[Football] Bad Boy Batty

[Tomorrow you and your team may create a legend, winning all the games in the season for the first time in history. Are you nervous? Is your team nervous? If someone loses sleep because of this, what will you do? ]

"I slept like a baby, so no, I'm not nervous at all. Yes, it's a big game and of course we want to win it, undefeated all season, wow, are the players nervous? I don't know, maybe a little bit, but they are not kids who are in their first final, we have been in four Champions League finals in the past five seasons, so I trust them." - Guardiola, pre-match press conference of the Champions League final

……

As night falls and the temperature becomes cooler, the final match of the 8-20 UEFA Champions League is about to begin at 21 p.m. local time.

One hour before the game, both sides announced their starting lineups, and there was nothing much to say about Manchester City.

Goalkeeper Ederson; the four defenders on the back line from right to left are Walker, Stones, Ruben Dias, and Zinchenko; the midfield is composed of Gundogan and Rodri's double defensive midfielders and De Bruyne; the forward line is Neymar on the left, B Silva on the right, and Batistuta in the middle.

This is the regular main formation of the season. With the support of two defensive midfielders, the full-backs occasionally move into the midfield to help connect the attacking forward-less formation.

It's just a little surprising that Zinchenko was used instead of Lucas as the left back, but if you think about it carefully, it's quite reasonable.

Having been in Manchester City for three seasons, the player, nicknamed De Bruyne's twin brother by fans, has been playing mediocrely. Although he is not a regular starter, his ability as a substitute player is still online.

Until this season, Guardiola came up with a new tactic of having the full-backs move inwards to act as defensive midfielders. Zinchenko seemed to have come to his senses and gradually gained a foothold on the left side.

Therefore, compared to Lucas, who has maximum defensive attributes, Zinchenko is more flexible, and his various offensive abilities are more in line with Guardiola's requirements for the new tactics.

In addition, Lucas has had some minor problems with his knee ligaments recently, and Zinchenko has played well in his place in the last few Premier League games. In this way, it is not surprising that Guardiola arranged the starting lineup for the final in this way.

Real Madrid's starting lineup is puzzling.

Zidane, the man who led Real Madrid to defeat Manchester City and win the Champions League and created a 40-game unbeaten record in his first coaching career, and who is said to be blessed by metaphysics, this time gave a lineup that is really incomprehensible.

After defeating Chelsea in the semi-finals, he did not use the tactics of 3 central defenders and 2 wingbacks but switched back to defenders. Of course, if Zidane learned lessons from the game against Chelsea and planned to change the formation, it makes sense, but the problem is that he took away Vinicius, who performed well in that game, and replaced him with Valverde, who was a substitute for many years, and continued to let Hazard, who performed poorly, appear in the starting lineup.

Goalkeeper Courtois; Ramos and Varane, who has returned from injury, serve as central defenders, with Nacho and Carvajal on the left and right; the midfield is still the familiar ceremonial three midfielders, Casemiro, Kroos, and Modric; the forward line is Benzema, Hazard, and Valverde.

As soon as the first lineup was released, it immediately sparked heated discussions among fans in the forum.

In the Manchester City locker room, this list also caught Guardiola's attention. He took Real Madrid's starting lineup and quickly arranged it on the tactical board, then called the players to deploy it.

"It is obvious that Real Madrid has studied our lineup and our style of play and they want to make some changes in the midfield, and we cannot give them what they want," Guardiola said.

He believes that Real Madrid's lineup is better described as 433 rather than 4312.

It is well known that Guardiola's Manchester City has many means of attack in the frontcourt, among which the use of the flanks and the lateral transfers of the two wingers are the most deadly. In the 4312 formation, a large number of players gather in the middle, and they can make good use of the numerical advantage to resolve the opponent's lateral operations and diagonal insertions to the flanks.

The key lies in that 1.

That is the attacking midfielder, Valverde's position.

When attacking, he has to go forward, whether he is on the side or in the center, he can increase the ball outlet. When defending, he retreats to the midfield to block Manchester City's passes. It's a bit like Isco during Ronaldo's time, but Valverde is faster than Isco, has stronger confrontation and covers a wider area.

This also shows from another perspective that his running without the ball is more important than running with the ball.

After explaining the team the basic ideas of the predicted Real Madrid, Guardiola kept his captain to give him key instructions.

"You will run more than usual today, Batistuta," he said. "Real Madrid won't send people to closely mark the players, so their team will be scattered. In addition to the regular retreat and cooperation, I want you to keep an eye on Valverde."

Batistuta raised his eyebrows and looked at the Real Madrid attacking midfielder No. 15 on the tactical board.

"He won't take the ball, but he will be a receiving point. If you see him intending to retreat, you must put pressure on him. He is inexperienced and will find opportunities after a few more times. Also, you have to remind Kevin and Rodri that whether they notice it or not, you have to pretend that they haven't (noticed it). If there is open space next to Modric or Kroos at that time, then you should stick to them. Don't let Real Madrid easily gain the advantage in numbers and force them to move."

It sounds similar to the original mission.

Well, maybe a little bit, but only a little.

Valverde may be the key to Real Madrid's tactics, but he is also the key to Manchester City's targeted battle. No matter how reasonable the tactics are, when they really get on the field, the players' personal abilities and subjective dynamics will play a major role.

Using inexperienced players in such a big competition either means Zidane is too bold or Real Madrid has no one available on the bench.

Speaking of Zidane, one can't help but think of the rumors about him and the Brazilian team a few months ago... Batistuta stared at the tactical board in a trance.

"——Bati, Batistuta! Oh my god, this kid!" Guardiola complained a little madly, "Are you listening to me? Where are you daydreaming? Don't tell me you are nervous!"

Batty suddenly came back to his senses.

"Sorry, I was thinking about where to celebrate after winning." He smiled as usual and looked at the head coach, "Don't worry, Pep, don't be nervous, I'm listening. Run, retreat, Valverde, I know what to do."

It was supposed to be a reassuring statement, but for some reason, it sounded a bit indulgent when it came out of Batty's mouth.

Guardiola: …

"Pep?" Batistuta waved his hand in front of his eyes.

The Catalan forced a smile at his captain, then pinched his brows. You'd better listen! He roared in his heart, otherwise I will deduct your pudding for the next season!

"It's getting late. Is there anything else, sir?" Batistuta deliberately didn't call Guardiola's name but used a more professional address. "I have to go and say a few words to the team. This is our last game of the season. It's about honor. It's the first season to win all the games for the club. How impressive it sounds!"

Guardiola waved his captain off.

A few seconds later, as he watched Batty walk away, he realized that the most severe threat he could come up with against a player who might not pay attention to him in the final was Pudding.

Guardiola took a deep breath.

It seems that he really needs to have a good talk with a psychotherapist again.

……

"- Forget everything else. I don't care whether you are a son, father, husband, or anything else. From now on, from the moment you stand on this stadium, you are just the simplest player, a Manchester City player, and you have only one goal tonight! Win! Win! Or fucking win!" "I won't lie, everyone. I started practicing with Jam (his and Kevin's cat) two weeks ago. Do you know why? Because I haven't touched the trophy for a whole season. I have forgotten its touch, its temperature, and its weight."

"Now, get ready, tell Manu what you need, and get ready to step onto the battlefield! I'm putting this word here, we will win this game and take away the Big Ear Cup! We will be the ultimate king! All clubs will only be able to look up to us for decades to come!"

"Win the season! Are you guys ready?"

"Oooooookay!"
"Let's goooooooo!!"
"Vamooooos!"

After the 'King's Speech', Batty walked around the locker room again, high-fiving and fist-bumping everyone, including the administrators and team doctors, leaving no one behind.

Finally, he stood at the door with his back to the locker room and waited for a few seconds. He patted his shorts, pulled up his socks, took a deep breath, prayed to God, and after doing everything, he stepped into the player tunnel leading to the stadium.

A little further away from the door, Neymar was staring at the direction Batistuta left. Batistuta was not right today, he thought, usually before such an important game Batistuta would come to him to pray together, but today he did not.

I don’t know if it was canceled intentionally or if it was forgotten for some reason.

At this time, De Bruyne was about to walk towards the player tunnel, and Neymar called him rarely. Unless it was necessary for work, they rarely contacted each other.

De Bruyne looked back at him.

"Didn't you notice?" Neymar asked.

"What did you find?" De Bruyne asked.

"Bati." Neymar gave a brief answer. Perhaps because of the 'unbeatable season', he was not as talkative as usual today. "He's nervous."

De Bruyne was not surprised at all. He shrugged at Neymar and said, "Congratulations, you finally figured it out. Yes, he was nervous."

"So—what? What can we do?"

"No big deal." De Bruyne's calm attitude surprised Neymar. Under his gaze, De Bruyne shrugged again, "Don't you realize that it's not just Batistuta, everyone is nervous? The season's unbeaten record is like a big rock hanging over our heads."

Neymar meal.

"You, me, even Pep, we all are."

Neymar subconsciously wanted to refute this, "Yeah...but..."

"Don't think too much. There are still a few minutes before the start. There is nothing you can do." De Bruyne's words are straightforward and merciless, but correct and pertinent. "Bati is the least to worry about. He knows his problems and he will adjust himself. What we can do is to remember his words during the game and not be afraid like a coward."

After saying that, the Belgian midfielder turned and walked towards the passage.

Neymar stood there for a few seconds, then quickly left the locker room. He was a little unhappy now, partly because Batistuta knew clearly that he was nervous but did not tell him, which he thought was a manifestation of distrust, and the other part -

Maybe it's because De Bruyne showed that he knew Batistuta better than he did.

At the same time, in the player tunnel, in the Real Madrid area, some people were discussing topics related to 'tension', or more precisely, the topic of 'Manchester City players' tension'.

"He's nervous, I'm sure of it," Courtois whispered to Ramos and Casemiro next to him. "This is not right for him and for Manchester City. You can make a fuss about it."

Real Madrid goalkeepers rarely pay attention to their opponents, but the situation is different when facing Manchester City.

When he greeted Batistuta and wanted to say some harsh words or flirt with him before the game but Batistuta ignored him and walked past him as if he were air to shake hands with the referee, he knew that Batistuta was nervous.

Courtois was very excited to hear the news.

Batistuta, the Manchester City king who had deliberately hung him up for revenge, used him, seamlessly switched between sweet words and harsh words, and left him without a trace after using him, and who was called the omnipotent one by the fans, is nervous.

How interesting!

Thinking of the expression on Batistuta's face after the opponent's failure, disbelief, regret, and sadness, Courtois couldn't suppress his excitement.

And Kevin, how can we forget Kevin.

He cared about Batistuta as much as he cared about the trophy, but what if he lost both? How painful would that be?
"Sergio, we all know that this may be your last Champions League game for Real Madrid." Courtois looked at Ramos seriously and said, "I won't lie to you, I want that trophy, just like all my teammates."

Ramos didn't say anything, but his eyes moved slightly, as if he was examining the other person.

"Put more pressure on him (Bati) without changing the tactics, force him to pass the ball and disrupt his rhythm," Courtois said. "Believe me, we will get what we want."

……

[beep——]
With the referee's whistle, the 20-21 UEFA Champions League final officially began.

[Good evening, audience friends, welcome to watch the live broadcast of the game brought to you by BB Sports. The two teams are Manchester City led by Guardiola and Real Madrid coached by Zidane. The game has started now, and you can see...]

[Both teams didn't speed up quickly at the start, Manchester City had the upper hand in ball possession, Real Madrid... first look at this ball - wing, knock back, eh? It's a throw-in, Kroos takes the shot.]

【From the perspective of both teams’ lineups and this season as a whole, many people were optimistic about Manchester City before the game, but from the first few minutes of the game, Real Madrid hadn’t pressed hard yet, and Manchester City had already made two mistakes, both of which were mistakes in their own passing.】

【The camera turned to Guardiola, who couldn't sit still and shouted anxiously on the sidelines. This is not Manchester City's true strength. From past experience, they should not be a nervous team at this time. It seems that the undefeated record that has attracted worldwide attention has indeed brought them a lot of pressure.】

(End of this chapter)