[Football] Bad Boy Batty

The news that Tite resigned as head coach of the Brazilian national team immediately caused a sensation in the football world. It happened very suddenly and many people expressed their incomprehension.

Most national team coaches leave their posts after failing to achieve satisfactory results in international or continental competitions, but at this point in time, Tite has neither let the Brazilian team suffer a defeat that shocked public opinion, nor exposed any sensitive scandals. For many fans who don't pay much attention, Tite's sudden resignation is as shocking as when Cristiano Ronaldo announced his departure from Real Madrid.

Many conspiracy theories have arisen from this.

That night Batistuta received and made countless calls, but in the end he only knew the truth three hours earlier than the public. The next day, Tite himself attended a press conference to announce the reason.

There is no special conspiracy. Tite's resignation was only due to changes in his personal life. Family reasons and internal struggles in the Football Association gave him the opportunity to join the Brazilian Sports Ministry. After considering many aspects, he decided to fight for opportunities for his career.

Otherwise there is no way he would leave the team just one year after winning the America's Cup.

At the press conference, some reporters expressed their concerns about the future of the Brazilian team. At present, the domestic epidemic in Brazil continues, the World Cup qualifiers are about to begin in October, and in the near future they will also face the 10 America's Cup and the 2021 World Cup. I don't know if changing coaches at this juncture will affect the stability of the team.

The Brazilian Football Association is optimistic. A spokesperson said that they will actively look for a successor, which may not be confined to domestic situations. The team's opinions will be sought for specific situations. Before that, Tite's assistant will serve as the interim head coach in order to meet the minimum requirements for stable qualification in the World Cup qualifiers.

Over the weekend, Batistuta invited all Brazilian players currently playing in the Premier League to a party at his home (except those who were sick, injured or infected with the coronavirus) to discuss issues regarding the team's head coach.

This should have been a small, serious meeting, but everyone seemed to have mistakenly thought it was an entertaining party, and the topic kept lingering on games, beach beauties, and nightclubs.

"Hurry up and log in, Batistuta! You're the only one missing!" Richarlison was lying on the back of the sofa like a frog, waving his phone at Batistuta. He is a loyal fan of "PUBG Mobile", even though he is not very good at it.

Is this what you are called here for?
Barty rolled his eyes.

Martinelli behind him turned on the switch of the colored balls and shouted as he rushed into the crowd of people who were cheering. He arrived in England last year and plays as a winger. He scored 10 goals and 3 assists for Arsenal last season. In the just-concluded Tokyo Olympics, he won the Olympic gold medal again with the Brazilian Olympic team and performed brilliantly.

"Come on! The policy has finally been relaxed and we can have a gathering, so don't be so tense. It's a pity that Tite has left, but I believe the team will not be affected. We are the American champions!" Richarlison screamed.

"Yes, yes! Pigeon is right!" Others echoed, "You have to choose between call girls and games!"

It seems that the players and the Football Association are equally optimistic.

Batty blew his bangs on his forehead, and under the encouragement of the crowd, he released his hedonistic personality, took out his dedicated gaming phone and jumped into the crowd.

It's just a change of coach, there's nothing to worry about.

The party ended, and naturally no decent results were reached in the end. The only thing that was agreed upon was that everyone agreed to pay for a custom-made set of watches and rings with national team elements as a farewell gift for Tite.

……

On the last day of September, the league kicked off with Manchester City facing Leicester City at home.

Neymar tested negative and returned to training. Considering the sequelae, Guardiola wanted to let him rest for a while to recover, but Neymar expressed a strong desire to play. After a private chat, Guardiola still put him in the starting lineup.

"Are you sure you're okay, Ney? Many players who have recovered from COVID-1 said it would affect their bodies for at least a month and a half."

In the player tunnel, at the end of the team, Batistuta crossed his arms and spoke to Neymar in a skeptical tone.

"I can. You have to trust the medical team's judgment. They have won the Premier League's best medical team award." Neymar replied briskly, and then he helped Batistuta put on the captain's armband. "Don't worry, Pep has agreed that I'm back. He is sure."

That's what I say, but——

Batty cleared his throat: "Anyway, don't hold on."

Neymar was amused by this. He pulled Batistuta's collar and rubbed his short light-colored hair. "You don't need me to tell you. I knew this a few years ago. If there is a problem, I will go down by myself." He said, "It's not a critical moment for me to play. Staying healthy is the most important thing."

"Thank you for your concern though. Considering how little we've talked recently, I thought you had forgotten about me," Neymar joked.

"Don't give me that. We talk every day. I even slept with you connected to the microphone when you had a fever. Last week, I had a party and you insisted on giving me voice guidance on how to play games. We talked on the phone for 28 hours that day. It's all recorded." Batty smiled and jumped away. "And instead of caring about you, I care more about whether your condition will affect the team. You know, we have to get back everything we lost this season!"

Neymar nodded solemnly, as if to say, 'You don't have to say anything, I understand everything.'

"Bati! It's about to start!" Ederson waved at them at the front of the team.

Batistuta raised his hand to indicate that he would be there soon, then he turned around, made an eye-to-eye gesture to Neymar, and walked forward while staring at him.

"I'm watching, don't mess it up."

"Got it." Neymar put his index and middle fingers together and made a playful farewell gesture to Batistuta, "Don't worry, captain, I won't mess it up."

……

Leicester City is in extraordinary form in the new season, beating West Bromwich Albion 3-0 and Burnley 4-1 in the first two league games. Under the coaching of head coach Rogers, the Foxes' offense has become extremely impactful.

As for Manchester City, the lag behind in the latter part of last season led to the saying that "Guardiola's offensive tactics have been figured out" gradually spreading among fans. This is neither entirely right nor entirely wrong. In order to enrich the tactical means, Guardiola came up with a new 4231.

New signings Ruben Dias and Ake started the game together on the back line, with Lucas on the left and Cancelo on the right; the double defensive midfielders were Fernandinho and Rodri; the frontcourt initially presented a 31 formation, with Neymar on the left, Foden on the right, De Bruyne in the middle, and Batistuta was pushed to the front.

In mobile warfare, the positioning of this formation is actually closer to 424. When attacking, the outside players move inward to the middle and cooperate with De Bruyne, the central forward retreats, and with the support of the winger on the other side, they can easily penetrate the opponent's ribs and quickly establish a receiving point in front of the goal to achieve the goal.

After the opening game of the new season, Guardiola also restructured the backcourt in response to the actual situation, combining three central defenders and two defensive midfielders. When attacking, the full-backs would advance and Fernandinho would retreat to the defense line to protect. When defending, when the full-backs were in position, he would move to the defensive midfielder position in advance to assist Rodri in intercepting or sweeping.

[It can be seen that Guardiola has put a lot of effort into the new tactics, taking into account both offense and defense. With the addition of new defenders, the requirements of all-out attack and defense can be achieved under ideal conditions. However, this method is very state-dependent. Since the start of the season, Manchester City's attendance rate has been worrying due to the epidemic. How far will they go and whether they can reproduce the glory of the 17-18 season? Let us wait and see! ]

……

Manchester City launched a massive attack at the start of the game and won consecutive corner kicks in less than 5 minutes. Leicester City was caught off guard. Finally, when Manchester City took the third corner kick, the defender made a mistake in clearing the ball. Batistuta, who had been wandering on the edge of the penalty area, seized the opportunity to sprint to intercept the ball, and the ball hit his knee and bounced into the net.

Although there was an element of luck involved, it was still a goal.

1-0!

Manchester City got off to a dream start.

Seven minutes later, the Blue Moon got a free kick. De Bruyne took the penalty and passed the ball into the penalty area. Rodri headed the ball, but unfortunately the angle was too straight and Schmeichel easily caught it.

Leicester City launched a quick counterattack, and Manchester City's defense quickly took position, giving them no chance to exploit the flaws.

In the 23rd minute, Fernandinho continued to advance after intercepting the ball. He brought the ball to the left and cooperated with Lucas to pull the defense line. Lucas passed the ball to De Bruyne. De Bruyne made a fake move to deceive Leicester City midfielder Mendy and passed the ball to Neymar. Batty pulled to the side and cooperated with Neymar against the wall to send the ball into the penalty area.

Unfortunately, Leicester City's defense was well positioned in the end, and Neymar was unable to get rid of it. His low shot from a small angle on the left side of the penalty area was confiscated by the goalkeeper. "Well done, Ney, beautiful shot!" Batistuta clapped his hands. Thanks to the empty-seat game, he didn't need to make too much noise for Neymar to hear, which saved him a lot of energy. "Keep it up, and you'll score next time!"

Neymar responded with a thumbs up.

……

Manchester City gradually got into the game and in the 35th minute they extended the lead.

Batistuta's free kick was passed into the penalty area, but was first caught by Leicester City. The defender cleared the ball, and Manchester City controlled the ball again from the outside. De Bruyne got the ball and unexpectedly took a long shot. Schmeichel flew to save the shot but it was of no avail.

Manchester City leads 2-0 at home.

【Beautiful! Guardiola's tactics worked. Although De Bruyne's long-range shot was a reflection of his personal ability, the whole team's operation was very wonderful from the cooperation before the free kick. This can be regarded as a successful team cooperation case! In this way, perhaps Manchester City will continue their undefeated record against the Foxes. 】

After scoring the goal, De Bruyne was not too excited. He just punched the seats in the stands to celebrate.

"Come on! Is this the only move you can do?" Batty ran towards him. "Anger is like this, complaining is like this, and celebrating is still like this. Come up with something new, Kevin, otherwise we can't tell what you are trying to express!"

However, De Bruyne slightly turned sideways to avoid Batistuta's hug.

"That's just me," he said. "I don't know what you want. Your celebration is too much for me."

Batty raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Still performing?" he asked silently, "Not even celebrating?"

"Of course not." De Bruyne responded with his eyes, "If I remember correctly, you treated me like air when you were angry. Now we haven't reconciled. I have done my best to dislike you, so you have to act like it."

what!
Questioning his acting skills?

Batty gritted his teeth and said, "You——"

"Alright, alright." Seeing that something was not right, everyone quickly separated them. Lucas pushed Batistuta to divert his gaze. "Ignore him. He's always like that. If you want something new, come to me. If I can score a goal, I will definitely show you a unique celebration."

"Oh? Is that so?"

"Of course, trust me!"

"Thank you, Luki, you are so nice." Batistuta patted Lucas on the head to express his gratitude, but what he didn't say was that in terms of bad goal celebrations, Lucas and De Bruyne were almost on par.

Apart from punching and blowing kisses, he couldn't remember any other eye-catching celebrations from the two. Of course, it wasn't just them. It should be said that no one in Manchester City knew how to celebrate except Batistuta and Neymar.

Usually it's like this: a perfect goal, a barely acceptable celebration.

However, considering the positions of the above players and the number of goals they have scored in the past, De Bruyne is in a worse situation no matter how you look at it.

……

The first half ended with Manchester City 2-0. In the second half, Leicester City showed amazing tenacity. At the beginning of the game, in the 47th minute, they seized the coordination errors between Manchester City's midfield and backcourt and launched a counterattack. Walker waved in the middle but missed the man. Dias tried his best to chase back but failed to stop the cross. Cancelo had no choice but to foul Vardy.

Vardy took the penalty himself, Ederson correctly saved it, but Leicester City striker Barnes quickly followed up with a shot.

Leicester City pulled one back, 2-1.

In the next 15 minutes, Manchester City kept making small mistakes and gave their opponents opportunities. Leicester City almost equalized the score several times. Guardiola was very dissatisfied with the performance of some players and he came to the sidelines and gave instructions loudly.

"Pay attention, everyone! Stay focused, we still have the advantage!" Batistuta took advantage of a dead ball to go around the midfield and said to everyone, "Pay more attention to the opposing players, Kyle, don't make this mistake again, Pep is staring at you."

Kyle Walker waved his hand to indicate that he understood.

Fortunately, Manchester City adjusted in time, withstood Leicester City's counterattack and regained the initiative. In the 88th minute, Manchester City cleared the ball from the bottom line and Leicester City got a corner kick.

Of course, they did not want to miss this last chance, and all of them pressed forward to try to use the high point to take away 1 point at Etihad, but this also meant high risk. Leicester City midfielder Justin took a corner kick, Diaz resisted Vardy and Barnes at the front point, and Ake headed the ball away at the back point.

De Bruyne got the ball outside the box, he turned quickly and ran, making a long pass before the defender caught up with him.

Batistuta got the ball and had a clear view in front of him.

[Single blade! ]

Schmeichel opened his arms and lowered his center of gravity at the front of the penalty area in an attempt to block the shot, but unfortunately, facing the one-on-one shot of the South American player, attacking is sometimes more effective.

Looking at the goalkeeper who looked like a wooden stake in front of him, Batty became playful. He slowed down slightly, swayed left and right with a sly smile, and changed his center of gravity twice. Then he controlled the ball to the right side of his body and watched the time -

Just when Schmeichel thought that Batistuta was going to shake him with a quick change of direction, Batistuta changed his strategy. He watched as the opponent used a flirtatious kick to lift the ball in front of him. Schmeichel subconsciously reached out to grab it, but he didn't expect Batistuta to stretch out his foot before him and retrieve the ball in a few tries.

"Oops!"

He was completely and utterly fooled.

After stopping the ball with his toes, Batistuta easily kicked the ball into the goal. The Leicester City defender could only follow the ball and it fell into the net.

3-1, Manchester City secured the victory.

……

After the game, many football commentators criticized Batty's behavior.

[He could have scored the goal directly, but he didn't. He had to show off in front of Schmeichel. I don't see any point in such behavior except showing off and humiliating. Batistuta has matured a lot in the past few seasons, but he still has the playful characteristics of South American players, which needs to be further cultivated.] - Gary Neville

Guardiola said a few words to Batistuta because of this, but did not strictly prohibit him from using techniques. Therefore, Batistuta did not care about the criticism from the outside world, and even teased Neville back when asked by reporters.

Manchester City has 6 points with one game less and is currently ranked second in the Premier League with a 9-goal difference over Manchester United.

No one realized at this point that this was just the beginning.

(End of this chapter)