[Football] Bad Boy Batty

Since this World Cup is held in the middle of the season, the schedule is tighter than usual. A few hours after Brazil finished their last group match, the first round of the round of 1 started immediately.

On the day when Batistuta finally resolved his emotional knot, when he stepped onto the training ground and became the captain in the hearts of his teammates again, the three knockout matches between the Netherlands and the United States, Argentina and Australia, and France and Poland also came to an end.

As expected, the Netherlands beat the United States 3-1, while Argentina defeated the Kangaroos 2-1 thanks to goals from Alvarez and Messi. It is worth mentioning that in this game, Messi made two wonderful passes, but they were both wasted by Lautaro, who received the lowest score of the game after the game.

The most eye-catching thing was France's 5-1 victory over Poland. The Manchester United combination of Griezmann, Mbappe and Augustus shone throughout the game. Augustus himself also scored a rare 3 goals and got his first hat trick in the World Cup.

Many netizens said that the French team, which has overcome the curse of defending champions, may really be able to be crowned again.

At the same time, in this game, Augustus made the same strange celebration gesture after scoring three goals, which was also talked about by netizens.

Someone edited his reactions after the three goals and the three celebrations into a video. After comparing them, it was found that, just like it was rehearsed in advance, the French midfielder stood calmly in place after scoring the goal, stretched out the three middle fingers of his right hand horizontally on the index finger of his left hand, and then raised it high to show the audience.

"A vertical index finger and three horizontal fingers, when added together, doesn't that make a B? If you do it three times in a row, doesn't that mean BBB? He is paying tribute to Batistuta." This is the analysis of an anonymous netizen.

Faced with various speculations, Augustus did not give an accurate answer, but he did express his concern for Batistuta in an interview after the game.

Augustus: "I'm sorry for what happened to his family. If he needs me, I will do everything I can to help him. I hope he recovers soon, otherwise the only team that can pose a threat to France will be gone."

This interview soon sparked widespread discussion online. Although more people focused on the second half of his sentence, believing that it showed a lack of respect for other teams, some people still paid attention to the first half of his sentence.

So at the pre-match press conference between Brazil and South Korea the next day, a reporter asked Batistuta about Augustus.

Batty: "Thank you for your concern. If the problem is serious, you won't see me here. I don't want to say too much. This matter has nothing to do with the game. Ask something else, gentlemen. I will be happy to answer questions about pre-match preparation."

The Brazilian captain's answer was flawless and did not give reporters too many hot topics to discuss. However, judging from Batistuta's condition at the press conference, it was indeed much better than the last few days of the group stage.

So some people linked these two things together (mainly Augustus' fans and Manchester United fans plus some CP fans). They believed that Augustus must have contacted Batistuta privately and used the power of the Rothschild family to provide help and ensure the safety of Batistuta's family in distress in Rio, which made him regain his sanity.

Of course, Batistuta's fans, the Brazilian team's fans, and many people who hate Augustus's harassment of Batistuta did not buy into this statement, and the two forces soon started fighting on Twitter and Tumblr (a higher-level fan-oriented website).

It wasn't until the evening of the press conference that Batistuta liked a post on Twitter that read: 'Augustus is a piece of shit. He said this just to upset the Brazilian team (disgusting)' that the balance of the 'war' began to tilt towards his fans.

However, what netizens don’t know is that Batistuta did not intentionally mislead his fans. He just accidentally liked the post when he was talking about formations with the head coach.

And the content of their discussion had nothing to do with this matter.

"Why don't we try out a new formation when we play against South Korea?" Batistuta asked Zidane, looking at the familiar positions on the tactical board. "Let Neymar stay in the midfield with me, and let Vinicius and Rafinha go to the wing. His impact on the wing has decreased, and it takes a lot of energy for him to assist in defense."

Zidane moved the positions of the players on the tactical board a few times: "You mean to let Casemiro play as a single defensive midfielder, and give Paqueta's position to Neymar in advance, basic 4141?"

"Yes." Batistuta shrugged. "But I'm not saying to remove Paqueta. The front line can still be adjusted. You can let me go back to play on the wing, and let Neymar play as the 10th position, and Paqueta is responsible for running."

Zidane was surprised by his words, "Do you want to go back to the wing, Batistuta?"

"No, no, I'm just offering an option." Batistuta said he would move his magnet to the right, and then simulated running back to the middle. "I can play in both positions, and my command authority will not increase or decrease much because of the change of position. You know we change positions frequently in the frontcourt."

That's true, Zidane nodded.

"I don't mean anything else, just saying that whether our quarter-final opponent is Japan or Croatia, we need to have a stronger impact to target them." Batistuta added, "I don't understand how big the difference between these tactics is, but I do know that Brazil can't afford to waste time, and those two teams are exactly of this type."

In general, Japan and Croatia are teams that can keep their composure and fight their opponents for a whole game, and finally win by relying on physical strength and experience. At this stage, the Brazilian team should try to avoid getting stuck in a war of attrition.

Zidane nodded again in agreement with Batistuta.

"I understand." He said, "I will consider testing a targeted lineup in advance, perhaps in the second half of the match against South Korea, when we can guarantee victory. So, how much time we have to conduct experiments depends on you."

……

卡塔尔当地时间12月5日晚9点，2022世界杯1/8决赛巴西与韩国的比赛在974球场展开争夺。

[CCTV, good morning, dear audience, we are now live broadcasting the 2022 Qatar World Cup quarter-final match between Brazil and South Korea. Now the players of both teams have entered the field, and the match will start in a few minutes. ]

The first five rounds of the World Cup round of 16 have ended. The teams that have advanced to the quarter-finals are the Netherlands, Argentina, France, England, and Croatia, which won the penalty shootout last night. The winner of today's game will enter the upper half and face the checkered army Croatia.

In the scorer list, Mbappe ranks first with 6 goals, and Batistuta ranks fourth. He currently has one game less than Mbappe and 4 goals. If he can continue his form in this round, perhaps the competition in goals will continue.

In terms of starting lineups, neither side had any surprises.

The Brazilian team still lined up a 4231 formation, with Ederson as goalkeeper; Thiago Silva partnered with Marquinhos on the back line, Renan Lodi played on the left, and Danilo returned to the right after recovering from injury; Casemiro and Paqueta were the double defensive midfielders; the frontcourt was still the familiar combination of Neymar, Batistuta, Vinicius and Richarlison.

The South Korean team lined up in a 442 formation, with goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu; the back line was what fans joked was the "yellow and gold" line, with Kim Moon-hwan, Kim Min-jae, Kim Young-kwon, and Kim Jin-soo from right to left; midfielders were Hwang In-beom, Jung Woo-young, Hwang Hee-chan, and Lee Jae-sung; Son Heung-min and Cho Kyu-sung were the double strikers.

Compared to the Brazilian team, whose players' positions are unpredictable during offense, the South Korean team's offense appears to be relatively simple. The head coach almost plays it openly, hoping to rely on Son Heung-min and Cho Kyu-sung's forward runs to seize the gaps between the opponent's central defenders and midfielders to threaten the goal.

However, when the South Korean team immediately moved its formation forward after the start of the game, everyone, including the Brazilian coaching staff on the sidelines, was surprised.

Who would have thought that they would dare to play high-pressure defense and attack against the Brazilian team.

[beep——]
With the referee's subtle whistle, the South Korean team kicked off first.

[Oh! The South Korean team chose a similar risky tactic as Serbia, Brazil's opponent in the group stage. They pressed forward, perhaps wanting to catch Brazil off guard at the beginning of the game. If they can score again at the beginning, it will be very beneficial for them. ]

The commentator analyzed the situation on the field very objectively.

[Unfortunately, this is probably what the Brazilian team wanted to see the most. When they (South Korea) pressed high, the gaps behind them became larger than usual. When the top attackers of the Brazilian team were able to frequently get large tracts of open space and single out South Korean defenders in fast-paced counterattacks, the result of the game was probably self-evident.]

Yes, that’s absolutely right.

South Korea's pressing at the beginning of the game did allow them to have more ball possession, but Brazil's defense was clearly more stable. The South Koreans on the field were unable to play at the desired speed, and their operations in a small area were even worse than Brazil's.

In the 3rd minute, South Korea's midfielder made a long pass to the frontcourt. After receiving the ball, Son Heung-min pulled to the side and tried to break through the Brazilian team's defense. Danilo blocked his position one-on-one and did not give him space to pass. Soon Batistuta retreated to assist in defense.

Seeing that support was not coming for a long time, Son Heung-min quickly changed his strategy and tried to take possession of the ball with an out-of-bounds ball.

"Dani! Over there, grab, grab!"

Batistuta saw through his intention, and cooperated with Danilo to take the ball away from Son Heung-min's feet, and then signaled the full-back to transfer the ball.

Danilo turned and passed the ball horizontally to Thiago Silva, D. Silva took the ball forward 2 or 3 meters and signaled his teammates to press forward. At this time, Batistuta had returned to his position in the frontcourt and successfully took away the defensive power of the South Korean team's midfield. So D. Silva faked a move and passed the ball directly to Renan Lodi who assisted from the left.

"Here! Here!"

Batistuta was very active in reaching for the ball and turned to run towards the penalty area. It was obvious that he was deliberately creating an illusion, but the Korean team had to defend against it and also pay attention to Neymar approaching the baseline on the left. "Follow him! Follow closely!" Kim Young-kwon quickly asked Kim Moon-hwan to defend Neymar closely, "Don't let him pass the ball easily!"

However, this created a very large space between the Korean team's defensive players on the flanks and in the middle, and the formation that was pressed very forward at the beginning of the game was forced to retreat in order to support the frontcourt.

The broadcast camera clearly recorded the entire process of the South Korean team's serious breakdown.

In the gaps without any defensive players, Renan Lodi and Paqueta played a series of wall passes. When the South Korean team's defense focused on them again, Paqueta passed the ball directly to Neymar who quietly came to the edge of the penalty area.

“Back, back, back!” Kim Young-Kwon urgently called his teammates to rush to the penalty area. It was too late to do anything to Neymar now. They could only block his shot as much as possible. “Watch your hands! Block him!”

But defense in a panic can only rely on luck.

Neymar quickly switched his center of gravity, made a light feint to shake off the defender in front of him, paused for a moment, and then shot a low left-foot shot into the near corner of the net.

The South Korean goalkeeper tried his best to block the ball, but the ball almost slid across the line in the lower right corner. In the end, he failed to prevent the goal and fell into the net with the ball.

1-0! The Samba Army switched from defense to offense and broke through the opponent's defense.

[Beautiful! Neymar still has an absolute crushing dominance on the wing! Maybe he is not as fast as before, but his experience and personal ability are still terrifying for the Korean team! Less than 5 minutes into the game! The Korean team's reckless offensive strategy made their goal fall early. Is there any suspense in this game? ]

"I thought you would pass it back. It would be safer to pass it to me in front of the goal at that angle." Batistuta went forward and hugged Neymar, "But still - this is a very, very beautiful goal!"

Neymar pulled back his arms that were pressed down, hooked them around Batistuta's neck, and gave him a look that said 'of course'.

"Wooo! Come on! First goal!" Richarlison excitedly punched the side, "We have so many ways to celebrate, come on, Ney, which one do you want to use?"

"Neither one."

“Ah?” Richarlison was dumbfounded. “No, no, no, didn’t we agree on this - Captain!”

Neymar patted Richarlison's arm and told him not to get excited or ask Batistuta for help. "I want to dedicate this goal to Mr. Delain. God will see and bless him."

Richarlison quickly understood what Neymar meant, and this time it was Batistuta's turn to be dumbfounded.

"Don't be so surprised. It's not just a Frenchman who will do everything he can to help you." Neymar grabbed his hand and bent down to kiss their fingers together, then pointed his hands to the sky and prayed.

"That's what goal celebrations are about, isn't it?" he said. "So, Batistuta, everything will be fine, you just have to keep believing."

Batty lowered his eyelids, and he felt a force rising up through his chest.

Yes, he has confirmed through various signs that the lives of the two people closest to him are not in danger, but there is no evidence yet, so he can only tell himself over and over again to make himself believe it. And Neymar's words are like a beam of light shining straight in, strengthening Batistuta's defense tower to the greatest extent.

"Although this is still very much like chicken soup, but..." Batistuta raised his eyes and gave Neymar the warmest smile he had given in the past few days, "Well! I believe everything will be fine!"

……

Nine minutes after the first goal, Brazil scored again.

They took advantage of the gap exposed by the South Korean team's attack. Marquinhos blocked Son Heung-min's connection in the header in the backcourt, and Danilo quickly approached to steal the ball, and then passed it with a long foot.

Paqueta stopped the ball with his thigh and turned around to dribble forward. The South Korean defense immediately evacuated. Vinicius was changing position in the middle at this time. Batistuta observed the positions of Paqueta and the defensive players in advance and pulled to the side without hesitation, but Paqueta misunderstood and braked suddenly and passed the ball to Batistuta.

"Hey! Please!!"

There is obviously space on the left and the ball can be passed through the middle, so why was it given to the right?
Batistuta rolled his eyes in his heart but continued to move forward. He first predicted where the ball would land, then raised his arms to expand the space around his body so that he could confront the Korean defender who was watching him closely one-on-one.

Putting aside the better options, the quality of Paqueta's pass this time was still quite good, just in time for Batistuta to gain speed to shake off the defender for a short distance and then get the ball with his back.

Batistuta deftly kicked the ball away and held the Korean player with his back.

"??????!???..."

The Korean player shouted something in his ear as if to threaten him. Of course, Batistuta didn't understand Korean, but as we all know, what Koreans say sounds like a quarrel to most people, so naturally, Batistuta took it as a provocative swear word.

what!
Who gave him the courage to provoke him without the advantage in numbers?

Anyone who has been watching the Premier League for many years knows that to deal with Batistuta, three defensive players are the basic operation, and four defensive players are needed to have a chance of stopping him.

"Hmph!" The Brazilian captain snorted coldly, and then made a very presumptuous decision.

scold me?
Then I will make you a fool.

[Oh? Batistuta, one-on-one on the wing, this is--oh! It's the Manchester City king's specialty, dribbling the ball and turning to pass the opponent! Jin Zhenzhu was stunned, still thinking about how to get Batistuta out of bounds to destroy the ball, but she didn't expect it to pass in the blink of an eye! ]

That's right, Batistuta used a method that looked fancy and had fancy timing but was very practical when used well to lob the ball over the top and turn around to easily get past the South Korean player who was closely guarding him. Then the South Korean midfielder and center back near the center wanted to cooperate and steal the ball, but Batistuta protected the ball and never gave them a chance to kick.

[It’s over, it’s over! See what to do? Shoot, or—]

"Over there, over there!" Batistuta waved to Richarlison to pay attention to the offside line. Richarlison quickly turned around to observe, and at the same time asked the Korean defensive players to be prepared to respond.

Obviously, this is still a trap.

[Okay! There's a gap in front of the goal, Batistuta! Pass - Shoot! ! ]

Richarlison's obvious preparation for the shot attracted as many as three South Korean defensive players. Vinicius was also behind him, and Neymar was also being defended at the back post.

And Batty.

Batty chose to fake a spike and then shoot.

【哦哦哦哦球进了！这是一场巴西队长的个人展示秀！他一己之力打爆了韩国队的左路防线！2-0！开场仅仅15分钟，巴西队已经2-0领先了！】

After scoring the goal, Batistuta ran backwards towards the sidelines with a smile brighter than the sun.

"Come here! Come here!" He waved to his teammates, "We can start jumping this time! Does anyone have any good suggestions? Richard?"

Richarlison's eyes lit up.

【Haha! The players of the Brazilian team gathered on the sidelines and started dancing. Oh, some netizens commented that this is the most popular dance on the overseas version of TikTok! Sure enough, Brazil is the happiest country! Another netizen said that the Brazilian team prepared more than 10 dances to celebrate this time. Well, that's great. Let's see how many dances will appear in the end of this game! 】

(End of this chapter)