball directly to Mbappe on the right.

Alisson's high catch in the extra time was a superb performance. If the game would not have gone to extra time without Batistuta's equalizer in the second half, then Brazil would not have been able to hold on until now without Alisson in extra time.

[Alisson! He saved Mbappe's one-on-one shot! At this moment he is the hero of Brazil! ]

The Roma goalkeeper lay on the ground, holding the ball tightly in his arms.

[beep——]
The referee blew the whistle to end the overtime.

The nightmare will continue.

It was an even more thrilling penalty shootout.

……

"Everyone come here!"

Tite asked all the Brazilian players on the field to put their arms around each other's shoulders and form a circle. He led them in reciting a prayer aloud, then clenched his fists to give the players the final encouragement.

"Forget about the previous games, forget everything, we have done our best! You will go up and take a penalty kick later, 12 yards, put the ball down, kick it, and then come back, there is nothing to be afraid of! Come on! Guys! Hang in there! We have come this far and nothing can scare us!"

With Neymar on his left and Jesus on his right, Batistuta prayed louder than anyone else, but the louder he prayed, the harder it was to hide the tension hidden beneath his determination.

He thought back to his strange dream about the penalty shootout loss to Croatia, in which a player whose face he couldn't see clearly missed their first penalty, which had a serious impact on morale.

As we all know, the first and last penalty shootouts are extremely important.

Brazil was not the team that volunteered to take penalties. The order was decided by the head coach. So after the prayer, Marcelo, the captain of the game, went to guess the side of the coin. Players from both sides took the time to rest and adjust. At this time, Batistuta found Tite and said directly: "I'll take the first penalty."

Tite was not surprised at all. He patted Batistuta on the shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile (he thought).

"Don't worry, you are the first one. We have already arranged it. You don't have to doubt it." He said, "All you have to do now is stand together with your teammates. The penalty coach will also tell you some habits of French goalkeepers."

"Where's Neymar?" Batistuta asked.

"He was last," Tite said. "He told me early on that he was usually the last one to take the penalty because he thought it would bring good luck."

Batistuta nodded, and the penalty was chosen on the side with more Brazilian fans. It seemed that Marcelo had guessed the coin correctly. The referee was giving the final instructions to the goalkeepers of both teams. Marcelo should know the order of the penalty kicks. He waved at Batistuta while holding the ball.

[It seems that Batistuta will be the first to take the penalty for Brazil. He is really brave. In this final, apart from the own goal, he has done everything he can. I believe many viewers think the same as I do. No matter what the final result is, Batistuta has shown his strength to the world.]

"Go ahead." Tite patted Batistuta on the back of his head. "God is with us."

Batty smoothed his hair and walked towards the goal area.

During the process, Neymar came out of the team and asked Marcelo for the match ball, using it as an excuse to intercept Batistuta. The referee was not in a hurry. In the penalty shootouts over the years, no referee had ever urged the players. Football has never been a purely competitive sport.

When our eyes met, there was nothing more to say.

Batty took the ball and spun it in his hands. He wanted to smile easily, but the atmosphere did not allow it. Now there was no mirror, and he did not know what the final effect would be.

“Wish me luck,” he said.

"You don't need to rely on luck, you can do it." Neymar kissed his forehead, "Go ahead."

……

Batistuta stood on the penalty spot. The Brazilian fans in the stands cheered for him heartily, while the scattered French fans booed him.

Lori opened his arms in front of the goal, trying to confuse him by jumping, but Batistuta ignored Lori's movements, he put the ball away and then stepped back.

It's nothing difficult, just a penalty.

Which side to kick?
Left, right, or... middle?
Hugo Lloris is not a goalkeeper who is very good at saving penalties, but he still has the possibility of saving this ball. Data shows that he has faced 2012 penalties since joining Tottenham in 24. He saved a total of 6, with a success rate of nearly 30%.

The referee blows the whistle.

Batistuta doesn't have much time to think, but don't forget that he is the best at deceiving people.

approach--

[Shoot! The ball goes in! Batistuta made a deceptive move with a change of direction, and Lori guessed the wrong direction. Brazil beat France 1-0 in the penalty shootout! ]

Batistuta returned to the team and stood next to Neymar. Neymar put his arm around his shoulders and ruffled Batistuta's hair: "Nice kick!"

The first penalty kick for the French team was taken by Griezmann. At this moment, all Brazilians sent their blessings to Alisson. Griezmann chose the upper left corner. Alisson jumped in the right direction but failed to stop this powerful shot.

[The ball went in! Griezmann scored the penalty, 1-1! Brazil failed to take the lead in the penalty shootout! ]

Brazil's second penalty was taken by Coutinho. Although he was targeted and wasted a lot of opportunities in this game, he rarely missed penalties.

[Mr. Piercing the Clouds chose the same upper right corner as Batistuta. Lori jumped in the right direction this time, but still failed to stop the ball from entering the net. Now Brazil leads 2-1! ]

Coutinho raised his arms and shouted, leading all the Brazilian fans to cheer for the team. Soon he returned to the team. Batistuta pulled him forward and held his shoulders tightly.

Coutinho patted Batistuta's back soothingly: "It'll be fine."

hope so.

Pogba was the second French penalty shooter. Fans who watch Manchester United games know that his penalty kick takes twice as long as others. 12 seconds passed, and Bolt ran 100 meters before Pogba's penalty kick was just taken. Alisson guessed the direction again, and this time he even touched the ball, but still failed to save it.

[The second goal of the French team also went in! Now it's 2-2. After two rounds of penalty kicks, no team has made a mistake. If the score is still the same after five rounds of penalty kicks, we will enter the second stage.]

The second stage is commonly known as the "sudden death" stage.

The two sides continue to send players to take penalty kicks until one side scores and the other misses in a round, then the game ends, otherwise it will continue. If all 11 players on the team have taken the penalty kick, then they will take another round, of course, this is very rare.

Brazil's third penalty was taken by Firmino, who deceived Lori and shot into the bottom left corner. France's third penalty was taken by Mbappe, who also scored.

Three rounds later, the score was 3-3, still a tie.

Batty didn't want to (dare to) watch it anymore.

He couldn't control the soreness in his throat and lowered his head to bite his collar. Neymar noticed this after being reminded by Coutinho. He let go of Alves' shoulder beside him and reached out to help Batistuta to calm down.

"Listen to me, you have completed your task, you did a good job, Batty." He leaned close to Batty's ear and said, "Leave the rest to us. If you want to close your eyes, just close them. It's okay."

Batty nodded and closed his eyes in prayer.

Jesus took the fourth penalty for the Brazilian team. Batistuta didn't see it, but from the curses and sighs of Neymar, Coutinho and Alves around him, he guessed that the ball probably didn't go in.

[It didn't go in! Jesus wanted to make a clever kick in the middle, but Lloris managed to hold the ball! The score is still 3-3, it depends on France! ]

Jesus returned to the team, and no one would be more upset than him. Batistuta didn't say anything, and Neymar and Coutinho comforted him.

It's a bit sad, Batistuta thought, but he also felt helpless, as if it was just what he expected. But just as he was feeling sad, France also missed the fourth goal!

[What! France's penalty kick also failed! Both teams are now back on the same starting line!] Batistuta looked up in astonishment and just happened to see Augustus returning to the team with a gloomy face.

well.

A draw means there is still a chance.

The last player on the Brazilian team was Neymar. Batistuta hugged him and watched him walk to the penalty spot.

Come on Ney, take them down.

As expected, Neymar fooled Lori.

[Neymar's penalty kicks are as stable as ever. Now the pressure is on the French team. If he scores, the penalty shootout will continue. If he misses, Brazil will win the championship.]

The last penalty kick for France was taken by Ferqui, the striker who replaced Giroud.

Don't come in, don't come in, don't come in.

It was no use, Ferki made a powerful shot and Alisson failed to save the ball.

At this moment, I believe that players from both teams were cursing in their hearts.

[A rare scene in the history of the World Cup finals was born! After five rounds of penalty kicks, the two sides tied 4-4. The thrilling penalty shootout will continue! Warm reminder, everyone in front of the screen can breathe! ]

There is no way. Even the rarest situation has happened now and both sides must continue to send players to take penalties.

After the penalty takers have finished their penalties, the next players to go up are those who have hardly ever practiced penalty kicks, so this can be considered fair in another sense.

The sixth penalty taker for Brazil was Marquinhos, and for France it was Varane. They both chose the right side and scored both penalties. The seventh was taken by Alves and Lucas, who also scored. The eighth was taken by Marcelo and Pavard, but they both missed, which almost scared the fans of both countries.

So when Thiago Silva and Kante also failed to score in the ninth round, people's hearts became a little stronger and they were not scared; in the tenth round, Casemiro and Umtiti scored, and in the eleventh round it was the turn of the goalkeepers of both sides, Alisson and Lori, Alisson hit the crossbar, while Lori kicked it away cleanly.

【Oh my god! Witnessing history, really witnessing history! Everyone watching the game today, I want to tell you that in the history of the World Cup, not to mention the finals, just the World Cup, there has never been a marathon penalty shootout that lasted more than 11 rounds. Looking at all football leagues, it is rare! 】

Yes, a penalty shootout that lasts more than five rounds will be called a marathon penalty shootout.

Batty went from not daring to watch at the beginning to feeling heartbroken now.

Who cares, just end it quickly, he thought desperately, if this damn penalty shootout goes on, someone will have a heart attack!

The camera turned to the stands, and the Hollywood Godfather yawned openly, then started browsing his phone.

[Now all 11 players from both teams have taken their penalties and it’s time to start over—Neymar is the first to take the penalty for Brazil.]

"Go and help us end this disaster." Batty pulled Neymar over and kissed him on the side of his face. Neymar gave him a smile that was worse than crying, then turned and walked towards the penalty spot.

[Shoot, good, the ball goes in. ] Although it is exciting to witness history, the extra-long penalty kick still wears down the commentator's passion.

Neymar has a big heart and he scored the ball steadily facing Lori.

However, the penalty shootout was not over yet, because France also scored the twelfth penalty. Alisson almost saved the ball, but Griezmann's penalty hit the inside of the goal frame and bounced into the net.

【It’s the thirteenth round.】

Batistuta stepped up to the penalty spot with the mentality of finishing the game quickly, and made a violent volley, which Lloris could do nothing about. Ferki from France also scored the goal, and in the 14th round, Firmino and Augustus also scored. So the penalty shootout came to the 15th round, and Jesus and Pogba, I don’t know if they agreed in advance or not, one hit the left goal frame and the other hit the right goal frame.

[UN-FUCKING-BELIEVEBALE, the 21st World Cup final is about to usher in the th round of penalty shootouts. This is destined to be a game you will never forget in your life. ]

Round 16, time to end.

Batty had a strong feeling that the game was about to end.

really--

Marquinhos' penalty hit the post again, but Mbappe scored it.

ended.

[This long-lasting penalty shootout is finally over! The French team won the championship! The Brazilian team finally lost in the seemingly impossible penalty shootout, but they still won with honor! ]

Batistuta felt a sense of relief. He sat down on the grass, hugging his knees. He saw the French players taking off their jerseys and waving them wildly, running towards the fan area in front of him.

Are you sad? Sad, but not painful.

It’s not as hard to accept as I imagined.

"Hey, don't be sad honey, you did the best you could."

A shadow fell, and English with a rolled accent sounded. Someone touched his head, and Batistuta subconsciously looked up. It was Giroud.

Should I say thank you?
Batistuta didn't know what attitude to use to deal with the winner's consolation. He didn't want to laugh or agree, but he wasn't angry either, and didn't want to punch Giroud.

He simply pretended not to understand.

Giroud was open-minded. After all, they won, so he didn't say anything else. He rubbed Batistuta's hair and walked away. As soon as he left, Lucas, Pavard, Pogba, and even Griezmann came. The Atletico striker held Batistuta's face and said something to him in a gibberish. Batistuta didn't understand a single punctuation mark. He really didn't understand.

At this time, Mbappe came over and the others tacitly made way for him.

Mbappe squatted in front of Batistuta, tilted his head to look at him, and said nothing.

"What do you want to do?" Batty asked angrily.

"Nothing." Mbappe shrugged. "Finally I won this time." He said with a gloating look.

Batty bit his back teeth with a "crunch".

"Congratulations." He gave Mbappe a smirk. "Now get out of my sight."

"I suddenly remembered a question." Mbappe did not disappear. He scratched his chin and pushed Batistuta's forehead with a finger to make him look at him. "You have the Champions League and I don't. Now I have the World Cup and you don't. Do you want to switch?"

What the hell is this problem?

Before Batistuta could ask him if he was crazy, Mbappe suddenly sneered, and then he said: "No, it's not worth it. The Champions League is every year, but the World Cup is not. Even if you want to, I won't change it."

Batty was so angry that his nose almost got crooked: "You guy——"

Augustus suddenly appeared, picked up Mbappe from behind like pulling a carrot, and threw the confused French star 3 or 5 meters away. Mbappe stumbled a few steps to steady himself, and it took him a long time to understand what Augustus wanted to do, but when he saw him go in front of Batistuta, Mbappe wrinkled his nose and went back to celebrate with his teammates.

Humph, he won after all, Mbappe thought, and he will continue to win in the future.

"What do you want to do now?" Batty asked coldly, "If you want to say that you finally stepped on me, your hard work paid off, and you don't have to look at my back anymore, etc., then I already know. Get out of my sight. I don't want to beat anyone up in front of the whole world."

Augustus didn't say anything, nor did he squat down and look at Batistuta like Mbappe did. He just stood there and started his speech in Portuguese.

Augustus: "You know, when we first met, I wanted you to be mine. When you refused, I wanted you even more. I wanted to see you lose, to see you cry with red eyes, to see you in pain, to see you screaming and begging me... But now that you have really lost and are really sad, I suddenly have no interest anymore."

Ha, what bullshit is this.

Batty rolled his eyes. "What do you want me to answer?"

Augustus: "You don't have to answer my self-analysis. Even if you want to leave, leave now. This is the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. I can't do anything to you."

Of course Batty didn't leave. He wanted to hear what other ridiculous things this guy could say.

Augustus: "I don't know what I want from you, but just now, I saw you sitting here and remembered your arrogant behavior towards Neuer when you played against Germany, and I think I know what I want."

Barty looked at him with raised eyes: "What is it? Tell me so that I, who just lost the final, can be happy."

Augustus looked at him seriously, took a deep breath, and then -

"I want you to trample me."

Batty: ?
"I love your arrogance, your frivolity, your recklessness, I love you for who you are, and I want you to show them only to me." Augustus said obsessively like a madman (Bati: He is), "So, come and humiliate me, hard, and release all your emotions to me!"

What the hell is this extreme masochism?

Batty: ...

"You're a fucking psychopath! Get away! I'm going to apply for a restraining order now, stay away from me!" Battie pushed Augustus away, stood up, turned around and walked towards the player tunnel angrily.

Lucas had been paying attention to the situation here. He was worried about what Augustus would do to Batistuta. Sure enough, his worries were right. Fortunately, Batistuta did not hit anyone, so the incident was not too serious.

"What's said online is true, right? You play football for Batistuta." Lucas walked up to Augustus and asked.

After training with a national team for almost two months, he didn't hate the rumored heir to the Rothschild family that much. He felt that he was just a neurotic person with the common problems of rich families.

"I don't understand. If you like him, just go after him. Why do you always use such annoying methods?" Lucas asked again, "Aren't you good at pretending? Even if you were pretending, you wouldn't make him do this... this."

Augustus was still looking at the direction Batty left. After a few seconds, he shrugged nonchalantly: "At least he is not sad about losing now, right?"

……

Batistuta was ultimately unable to leave the stadium early. He won the Golden Boot with a record-breaking 9 goals. After receiving the silver medal, he had to take a photo with Mbappe, who won the Best Newcomer award.

Luckily he was not alone, Neymar also had to go, he won the World Cup Golden Ball. The three of them took a group photo with only one person smiling.

Batistuta was already angry at Augustus's crazy remarks. Neymar was not feeling well. His eyes were red and his collar was wet. Batistuta guessed that he had just cried.

When he just took the penalty kick, the Paris stars were still comforting him and cheering him up, but when they really lost the World Cup, he was the first to cry.

Over Neymar's shoulder, Batistuta saw Loach, a dark-faced boy standing at the entrance of the player's tunnel waving at him, and next to him was Batistuta's godfather Edmundo, whom he had not seen for a long time.

So Batistuta's words to comfort Neymar just swirled around in his mouth and were swallowed back.

"Ney." He nudged Neymar with his elbow.

"What?" Neymar's voice was very low, as if his voice was hoarse.

"Want to go play?" Batty asked.

Neymar was stunned.

"What?" he repeated.

"I said, I'm very unhappy now. My godfather is here. I'm going to go with him later to drink, dance, play cards, have fun, do love (things to do), and forget today." Batty licked his dry lips, "Will you come?"

(End of this chapter)