[Football] Bad Boy Batty

"So, Manchester United, football, this is the best investment you can think of. I assume you have no idea what you are going to encounter in this industry, just do it based on your passion, right?"

After completing the withdrawal procedures, Augustus de Rothschild was taken back to France overnight and presented to his grandfather, Alexander de Rothschild, the current head of the Rothschild family.

The old man glanced at him, as if he was very dissatisfied with his unusual dress, and took two steps back inconspicuously.

"I know exactly what I'm doing, Grandfather." Augustus patted his sleeves and said confidently, "Since the Glazers bought Manchester United in 05, they have taken the opportunity to repay a lot of debts and doubled their total assets. But if you look at it separately, Manchester United is currently in a serious deficit. This is a bit unprofessional. I can do better."

As the head of a large family, Alexander had no intention of understanding his grandson's investment intentions.

"So, Glazer's offer to you is 36 billion pounds, which is a bit high. Your brother only spent 10 billion US dollars to acquire his first business." He said, "You have to use the start-up funds given to you by the family."

"Yes." Augustus admitted generously, "The best investments are long-term. Time and capital will tell you the answer."

The old man waved his hands impatiently and said, "Don't tell me these useless things. I know your real purpose. You are not the heir, and the family will not interfere with your life. Remember, the family is your greatest support. No matter what you do, the family can help you deal with it as long as you are loyal."

After a pause, he continued: "So go ahead and play, it doesn't matter if you play with a man or a woman, but as long as your last name is Rothschild, you will eventually marry a lady who has passed the screening and give birth to the next generation for the family."

Augustus lowered his head to hide the annoyance on his face.

"Yes, Grandpa."

……

At the same time, Batistuta was still chatting with Neymar, and the content was about this descendant of the Rothschild family.

"Half of the legends about them on the Internet are true, such as the famous party. They have held many such parties, but they were all held in secret. My godfather was invited to attend one of them."

Batty deliberately spoke in a mysterious tone: "He told me that the style of the party was not his cup of tea, and that group of people were like religious people, but their chef was good and made delicious cherry cake."

Neymar is very worried about this, and his worries are mixed with many contents, such as -

According to Batty's description, the youngest son of that family was quite interested in him, and getting involved with them was like falling into a huge whirlpool.

There is also Batistuta's godfather, whom Neymar has met once. The great director is as good-looking as the legend says, but he is a real playboy who doesn't care about anything (except his lovers and his godson).

Now Batistuta can hardly mention his godfather every three sentences, and Neymar is very worried that he will be too influenced.

The boy yawned several times in succession, his eyes half-closed, and the image on the screen began to become unstable, occasionally turning into patterns on the sheets.

So Neymar brought the topic back to football.

"One more thing, Batty, are you ready? For our match."

Batistuta tried to open his eyes, then blinked dazedly: "What game? Against you? Barcelona?"

"Yes, the Champions League group stage, Barcelona and Manchester City, Group C, have you forgotten?" Neymar made his tone dance, "Don't tell me you forgot, I will be sad."

"Oh." Batty suddenly woke up. He shook his head and turned over to lie on the bed. "It's too early for you to be sad. I didn't know anything about this."

Neymar had several question marks on his head. "You don't know?"

"Hmm, I just came to Europe. Guardiola's training is basically focused on the team and the recent game. I haven't heard him talk about the European war."

Batty pushed the hair on his forehead back and asked, "When is the group stage?"

"Soon," Neymar replied. "We're going to play Celtic next week. I remember you guys are the day after."

"Then when is our game, Manchester City vs. Barcelona?" he asked again.

"next month."

"Well, next month -" Batty calculated the time, "will you start then, Ney?"

"I definitely will," Neymar said. In fact, he, Messi and Suarez all will. Messi has been looking forward to that game for a long time. "What about you?"

Batty smiled.

"I will too," he said confidently. "I will go to Guardiola tomorrow morning. There are still five or six games next month, which is enough for me to get a starting spot."

……

The next day, facing Sam Eli's resentful eyes, Battie came to the training ground. There was no training in the morning after the game day, so his destination was the head coach's office.

Coincidentally, Guardiola was looking for him.

Batistuta thought that the only two things the coach wanted to talk to him about were the red card in the Manchester United game and the bar fight last night.

Manchester City executives had already approached him about the latter incident, but since it was Rothschild who took the blame for him in the end, the other party did not scold him much.

After knocking on the door, Guardiola let him in. Unlike other coaches, Guardiola seemed to rarely sit down and work.

"Find a place to sit." Guardiola said while wiping the tactical board. "Don't be nervous. I don't curse often."

"I'm not nervous." Batty sat down on the sofa in the middle and crossed his arms. "In fact, I have something to tell you today."

Guardiola paused as he wiped the whiteboard.

"Oh?" He turned back, "Then you tell me first, let me hear it, I really want to know what you think."

Compared to before, Guardiola is inexplicably calm today.

"——Why do you say that?" Batty frowned. He never liked the feeling of the unknown. "Is it because you want to put me in the reserve team that you want to be nicer? I tell you, that's impossible. I won't go to the reserve team."

Guardiola was very surprised. He had not heard the story of Batistuta like Neymar, so he didn't know why the other party was covered with thorns. But after talking with Arteta and reading some information, the Catalan vaguely touched some fuzzy boundaries.

"I'm not going to put you in the reserve team, Batistuta, you can rest assured about that," he said. "I just want to chat with you today, apart from the experience that you and I both wanted to beat each other, and talk like friends."

"friend?"

Guardiola nodded and said, "Yes, I am your coach, but I should be your friend. Only by understanding you in all aspects and your life can I better formulate tactics and strategies."

Batty didn't quite believe him. "But you came into the lounge and yelled at me last night."

“…I’ve already talked to Arteta about that.” The head coach scratched his head a little embarrassedly, “I was too excited yesterday.”

Seeing Guardiola's sincere attitude, Batistuta relaxed a little.

So the head coach struck while the iron was hot and said, "You must have heard that I am a control freak. Before the game, the players had to listen to my arrangements from food, clothing, housing, transportation to sex life, but that was in the past. I am making progress. If I want to win every game, I have to do that. Do you agree with me?"

That's right, they all want to win.

"I agree." Batty relaxed his arms a little, "But you still can't put me in the reserve team."

Guardiola couldn't help laughing: "Why are you always thinking about the reserve team? I said I won't let you go to the reserve team."

"That would be best." The boy's body was no longer tense. "I came to Manchester City to win the championship. No one and nothing can stop me."

Guardiola nodded in agreement.

Different players have different needs and sometimes need to play different roles, such as father, son, and friend.

For a player as rebellious and sensitive as Batistuta, it is necessary to have an equal conversation with him as a friend.

"Now, tell me why you came to me," Guardiola said.

"No," Batty refused. "You're not finished yet, Mr. Coach."

Guardiola thought for a few seconds: "Okay, what I want to talk about is the game against Manchester United yesterday, you——"

Oh, I knew it was this.

Batty thought gloomily, what friends, what recognition, they were all just preludes, preludes before scolding him.

But he soon found out that he was wrong.

Guardiola's next words surprised him.

"——You did a great job, Batistuta." Guardiola encouraged. "To be honest with you, I let you play just for transition. I didn't expect you to score or change the outcome of the game. Your performance exceeded expectations."

Looking at Batistuta's stunned expression, Guardiola knew he had done the right thing.

He went on to say: "You showed everyone your personal ability and strong team cohesion. Attacking at the last minute seemed like a stupid decision at the time, but you and the team controlled the game. I have to apologize to you for my accusations against you at the time."

This is really——

accident.

Batistuta thought that Guardiola was the first coach who was willing to apologize to him for his mistakes.

"That red card was indeed not right, but what else can I say? Things that make people angry happen from time to time on the court. I can understand that. When I played for Barcelona more than ten years ago, I also got into a fight and got a red card. It's all in the past, so I won't say anything about you."

Guardiola's words continue to shock Batistuta.

"I also asked about the fight you had with someone in the bar that night. It wasn't your fault. First of all, Kun shouldn't have taken you to the rival's bar so early. Secondly, that person did say something excessive. If it were the younger me, I would have punched him and knocked out a few teeth."

"Really?" Batty couldn't help but ask doubtfully.

"Really. When I was playing football, the environment was more relaxed. This kind of thing would only get a small corner in the newspaper, and people would forget about it in two days." Guardiola smiled, "You are only 17 years old, you have unlimited potential... But be careful of the media, they are more annoying than football hooligans."

"...Well, I'll be careful." Batty's attitude was completely different from when he first came in. "Thank you."

Guardiola clapped his hands: "Now I have finished speaking, it is your turn to speak, what do you want to talk to me about?"

"About Loach coming on the bus with us." Batty pursed his lips, "If he gets his nutritionist certification, can you let him come with me?"

Guardiola was a little surprised by this development, but he quickly adjusted himself and said, "Of course, if he can pass the exam, then I can even consider letting him join my team."

"Are you serious?"

"I promise you that."

Facing this difficult young talent, Guardiola showed great tolerance today as he tried to tame him.

However, if everyone at Barcelona saw such behavior a few years ago, they would definitely say that he was biased.

"Anything else, do you have anything else to say?" asked the head coach.

"Yes, the Champions League," Batistuta replied. "Neymar told me we have a game next month. I asked Sam and he said we would play away first. I don't care about that. I just want to start."

Oh, Guardiola slapped his forehead, he almost forgot about this.

"I can't promise you anything, Batistuta, a month is enough time for a lot of things to happen," he said. "Everyone has the potential to start, including you, but you are still growing and can't overwork. Alandes should have told you that it would cause irreversible damage to your body."

Batistuta shrugged: "I can rest and it's okay not to play in the league. The match against Barcelona is very important to me. As you said, there is still a month left."

Guardiola's head started to hurt again, which was not good as he had just mastered the skill of talking to Batistuta.

"I have to think about it, Batistuta. We still have four league games and one Champions League game to go. According to my original plan, you would start in the sixth round against Swansea."

The Catalan grabbed the air above his head again, "Let's wait and see about the rest, okay—"

Just then, footsteps were heard in the corridor and Arteta walked in with bad news.

"Bati has been suspended. The FA just announced that they believe that the red card yesterday was a meaningless revenge, so he will be suspended for three games." He said, "The Internet has exploded. Many people think this decision is stupid... Batty, why don't you look sad or angry at all?"

Of course Batty was not angry, he was even a little grateful for the decision.

"Look, the break is here." The boy said cheerfully, "You can't refuse my request now, Mr. Coach."

Guardiola: …

……

Information on the Internet changes rapidly, and soon people no longer pay attention to Barty's suspension or his affair with the young master of the Rothschild family (perhaps the result of the behind-the-scenes operation of that big family).

A week later, the Champions League kicked off with Manchester City hosting Borussia Mönchengladbach at home.

On that day, Batistuta, who drove a customized Aston Martin to the stadium, once again became a hot topic.

The suspension issued by the English Football Association does not affect the Champions League. In this game, Batistuta came on as a substitute and scored the second highest score of the game with a goal and an assist.

The first was Aguero, who got his second hat trick of the season.

All the players signed this summer made their debut in this first Champions League group match. Guardiola was very satisfied with their performance. In the end, Manchester City defeated Borussia Mönchengladbach 5-0 to get off to a good start in the Champions League.

So far, Manchester City has won all seven games this season.

Then in the 5th, 6th and 7th rounds of the league, Manchester City maintained their good results and the unbeaten record was extended to 10 games.

Jesus made several wonderful passes, and De Bruyne gradually became a world-class midfielder with his outstanding performance.

Then they faced the second focus game of the season.

In the 8th round of the league, Manchester City will challenge Tottenham away.

Since taking office in the 14-15 season, Tottenham head coach Pochettino has gradually completed the transformation of the team. Last season, he beat Manchester City to finish third in the league and brought Tottenham back to the Champions League stage, and even defeated Manchester City both home and away.

The day before the game, both teams released their rosters. People generally thought that Manchester City's roster was both surprising and reasonable.

Because this time Batistuta's name was included in the starting lineup.

[Bati, who just landed in the Premier League this summer, is about to make his first start. Let's wait and see what kind of performance he will bring to the fans at White Hart Lane. ]

In fact, Batistuta's starting lineup this time was not arranged in advance, but because Iheanacho, who was originally playing on the right side, collided with De Bruyne during training and both of them were injured, there were two fewer people in the starting lineup and Guardiola had to re-formulate tactics.

In order to connect the middle, he changed the formation to 4231 and put David Silva in the middle; the defensive line did not change much, still Zabaleta, Stones, Otamendi, and Kolarov; Sterling played as left winger in the frontcourt, Aguero was in the front as the lone striker, and naturally only Batistuta was left on the right.

Batistuta has no objection to this. He is full of energy now and will not show any weakness even if he plays against Barcelona the day after playing against Tottenham.

But Aguero did not look very energetic. From the time they met to the time they got on the bus and then stepped into the away dressing room, he yawned a total of nine times, and Batistuta counted them clearly along the way.

Standing in the player tunnel, Batistuta finally couldn't help his curiosity. He pulled Aguero's wrist and asked, "What did you do last night?"

"what?"

"I was watching YouTube until almost 2am last night, but I wasn't as sleepy as you are." Batty said, "Who did you go to see?"

"Nobody, I've been at home," Aguero said. "I was just - a little concerned about the pictures Leo put up yesterday. He would tell me about all the pictures he put up before, but not yesterday."

Batty was stunned for a moment: "Photo?"

"Yes, it seems that it was a dinner after Barcelona finished a match. Leo invited them to have barbecue. I didn't know anything about this." Aguero said angrily, "I remember that he was fine during the World Cup qualifiers last month. I don't know why he suddenly became... Anyway, I called Leo after seeing it yesterday. He only said two sentences before he answered Suarez's call. He never hung up on me!"

Oh, photos.

Batistuta remembered that Messi did post some photos on Instagram yesterday, Neymar reposted them, and Batistuta liked them.

What he couldn't understand was why he cared so much about it.

"You sound like a nagging woman," Batty said mercilessly. "He does whatever he wants. It has nothing to do with you."

Aguero looked up suddenly, as if he had heard something shocking: "How can you say that? Of course it has something to do with me! Leo is my best friend, he always shares everything with me!"

"But he won't tell you everything."

"Everything, of course!" Aguero reread each word. "Imagine how you would feel if Neymar went to the best nightclub in Barcelona and played all night without telling you."

Batty shrugged lazily and said, "Nothing special. I've only known him for a few months. He can go wherever he wants. There's no need to report to me."

Aguero: …

"Forget it. I can't explain it to you." The Argentine striker waved his hands like he was shooing away a fly. "You are still young. You will understand it later."

after?

Batty curled his lips. He was afraid that he would never understand this inexplicable pursuit of intimacy.

……

It was mid-October and a breeze was blowing through the city of London, so the players put on long-sleeved jackets before the game.

Soon, under the guidance of the referee team, the two teams entered the competition venue. After the captains of both teams shook hands and chose sides, the players came to their respective positions and waited for the start.

As the referee blew the whistle, the game officially began.

【Today's Manchester City performance was not bad, but their opponents performed even better, especially the Korean player Son Heung-min on the front line. He has scored goals in recent games, and fans jokingly call him Sunaldo. 】

Son Heung-min was in really good shape. He went deep into Manchester City's territory right at the start of the game and created opportunities for Tottenham. Fortunately, Stones positioned himself in time and prevented him from dribbling through.

Like Manchester City, Tottenham also fielded a 4231 lineup. Except for the injured Harry Kane, all the main players were on the field.

This is a very "tough" team. Pochettino's style is very similar to Mourinho's Chelsea back then. He uses more long passes and wing attacks, relying on speed and explosiveness to win.

More importantly, this style of play is very effective in restraining passing and controlling the ball.

Especially now that Manchester City is still immature and has not yet mastered Guardiola's passing and control, there is a huge gap between them and the peak Barcelona, ​​and they are missing De Bruyne, an important hub in the midfield.

Just 5 minutes into the game, Manchester City's defense was torn apart by a through ball, which was then quickly transformed into an attack with two passes to the front court.

This situation continued for a long time.

In the 10th minute, the strong midfielder Wanyama directly pushed Fernandinho away and intercepted the ball. It took Tottenham only a few seconds to advance from the middle to the side and then to cross the ball, and Son Heung-min scored in front of the goal.

The ball was passed a little too far and shouldn't have been a threat, but Kolarov made a mistake in clearing the ball and it went straight into his own goal.

【The ball went in! 1-0, Manchester City defender Kolarov scored an own goal! Guardiola's team was almost suffocated by the pressure, and the full-court pressing once again defeated the pass control. 10 minutes into the game, Tottenham took the lead at home. 】

Listening to the cheers of the home fans, Batistuta felt very annoyed.

"What's wrong with you!" he shouted, "Don't just stand there waiting for them to rush over and steal the ball, pass it in advance, pass it!"

Tottenham did not give them a chance to react. Less than 2 minutes after the restart, they attacked from the left again. Son Heung-min's recent form is really amazing. He changed direction to get rid of Stones and shot directly from outside the goal area. Fortunately, Bravo knelt down and blocked the ball with his legs, so that Manchester City's goal was not broken in a short period of time.

Batistuta saw the entire ball because the ball was intercepted from the one he passed to Fernando.

There was no problem with the pass, but two Tottenham players double-teamed Fernando. The Brazilian midfielder couldn't turn around, and he hesitated before passing the ball back to Batistuta or to Sterling. Then the ball was intercepted and sent to the frontcourt.

Batty was furious.

"What are you thinking about? Just pass the ball back." As a Brazilian, he no longer used English. "Don't hang around there. I'm right in front of you!"

It was really embarrassing to be taught a lesson by a kid, Fernando retorted: "Do you think you're safe if you pass the ball back to you? Vertonghen is waiting behind you!"

"I can protect the ball! What about you?" Batistuta waved his hand and said, "You should thank Bravo. Without him you would be a sinner!"

Son Heung-min walked towards the corner flagpole, so Batistuta and Fernando automatically stopped arguing.

"He's going to take a corner kick, go get the spot kick."

Batistuta is not short and he has grown taller since coming to Manchester City. He is now close to 5.9 feet tall. Therefore, in the past half month, Guardiola has specially hired a coach to guide his heading.

"Stand further away and find a good position." The boy said to Sterling and Aguero in the frontcourt, "When I pass the ball to you, run immediately!"

Although Batistuta was the youngest and the newest, the two men still followed his arrangements. Perhaps the aura that burst out from Batistuta at that moment was too great to ignore.

However, Manchester City’s bad luck is not over yet.

After the corner kick, Batistuta got the first point as he said and passed the ball to the front court as he wished. This should have been an excellent counterattack opportunity, but Aguero did not seize it.

Due to the interference of the defender following closely, the Argentine star could not shoot directly. He adjusted his posture several times, giving Tottenham defender Rose time to make a tackle.

The ball returned to Tottenham.

Aguero was tackled hard, but Rose's tackle touched the ball first, so the referee only gave the opponent a verbal warning.

No yellow card, no set piece, it was just a good opportunity, and it was all gone.

Barty was furious, once again.

"You're going to mess with me too? Kun, get Messi out of your head, you should be thinking about how to shoot the ball instead of why your best friend didn't tell you about his party!"

Batistuta's voice was not loud and he did not speak English, but there were several South American players around him. They all heard what he said and then simultaneously cast probing or teasing looks at Aguero.

Aguero, who was exposed in public, had to scratch his hair in embarrassment and quickly left the Tottenham penalty area.

"My fault."

He gestured to his teammates to apologize, and captain Fernandinho gave him a "it's okay, calm down" gesture. Batistuta said nothing more, blew his hair and went back to his seat.

Oops, I made the kid angry, Aguero thought.

He needs to adjust his condition quickly and perform well in the second half, otherwise not only will Leo be cold to him, but Batistuta will also ignore him.

……

After taking the lead, Tottenham adopted a defensive counterattack tactic, but Manchester City's situation did not improve.

In the 37th minute, their goal was lost again.

[2-0! What happened to Manchester City today! ]

This time it was Batistuta's mistake. He retreated too deep and after getting the ball in the middle, he chose to break through by himself. As a result, he was blocked by the opponent. In desperation, he kicked the ball into the air, but he could not see the highness and not the distance. When he headed the ball, he was suppressed by the opponent with his height and body shape, which finally led to Tottenham's counterattack.

Ali got the ball and made a wall pass with Son Heung-min who was returning from the wing. With Manchester City's entire defense line mobilized, Son Heung-min passed the ball straight to Ali who shot from the penalty spot and scored.

Two goals were scored in the first half, which was the biggest and fastest time Manchester City fell behind this season.

……

At the end of the first half, Manchester City temporarily lost 0-2 away.

Everyone in the locker room had a dark cloud over their heads, including Batistuta. He was angry with his teammates and with himself.

"What the hell! What the hell did I just kick!"

He took off his socks and threw his shin guards into an empty corner.

Batista is not shy about pointing out his teammates’ problems, but he is also ruthless about his own mistakes.

Aguero took a sip of water and originally planned to comfort Batistuta, but thinking that he had wasted the opportunity, he ultimately did not say anything.

"Don't be upset, Batistuta, you did a good job in that situation," said Fernandinho.

Everyone knew that their underage teammate was a powder keg, and that encouragement-based education was more effective with him.

"We didn't do well enough, this wasn't who we are, we passed the ball too slowly and gave the opponent too many chances, but we still have the second half."

Batty blew his lips and made a "beep" sound, which was considered as accepting the captain's comfort.

"He should be upset because the counterattack goal was intercepted from under his feet."

Fernando, who was re-applying muscle tape, suddenly interrupted. He rolled up the replaced tape into a ball and threw it on the ground, then looked at the captain: "To be honest, who here hasn't experienced falling behind, but there is only one person who keeps complaining. I thought it was strange that there was no pressure because De Bruyne was not on the court today."

Batty was unhappy when he heard this: "Who are you calling the stress monster?"

"Everyone knows who I'm talking about. I didn't mention any names." Fernando shrugged. "Why, did you bring him in?"

This is humiliating.

Fernando wanted to embarrass him in front of the entire team, but Batistuta thought that was impossible.

He stood up and walked in front of his Brazilian compatriot, saying with all his might: "You are so shameless. In the first half, I was trying hard to find chances to score. The same thing happened to A-Kun. He was not in good shape, but he was also trying hard. What about you? You were shopping."

"Pressure monster? You kicked like a piece of shit and you won't let me say anything? Do you want me to shout that your neighborhood-level pass was brilliant? Then when the game is over, we have to give you a medal and worship you like a god. Are you satisfied with that?"

Batistuta glanced around and then turned his gaze to everyone: "Guess what, I think today's Tottenham can be called 'passing and controlling' because they not only passed the ball but also controlled the situation. We simply couldn't keep up with the rhythm and could only block their shot at the last moment. Doesn't anyone feel passive?"

"I am responsible for the second goal, I admit it, but what about the defense? I have never seen such a bad defense. Ali made a run forward, and Kolarov was right next to him but you didn't do anything to defend. What were you thinking? Did you think there was no need to save the ball?"

No one spoke in the entire away locker room, including the assistant coach and the team doctor. Today, they finally witnessed the true horror of this kid Batty.

No one could interrupt him, and no one could point out his mistakes because what he said was true.

……

At the same time, there was a heated discussion on the forum.

58L
It was so ugly. I've been watching football for so many years, but I've never seen Guardiola's team play like this. They couldn't attack, and they couldn't defend. Batistuta's mistake was simply ridiculous, and the defense was so terrible!
59L
Why are you calling Batistuta baby? The goal had nothing to do with him. It was an own goal and a missed man. Batistuta is a striker, you can't ask him to run halfway around the field to defend.

60L
Batistuta made a mistake, no one said anything, but he is too independent. The mistake was obviously caused by himself. If he had passed the ball to Silva or Aguero earlier, he wouldn't have been trapped. It was mainly a defensive problem. Kolarov was outrageous in this game, wandering around the world and sleepwalking on the court.

61L
It's strange, isn't this game about tactical suppression? Why are they starting to confront the players one by one?

……

It turns out that only a few people remain rational when faced with difficulties.

Listening to Batistuta's crazy output, Fernando turned his head away and pounded his thigh in anger at himself.

Just then, Guardiola clapped his hands and walked into the locker room.

"Stop complaining to each other and just listen to me."

The already suffocating feeling in the air became even heavier. Everyone held their breath and glanced nervously back and forth between Batistuta and the head coach.

But the bad situation did not happen.

To everyone's surprise, when he saw Guardiola coming in, Batistuta shut up and sat back in his seat, and Guardiola didn't say anything about Batistuta.

The Catalan stood in the middle of the room and encouraged his players: "We play for the future of the team, in order to finally hold the trophy. Everyone wants to be a champion, everyone! Tottenham is a strong team, we must overcome!"

Guardiola's speech was as passionate as ever.

"We have four trophies to win this season, don't concede any goals! Everyone, control the ball and the situation! I believe you are all world-class players."

Soon, the emotions of almost all the players were aroused.

Almost all.

And it refers to——

All players except Batistuta.

At this moment, Batistuta was stuck in bad memories. He remembered the last time he did this, when he was with the Brazilian Olympic team.

The head coach was furious that time, and Neymar was also angry, because he couldn't control himself...

"Hey, Barty, look at me, Barty!"

Guardiola's voice woke Batistuta up, and he realized that the half-time break was almost over. The players were walking onto the field, and the head coach was hugging his neck and looking at him closely with concern.

Batty was stunned. "What?" he answered subconsciously.

"You did a great job. I want you to remember that it's not your fault that you lost the ball. You are responsible for the offense. Scoring the goal is your ultimate goal. Do you understand?"

Guardiola kept repeating like a brainwash: "You did very well. We didn't have many chances in the first half. In the second half, you have to stay the same. It might be better to retreat a little to the middle. It doesn't matter. Play well. Silva will pass the ball to you. If he doesn't pass it to you, call him. You are the most important. Do you understand?"

Batty's ears were gradually blocked by something, and then burst in an instant.

Seeing that he was standing there, Guardiola gave him a big hug and then reached out to ruffle his hair.

"You have the ability to change the outcome, Barty, I believe in you, everyone here believes in you, you have to believe in yourself."

Guardiola finally held Batistuta's face in his hands, his eyes firm and serious: "I always tell others how good Messi is. Now I want to tell you that you are as good as him, and you may even surpass him. Remember, don't let your emotions control you, you are the master."

Batty took two quick breaths.

Guardiola, he, he is, he wants to -

Batistuta had never met such a coach, no, he had never met such a person, who told him so directly how good and how good he was at playing football.

No, no, that's not right.

Those hot guys and girls regarded him as a treasure, and they praised him with more exaggerated words -

"You will surpass Pele!" "No one can compare to you, Batistuta!" "Battie, we love you, you are unique!"

But the ten or even a hundred words from those people could not compare to what Guardiola said to him in just a dozen seconds.

Suddenly, Batty thought of Loach again, the boy who trusted him unconditionally.

And Neymar, he also believed in him and was so nice to him even though they had only known each other for a few months.

The same goes for Aguero. He has known Aguero for less time than Neymar, but he always tolerates him and did not lose his temper with him even though he just yelled at him on the court.

Batistuta thought of Jesus, Sam Eli, Alandes and Fernandinho again.

So many people care about him and pay attention to him, so what kind of results should he show in return?

"Go ahead, get on the court, come on, Batty."

Guardiola gave Batistuta a big kiss on the forehead through his hair.

"Show them that you will not be defeated, ever."

Batty nodded.

The young man returned to the court with a sacred mission.

Something is different.

……

【One goal back! Manchester City seemed to have regained their spirits in the second half. In the 63rd minute, Silva passed the ball, Aguero’s shot was blocked, and Batistuta followed up with a successful shot. 2-1, Tottenham should be careful! 】

The commentator in the studio was right. Tottenham really needs to be careful. Any mistake may be seized by Manchester City, who can then equalize the game in the way they are most familiar with.

Unfortunately, Pochettino, who was aware of Manchester City's changes, asked the players to retreat and put out an iron-blooded lineup to defend tightly, which greatly reduced Manchester City's chances.

Soon, regular time ended and the game entered injury time.

The referee only gave 2 minutes.

There is not much time left for Manchester City.

Time passed by minute by minute, and soon it was the last chance. The Tottenham striker shot high and Manchester City got a goal kick.

"Go forward! Batistuta!" Silva pointed to the middle and said to the wing to confuse the opponent, "Bravo! This way!"

Bravo kicked the ball accurately to Silva, who shook off the Tottenham player and passed the ball directly to Batistuta, who had only one defensive player next to him.

The boy abandoned his usual fancy dribbling skills and rushed forward at high speed. He brought the ball to the baseline, made an abrupt stop and turned, and actually used his unfamiliar left foot to pass the ball to the middle before falling.

"A-kun!"

Aguero followed up with a shot.

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion, with Batty hitting the turf and the ball rushing into the net.

[The ball goes in! Manchester City equalizes with Heat at the last minute - wait, the linesman raised the flag, Aguero is offside? ]

[beep——]
The whistle sounded and the referee confirmed the commentator's words.

Aguero was in an offside position at the moment of passing the ball, so the goal was invalid!

Batistuta looked up at the linesman in disbelief. Aguero held his head and shouted "Impossible" and tried to explain the situation to the referee, but it was too late. The referee had already blew the whistle and the result could not be changed.

The whole audience was silent for a second, and then erupted into crazy celebration.

Tottenham Hotspur held on to their three points at home and ended Manchester City's unbeaten streak this season.

"Damn it!" Batty lowered his head and angrily grabbed a handful of grass and threw it away, "How come it's offside!"

[This is football. You never know the result until the last second. What a damn charm.] The commentator sighed, [Winning and losing are common in the military. I hope Batistuta won't be frustrated. He is still young and has a long way to go.]

Batistuta was still lying on the court, looking at the grass with his fists clenched. Suddenly, a shadow fell.

"Come, I'll pull you up."

Batistuta looked up, the Argentine star's white socks still bearing stains from the confrontation, and he bent over and stretched out his hand.

"It's just one game, it's nothing." Aguero said, "Come on, we can win it back soon."

The boy was stunned for a long time, and suddenly burst out laughing.

Then he grabbed the other person's hand and used it to stand up.

"Well, it's just a loss." He hugged Aguero, "It's no big deal, I can just win it back next time."

The corners of Aguero's mouth curved wider, he patted the back of Batistuta's head, and then kissed him on the cheek.

"Let's go back."

……

Things should have ended here happily. Manchester City learned a lesson, Batistuta gained experience, and Guardiola did not criticize them. Instead, he tried his best to defend his players when facing media questions.

But just three days after the game, Batistuta received a ticket on the training ground from Tottenham Hotspur Football Club.

The ticket stated that because of his irrational behavior (pulling the grass), the grass at their home ground was damaged, so he had to pay a fine of 3k pounds.

Batty: ...

Everyone present rushed out together, and it took nearly seven minutes to stop Batistuta who was about to go to the Tottenham management to "argue".

"The fine for me? I only pulled out a few weeds, not even as much as their own defenders scooped up!"

In order to appease the thorny Batistuta who was about to explode, Guardiola used a big move: "Don't be impulsive, Batistuta, calm down, I agree that you will start when playing against Barcelona!"

In an instant, the world stopped.

And Batty suddenly turned back into the happy boy he was.

"Oh! That's great! Hey Kun, did you hear that? I can start!"

other people:……

"The coach is biased!"

hiss--

Something seems to be wrong, and I always feel like I'm being tricked.

Guardiola scratched his head and could only swallow his tears as the autumn wind in Manchester gradually cooled.

So what if your own child is a little bastard? You can only spoil him.

(End of this chapter)