[Football] Bad Boy Batty

巴蒂的复出战并没有像瓜迪奥拉说的那样在1月末, 他的复出战被延迟到了2月初，当然，不是主教练言而无信, 而是由于大雪天气，本该在1月25日的比赛被推到了2月5日。

So, the Premier League winter transfer window closed before he returned, and he failed to wait for Ederson.

In fact, this winter window, Manchester City did not have any personnel changes except for the fact that several players' loans expired and they needed to be transferred in and out.

The negotiations were more difficult than expected, and none of the people Guardiola wanted showed up.

It turns out that sometimes money isn't everything.

"I thought you wanted to come. I even gave your number to Pep. Why didn't you come?" Batistuta called Ederson the night before his comeback match. "I heard Benfica also agreed. They didn't even bargain with Manchester City's negotiators."

"It's simple, because of the Champions League." Ederson had just finished taking a shower. He held his phone in one hand and wiped his hair with the other. "Your Champions League roster has been submitted and no new players can be added. Even if I join now, I have to wait until next season to participate in the Champions League. But it's different at Benfica."

What he said made sense, and Batty nodded reluctantly.

"I don't know how you are training now, but Bravo... I don't want to put up with him anymore." Batistuta frowned and said, "In the two league games I rested, one was against Everton. Everton only kicked the ball on target four times in the whole game, and Bravo just missed four of them. 4-4, I don't know how they lost like that."

"I followed that game." Ederson put down his towel and drank a bottle of milk. "You know Batistuta, there are many Chinese fans in Portugal. They told me that because of that game, Bravo got a nickname of 'Regent' in China."

"Regent? What do you mean?"

"In Chinese, 'regent' and 'shooting' are homophones," Ederson smiled and tapped the screen, "It's a joke that he always gets shot on target."

"It's so fitting." Batistuta said mercilessly, "Not only that game, but also the one with Tottenham, which ended in a tie! Now the standings have also fallen."

"You're not at the top anymore?"

"It's long gone. Chelsea is four points ahead and Tottenham is one point ahead. The worst thing is that Arsenal behind us have the same points as us, but we are ahead on goal difference."

Batty got so angry when he thought about it.

"What the hell, I was absent for only a month, and it's like everyone suddenly can't play football." He criticized like a hair dryer, "What, am I responsible for teaching them how to play football in addition to scoring goals and assists?"

Edson shrugged: "Maybe just a bit of luck."

"Luck? No, no, I don't want that kind of weird reason." Batty curled his lips, "We were actually eliminated from the League Cup! Can you believe it? They lost to Southampton in two rounds, Southampton! I really can't figure it out..."

Batistuta kept talking, and Ederson stopped listening from the part about Southampton. His mind was attracted by Batistuta's raised and shaking feet on the screen.

Who would have thought that the Brazilian Rose, who was usually harsh-mouthed and would get angry and quarrel with others over little things, would have such a lovely behavior. Recalling the day when the two first met, Batistuta scolded the head coach for the entire game on the bench, and then opened fire on everyone.

Edson couldn't help but smile as he thought about it.

They will be teammates next season, that's great. He must wait for him. By then, he will guard the goal for him at the back, allowing him to attack without any worries.

"Are you listening to me?" Batty sat up, suddenly leaned close to the camera, and poked Ederson's nose hard. "If you don't want to listen, I can go find someone else. There are many people waiting in line for me to call them."

“No, no.” Ederson said with a straight face. “I was just thinking about the fact that we will be teammates next season. Go on. I’m listening carefully this time.”

Batistuta gave him a 'that's good enough' look, and then went on to complain about his teammates' poor performance during his absence.

Edson stared at the screen in a trance again.

This kind of life is not bad.

"I won't call you again, you liar." Batistuta snorted, "Neymar always asks questions, but at least he is willing to listen to me."

After saying that, he hung up the phone without leaving any punctuation for Ederson.

By the time Ederson frantically called back, the line was already busy.

……

On the afternoon of February 2th, the 5th round of the Premier League is about to begin. Manchester City will face Swansea at home. After a month, Batistuta's name appears on the starting list again.

The fans were so excited that they shouted his name in the stands.

It is said that Batistuta's personal song has been prepared among the fans, but it cannot be released to the public yet due to a minor disagreement.

Batistuta was very curious about this, so he contacted the fan leader, who told him that the song would be sung to him on his birthday, which was March 3, the day Manchester City hosted Liverpool at home.

It is not uncommon for players' birthdays to coincide with a game. After all, there is less than three months between each season. At this time, the gift they most hope to receive will become a goal, whether it is their own or their friends'.

It just so happened that the day of the Manchester City game was also Neymar's 25th birthday. Neymar posted photos of his party in Barcelona on IG. Many people attended, including his good friends in Brazil.

Before the game, Batty left a message under the photo wishing him a happy birthday and expressed regret that he could not attend his party.

Neymar replied: If you score a goal today, can you give it to me?

Batty replied: Of course, my friend.

Neymar selectively ignored "my friend" and wrote: Then I have to specify the way to celebrate. I haven't seen you dance yet. If you score a goal today, dance for me, okay? (love) (love) (dance) (dance)
Batty: (OK gesture) (Dancing)

…This run went very smoothly, as if Batistuta’s comeback had taken away the dark cloud hanging over Manchester City.

Just two minutes into the game, Batistuta's cross almost assisted Aguero to score. If his shot had not been too high, they would have been ahead.

"Is it because no one has spoken out against you recently that you are getting cocky, Sikun?" Batistuta reached out and pulled Aguero up from the ground. "Just shoot from the spot. There are no birds or planes in the sky for you to shoot at."

Aguero smiled embarrassedly.

"Got it." He ran back to his position, thinking about the taunting from Batistuta, the Argentine striker nodded seriously, "That's right."

……

Five minutes later, Manchester City finally scored.

This was a rare goal they scored within the first 15 minutes of the game in the past month. Batistuta dribbled the ball into the penalty area from the wing, dribbled past several opponents and made a back pass. De Bruyne followed up with a shot, but the opponent's goalkeeper's sight was blocked by the defensive player and he had no time to make a save.

1-0, Manchester City leads at home!
So, Batty may really be born with this kind of infectiousness, and when he returns to the court, everything is back to normal.

After taking the lead, Manchester City players surrounded De Bruyne to celebrate the goal. The Belgian midfielder was extremely happy. After almost two months, he finally scored a goal again.

"Quick! Kevin! Pick up Batty! So we can continue to score goals!"

Aguero patted De Bruyne on the back to remind him of the 'tradition', and the others followed suit.

"Hurry up! The celebration is about to time out!"

De Bruyne froze there, not moving for a long time, and the smile on his face showed signs of freezing.

It was just a celebration, why force the opponent? Batistuta waved his hand and asked his teammates to disperse, but the moment he turned around, the Belgian midfielder rushed over and hugged him.

This is definitely not a beautiful hug, and it's not even passionate in the celebration. De Bruyne's movements were crisp and there was a feeling of "pulling onions out of dry land".

"I don't hate you." In Batistuta's strange look, De Bruyne explained, "I... I have my reasons."

Batty rolled his eyes at him.

"Like who gives a fuck." He said, "Come on! Score more goals. This is my comeback game! I want to decorate it with a big win. Do you understand?"

The boy spoke like a young monarch inspiring his soldiers to fight for him, and the Belgian midfielder turned into a knight in his heart and bowed to him, swearing to decorate his throne with victory and flowers. With piety, he kissed the back of his hand.

"Will do."

……

In the 33rd minute of the first half, Batistuta scored his comeback goal.

Yaya Toure assisted and made a long pass outside the penalty area. Batistuta took the ball to the bottom line but was blocked by the defender, and Manchester City got a corner kick on the right side.

De Bruyne took the penalty, and in the moment before the penalty, his eyes met with Batistuta's.

They knew this was that opportunity.

The ball was kicked to the front point, Batistuta shook off the defender and made a volley shot which went straight into the dead corner. The goalkeeper could only watch and sigh.

"I did it!"

After scoring the goal, Batistuta did not celebrate with his teammates. Instead, he came to the broadcast camera and after confirming that the other party was a Spanish TV station, he kissed his index finger and then raised it above his head.

"It's a celebration as promised, and this is for you."

Manchester City's Brazilian Rose performed her first dance. It was not just a simple move of twisting her waist happily, but a complete samba dance that presented the passion of Rio de Janeiro to people. It was powerful, yet charming and passionate.

"Happy birthday."

With a turn, the samba ended and the boy tilted his head back and blew a kiss to the camera.

The camera clearly recorded his every movement. That kind of casual romance and arrogance captured the hearts of countless viewers in front of the TV.

……

At the end of the first half, Manchester City entered the locker room with a two-goal advantage.

As expected, the whole space was once again occupied by hot and unrestrained Latin songs. Batistuta, who had just returned and contributed a goal and an assist, was lifted up by his teammates, and it was like a large-scale disco scene.

Before the start of the second half, Batistuta changed into a new pair of socks, and at this moment, De Bruyne suddenly came over.

He asked him a strange question -

"Buddy, when was your Bar Mitzvah?"

(End of this chapter)