[Football] Bad Boy Batty

[Beautiful! Very thoughtful and entertaining dribbling! Our Batistuta passed through his own crotch and the crotch of two defenders in succession, and finally scored the ball into the dead corner! 4-0, 30 minutes left, Brazil is sure to win! The iron bucket formation didn't work, Bolivia didn't cause any trouble for our boys! Cheers! ]

[The ball went in again! Two goals in just 7 minutes! Neymar was on a killing spree. They wanted to irritate him with fouls, but it didn't work. In front of the Premier League defenders, Venezuela's defense was nothing! 6-1, Brazil easily won 3 points again! ]

[In the last round of the group stage, Neymar and Batistuta did not start, and the captain Alves stood up, 2-0! The players danced in the "Fortnite" dance on the sidelines. They uphold the tradition of their predecessors, and the atmosphere in the team is quite harmonious! Brazil won all the group games and entered the quarter-finals! We can't wait to play Argentina! ]

……

The weather in Brazil in early winter is pleasant. The temperature and humidity are just right for the players sweating on the field. Except for the occasional bright sunlight that shines through the open-air stadium onto the grass, making it difficult for people to open their eyes, it is perfect.

June and July are the peak tourist seasons in Brazil, and with the support of several top football stars during the America's Cup, almost every game was sold out. While the Brazilian Football Association was happy with the team's excellent performance, it was also very happy to see the skyrocketing profits.

A total of 2019 teams participated in the 12 Brazil America's Cup. In order to expand the influence and increase the broadcast ratings of the game, in addition to Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Colombia and other teams under the South American Football Confederation, the organizing committee also invited Japan and Qatar to participate.

As the host country, Brazil was placed in Group A with Bolivia, Venezuela, and Peru. The players were in good shape and the three teams did not cause them much trouble.

Brazil is not the only team to win all its group games. Colombia in Group B and Uruguay in Group C also won all three games and entered the quarterfinals with 9 points. However, in comparison, Brazil won all of their games by large margins, and its terrifying strength of 8 goals per game far exceeded that of the other two undefeated teams.

Therefore, Brazil is well ahead with odds of [1.6], followed by Argentina, who despite losing to Colombia in the group stage, are still offered odds of [3.1] with Messi at their disposal.

On the Golden Boot list, the Barcelona superstar is still far ahead, with odds of 4.0 firmly sitting in first place. Behind him is Batistuta, and Neymar is right next to him. Their odds are very close, one is 5.5 and the other is 5.8.

"Honestly, that's a low ranking, for both of us," quipped Barty, who was leaning over the edge of the pool doing slow-twitch exercises in the chilly water.

There are several swimming pools in the Brazilian national team's training base. The one he is using now is specially for the players after the game. There are several bicycles fixed at the bottom in the middle, and there are hooks for weight straps on the side.

"Maybe." Neymar did not comment on this question. He had just finished a massage. In yesterday's match against Peru, a defensive player tackled him fiercely. Although the examination results showed that there was no major problem with the muscles and bones of his ankle, the coaches did not arrange any weight-bearing training for him just in case.

"Do you hope to rank high, Batistuta?" Neymar sat down by the swimming pool with his legs in the water, apparently intending to accompany Batistuta to complete his last set of training.

"Golden Boot ranking?" Batty stroked his wet hair. "No, I hope I can be ranked last. Think about Ney. The odds are 75. I took out my week's salary to bet on myself. How much money would that be!"

"Haha! This is a good dream." Neymar laughed, "If they really give you such high odds, I will also bet on you and give you assists."

"That way we can have a lot of money to have fun! A cruise party at sea, I've been thinking about it for a long time." Batty looked up and whistled, "Unfortunately I only have 5.5. Even if I bet more, the rate of return is too low."

"Speaking of this--" Neymar reached out and splashed some water on Batistuta's head, "Where do you want to go on vacation when we win?"

"I just told you, sea cruise!"

“There are so many oceans in the world, you have to choose one to go on a cruise.”

"I don't know, haven't decided yet, maybe Greece?"

Batistuta shook his head and used the water splashing from his hair to take a small revenge on Neymar. At this time, the coach on the shore told him that this set of training was over and he could get out of the water.

"My godfather is very busy this year, and I don't plan to go to him and cause him trouble. Pep asked us to go back at the end of July, and we will have a lot more free time. So I have to ask Neymar what he thinks." Batistuta climbed out of the swimming pool and told Neymar his thoughts seriously.

"Do you have any good suggestions?" he asked.

"Of course." Neymar also stood up from the edge of the swimming pool, "Have you ever thought about hanging out with me?" After a pause, Neymar added a modifier, "Alone, just the two of us."

Batty wiped his face with a towel and looked over in surprise: "You want me to abandon the loach, that's impossible."

"You don't always take him everywhere with you."

"I often do that." Batistuta said. Of course, Loach is just an excuse. He doesn't always have to take Loach out to play. He also has his free time. It's just that this holiday is special. Considering the harmony and stability within Manchester City next season, he can no longer take Neymar with him to the World Youth Championship as blatantly as he did in the past two years.

"We can go play together, and you can bring other people, such as your sister, Medina, Ganso and others." In order to make himself appear more natural and sincere, Batty added.

Neymar deliberately put on a serious face: "I feel like you understand what I mean, but you pretend not to understand. I want to go out with you alone, alone, without Loach, without Rafina, and without anyone else."

"Why do you think so?" Batty put on his most innocent expression, "God is my witness, I don't."

"You don't want to hang out with me." Neymar raised the question to another level, "Don't you like me anymore?"

"Hey! I didn't say that. You thought so yourself." Batty pointed a finger to emphasize, "I just want the cruise ship to be more lively. If you don't like 'outsiders', then I'll call some of our own people, such as Luki and Kevin. What do you think?"

"W-oh, you're threatening me?"

"Why, don't you think so?"

Over there, Neymar and Batistuta started arguing as if no one was around, arguing about where to go on vacation. The argument became increasingly meaningless and childish. In the end, they even forgot what the original topic was and simply arguing for the sake of refuting each other.

The coach forgotten in the corner: ...I know you have a good relationship, but don't show off like this. I don't want to have a big meal before dinner, and the group stage has just ended. There is also the mountain of Argentina standing in the way. Have you forgotten the South American derby? Now you are discussing where to go after winning. Aren't you too confident?

Of course, no matter how rich the coach's inner thoughts are.

No one cares whether he lives or dies.

……

At 8 o'clock in the evening, Tite organized a night training for the players. After that, they had to go to the meeting room. Their next opponent was Paraguay, which was known for its tough style of play. At that time, they would sit in a circle and listen to the head coach's explanation of tactics and his passionate speech before the game.

The tactics are still the same old ones. The current Brazilian team has a luxurious forward line that is enough to destroy the defense of most teams. The three big scores in the group stage are the best examples.

As for the speech, Batty prefers to call it "chicken soup for the soul".

Just before 9 o'clock, they finished their outdoor training, and before entering the meeting room, Batty went to the bathroom to flush.

Everything is the same as usual.

until--

"Ok?"

Batty stared at the dryer with his freshly washed hands hanging down. There was a "Damaged" note on it. His eyes moved to the shelf next to it. Unfortunately, it was empty.

The cleaning man must have fallen asleep again, he thought. Since he arrived at the training base, he has seen him snoring next to the cleaning car three times in total.

The problem is not big.

Just as Batistuta was about to shake his hands or wipe the water off his pants, Richarlison walked in. "Hi Batistuta!" He greeted enthusiastically, "What are you and Ney planning tonight? We want to go to your room to party. Yesterday at Dani's place, his stinky socks were everywhere, and I almost fainted."

Batty rolled his eyes.

what!
Don’t we have towels already?

"Hey Rich, come here." Batty waved his hands and called out as naturally as possible.

Richarlison was a little confused, but he went over anyway.

"what happened?"

"No, I mean - of course, Neymar and I welcome everyone." Batistuta patted his arm and wiped the water on his sleeve. "I want to thank you. On the training ground, I saw that you adapted very well and got along well with everyone. You have contributed a lot to the pleasant atmosphere in our team!"

"Do you really think so?" Richarlison was flattered. He didn't notice Batistuta's little thoughts at all. The touch in his eyes was almost overflowing. "Thank you, Batistuta, you don't know how happy I am!"

"No, I'm the one who should be happy." Batty smiled and gave him a hug. Richarlison was much taller than him, so he hugged him and wiped the water on his hands on his back. "We are lucky to have you."

He hugged him several times, and when his hands were dried, he let go of this naive (stupid) teammate with satisfaction.

"Good job, keep going." Batty patted Richarlison's arm again and slapped him on the back of the neck teasingly, "I'm rooting for you."

After saying that, he left the bathroom humming a song.

Only Richarlison was left standing in front of the mirror, excitedly recalling Batistuta's praise for him, and his face became redder and redder.

After a while, Jesus also came in.

As soon as I walked in, I saw my teammates grinning at the mirror.

"Rich?" He walked over tentatively, "What's wrong with you?"

Richarlison had no intention of stopping at all. He kept smiling foolishly and turned his head to look at Jesus.

"Hey, he praised me!"

"Alas--"
Jesus shook off the goosebumps on his body and jumped away quickly.

When he finished using the toilet, Richarlison was still there smiling at himself in the mirror.

Jesus: ...
Jesus: Is this kid possessed by evil spirits?
(End of this chapter)