[Football] Bad Boy Batty

After finishing various activities, new signing Batista officially joined Manchester City training.

There is still a week to go before the fourth round of the Premier League, and many media have already started warming up and preparing headlines for the day's reports.

Of course, this is not entirely because of Batistuta. In the fourth round of the league, Manchester City will visit Old Trafford to face Manchester United. The derby between the two teams has always been one of the most watched games in the Premier League, second only to Manchester United and their arch-rivals Liverpool.

At the beginning of the century, Manchester United once dominated the Premier League, leaving all its rivals far behind, but after the departure of head coach Sir Alex Ferguson, Manchester United almost never recovered and has not won any championship to this day.

With the influx of capital, the Premier League has gradually begun a major change.

This season, Manchester United has also made great efforts in recruiting players, spending 1.5 million pounds to introduce Swedish striker Ibrahimovic, Dortmund midfielder Mkhitaryan, defensive tough guy Bailly, and their top target, B2B midfielder Pogba.

Compared to Manchester City, Manchester United seems to be particularly fond of European players.

Therefore, whether the Latin-style passing and controlling will win the game or the European tough defensive counterattack will be better has become a hotly discussed topic among fans.

In addition to the historical connection between the two teams, the showdown between the two head coaches is also highly anticipated.

The relationship between Mourinho and Guardiola has been talked about since five years ago. After Manchester United officially announced Mourinho's move to Old Trafford this summer, the two's old story was once again brought up for ridicule.

The online discussion is in full swing. Of course, a considerable number of fans (whose composition is unknown) want to know most whether Batistuta can play.

1L
Forget it. That kid is only 17 years old and has just landed in Europe. He should be happy to get half the playing time. Do you expect him to score 5 goals in a single game in the Premier League? Guardiola is not stupid. He can't let a young player who is not yet an adult play in such an important game. It will be a very good level for Batistuta to adapt to the rhythm by next season. City fans should not expect too much from him.

2L
Guardiola will definitely let him go. He has just arrived in the Premier League and is in the running-in period with the team. The main lineup is not clear yet, and he still needs to try it out step by step. What's wrong with being 17 years old? Messi was already killing it in the Champions League at the age of 17, so BBB will definitely be able to do it too.
Of course, it is impossible for him to start, but it should be no problem to give him 5 or 6 minutes of playing time, right?

3L
Are you Guardiola or Ben Gua above me?
Don't always guess what others are thinking. It may sound reasonable, but in fact it's not true.
Little Batistuta can't even speak English clearly. If you let him go up like this, is it him who is kicking the ball, or is the ball kicking him?

4L
Wait a minute??? Who is BBB? Why can’t I understand?

5L
Batty, that's what people call him on the Internet, Bad Boy Batista, or BBB for short
……

Thousands of miles away in the UK, Batistuta knew nothing about the fans' discussions and was not interested in whether he could play for the time being. He was busy participating in his first training session at Manchester City.

At the Etihad training ground, head coach Guardiola was standing at the door of the locker room with an angry face. Standing there with him was his good friend and assistant coach Mirko Arteta.

At 9:29 am and 59 seconds left, Batty arrived in front of them at the last second.

"Good morning, gentlemen." The light-haired boy smiled brightly, seemingly not noticing the coach's long face (or perhaps he didn't care at all). "Why are you all standing at the door? Didn't we say we would have video analysis and targeted training today?"

Guardiola was stunned.

Doesn't this kid feel that he made any mistakes at all?

"Yes, today we are going to analyze the video of the last game, as well as the lap stealing and specific training for individuals." Arteta smiled at Batistuta, "Come in quickly, your locker is next to Akun."

After getting the nod, he nodded to Batistuta, hummed a song, walked around the petrified Guardiola and walked into the locker room.

About half a minute later——

Guardiola finally came to his senses. He waved his hands in anger: "How dare this kid be late for his first training session, Mikel, have you ever seen anyone do this before?"

"Poco, strictly speaking, he's not late." Mikel Arteta pointed at his watch and said in a joking tone: "We started training at 9:30 and he just arrived on time."

On-site training.

Even Messi, the little flea who gave him the most headache back then, never dared to do so.

Guardiola was so angry that he was speechless. He scratched his scalp and suddenly had the urge to pull his hair again.

……

Batistuta sat down in front of the cabinet with his poster on it. This was his first time entering the locker room of the training base. All the first-team players were in the room and they welcomed Batistuta's arrival.

Other signings such as Gundogan, Sane, and Stones all joined before the start of the season, and the welcome party ended long ago.

Jesus, who was not far away, waved to Batistuta. His wardrobe was located opposite Batistuta.

"They all like you, Batistuta, don't think too much." Aguero punched Batistuta's shoulder with his fist. "The next game is very important. When it's over and we're a little more relaxed, we'll have a party to welcome you."

Batistuta nodded. Of course he wouldn't have any opinion about his teammates because he wasn't that selfish.

Aguero is located on the right side of Batistuta, while the owner of the cabinet on the left is Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City's best player last season.

De Bruyne is a Belgian who plays as a midfielder. Batistuta has heard about him from Neymar. They discussed him in the Barcelona locker room last season. Iniesta believes he has the potential to become a new midfield master.

He didn't seem to be a talkative person. After a simple handshake with Batty, he went about his own business. Batty had never met anyone who was so cold to him, and his curiosity was aroused.

"Come on, Batistuta, we should go to the cinema." Aguero stood up and said to Batistuta, "It's a bit winding there, follow me, or we'll get lost."

"The screening room?"

"To be precise, it's the Video Analysis and Tactical Arrangement Room," Aguero said, spreading his hands. "But the name is too long and hard to remember, and it's like a movie theater, so we just call it the Screening Room."

When Batty arrived at the screening room, he found that it was just as he had described, similar to a small private cinema.

Aguero likes the first row, with Batistuta sitting right next to him and Sam Eli next to Batistuta, ready to interpret for him at any time.

Soon, the lights in the room were turned off, and the big screen lit up, with the video of Manchester United's last round of games appearing on it.

Guardiola strode in front of the screen with confidence. He had already thought of a way to deal with Batistuta. This kid must be taught a lesson, otherwise he might become a thorn in the side again.

And this method is——

"I'm sorry, Mr. Eli, I have to ask you to leave here."

Take away his translator.

The head coach said calmly but firmly: "The upcoming derby is crucial. Some information must be kept confidential. I don't mean to distrust you. This is the rule."

Sam Eli was stunned, he never thought he would be cleared out for this reason. But soon, he saw the Catalan's wink at him, and he realized that this was aimed at Batistuta.

"Is this really okay?" he asked. (English)

"It doesn't matter." Guardiola nodded. "I'm the head coach. Everything here is up to me."

The translator hesitated for a while, and finally grabbed her handbag and left the screening room quickly like a rabbit, leaving Batty there confused.

"You drove away my translator." The boy looked at Guardiola, "What should I do if you speak in English later?"

"Please remove the if. Of course I will express it in English." Guardiola said with a smile, "As for what to do if you don't understand, my suggestion is to seize the time to learn English well. It's not difficult. Okay, everyone, pay attention here. Let's talk about Manchester United's favorite offensive and defensive tactics in recent rounds of games."

Batty: ?
Even someone as strong as Batistuta cannot overcome the language barrier.

Aguero's English was also very poor, but he had been in the UK for a few years and could more or less understand the coach's arrangements. Therefore, with Aguero's help, Batistuta was able to follow reluctantly.

Near the end of the game, Guardiola finally switched back to Spanish, but the news he brought was "bad news".

"——Players from non-English speaking countries must learn English well. There is no room for negotiation. At Christmas at the end of the year, the club will organize a unified test for you. Those who fail the test will not be able to enter the big list."

There are many foreign players in the team, but everyone knows that Guardiola is talking to Batistuta.

"Christmas? Test?" Batty couldn't believe his ears. "What should I do?"

"You are just like everyone else, Batistuta." Guardiola smiled kindly, "That's not difficult. You just need to be familiar with a few common words and phrases."

Batty was indignant and wanted to say something.

"What's wrong, Batistuta?" Guardiola spoke before he could. "Do you think you are not good enough and are afraid that you will not be able to practice English before Christmas and will lose the qualification for the squad?"

No?

How could Batista not be able to do it?

"Of course not, I will definitely practice English before then." Batty raised his chin and said proudly, "Just wait and see, I will do it."

……

Despite his statement, Batistuta was once again defeated by the language barrier during the afternoon training.

He and De Bruyne were put in the same group. They ranked last in the circle-grabbing training and were intercepted the most times.

It was all Batistuta's fault for not understanding English. Even the most basic words like 'left, right, fast, slow' took him a while to react, which also led to De Bruyne being stabbed in the crotch.

Amid the good-natured laughter, the Belgian rolled his eyes at him.

So Batistuta's interest in De Bruyne only lasted one day and ended abruptly. At the end of the training, he even hated to see that face.

"I swear to God, this is the worst performance I've ever had." Batty lay on his back on the grass of the training ground, covering his eyes with his right hand. "From the age of 5 to today, there is no other."

A shadow fell.

"Don't say that. Your test results are quite good. Without a language barrier, you only conceded one goal in the first 15 minutes, and that goal was snatched away by David Silva. You know, he is known as the best signing in the team's history."

Batistuta opened one eye and looked at the man who was speaking. He was the assistant to Manchester City's technical analyst, a college graduate named Arandez Benito, a Spaniard with a cheerful personality and messy brown curly hair.

"I thought the best signing in the team's history was Akun," Batistuta said. "That famous 9320, the 93-minute 20-second buzzer-beating goal that sent Manchester City to the championship throne, wasn't it?"

Alandes clicked the ballpoint pen twice: "Of course, Aguero is also a very important signing for us. Without him, there would be no championship. But I personally still prefer Silva - don't tell him, just keep it a secret between us."

Batty smiled, feeling a little better.

The next second, Aguero, the central figure the two had just talked about, walked over here, waving as he walked, and it seemed that he was looking for Batistuta.

Batty sat up, propped his hands behind his back, and tilted his head to look at him.

"what happened?"

After greeting Alandez, Aguero said to Batistuta: "The teacher asked me to take you to class. They found an oral teacher for you."

"Are you going to play today?" Batty asked.

Aguero nodded.

"It was supposed to be a few days later, but the head coach notified the teacher to move up the time. He wants you to learn the common command phrases and words in the game. If you can't remember them before the derby with Manchester United, he will send you to the reserve team."

Batty narrowed his eyes, and the aura around him became dangerous.

"Reserve?"

He rolled up his sleeves.

"Don't be impulsive, Barty!"

Alandez and Aguero hugged Batistuta together, which prevented the teenager from rushing into the head coach's office to question him during the first training session.

"There's still a week left, Batistuta. It's not too late." Aguero touched Batistuta's back to comfort him. "We will help you, right, Alan."

"Yes, we will help you remember it." The analysis assistant agreed, "Don't worry, you won't be sent to the reserve team."

Batti broke free from the two men's grip, blew the hair on his forehead, and raised his middle finger to the sky.

Just like that, the first contest between the individual player and the famous football coach ended with Guardiola's complete victory.

(End of this chapter)