[Football] Bad Boy Batty

Coming of age ceremony?
Batistuta pulled up his socks and raised his eyebrows to look at De Bruyne: "Why are you asking this?"

"Nothing, just asking." The Belgian midfielder showed no emotion. "You're turning 18 soon, right?"

Oh, this.

Batty smiled, then unexpectedly shook his head.

"I had my coming-of-age ceremony, in the year of the World Cup in Brazil," he said.

De Bruyne was stunned for several seconds.

"But, you were just then—"

"15 years old," Batty replied, shrugging. "It's nothing strange. In Brazil, although the legal age is still 18, people are generally considered adults at 15."

The atmosphere in South America is relatively open, so the age limit is one or two years lower than in other countries. In the slums, some children from poor families have to take on the responsibility of supporting their families before they are 15 years old, so this is nothing for Batistuta.

"15 is supposed to be a rite of passage for girls. In our place, boys don't have that. They can stay out all night at the age of 11, and no one will care." Batistuta propped up his knees and tilted his head to look at De Bruyne. "Why do you care so much about my rite of passage?"

De Bruyne did not answer his question, but continued to ask: "What about British tradition?"

Now they are all playing in the UK, playing for British clubs, so it makes sense to follow local traditions, right?

"The British have their coming-of-age ceremony at the age of 16."

Batistuta shattered De Bruyne's fantasy. The Belgian shrugged his shoulders, lowered his head, and stared at the laces of his sneakers in a daze.
He just, just doesn't want to...

"It's not impossible to have another one."

These words gave De Bruyne hope again. He looked up at Batistuta. The boy stood up, hooked his fingers and stretched.

"I like parties, and if there's an excuse to have a bigger one, why not?" Batty said cheerfully. "Do you Belgians have your coming-of-age ceremony at 18?"

De Bruyne nodded.

"Well, I'll have a big coming-of-age carnival on my 18th birthday!" Batistuta took advantage of the height difference to reach out and ruffle De Bruyne's hair. The feel was harder than he imagined. "But there are games around my birthday, Dortmund and Liverpool. We have to win. I don't want to have a party with a sad face."

Winning the game = having a party = successfully holding his coming-of-age ceremony = he would have a chance to...

A clear chain of logic formed in the Belgian midfielder's mind. He took away Batistuta's hand that was twisting the pigtail on his head, and then held it in his hand and squeezed it.

"We will win."

There was little time left in the half-time break and the players left the locker room one after another.

"Bati! It's time to play!" Aguero leaned half of his body out of the door, "Quick! Change sides in the second half, let's go step on the grass."

Batistuta broke free from De Bruyne's grasp and smiled at him.

"coming!"

Halfway through the walk, Batistuta remembered something and turned back to wink at the Belgian midfielder, "If you're going to prepare a gift for me, remember to hurry up and get it done."

After saying that, he jumped onto the court while adjusting the height of his socks.

"Let's go, what are you looking at?" Sterling slapped De Bruyne's arm with a towel. "Remember to pass the ball to me later, don't always give it to Batistuta. I know this is his first game back, but you have to consider me too. It's so cold, what if he catches a cold?"

De Bruyne walked onto the court accompanied by the mumbling of a happy boy who was not yet fully formed.

As for how much of what he just said, it is unknown.

……

Manchester City opened fire in the second half. Several players in the frontcourt took turns bombarding the goal, which made Swansea lose their temper. In the 48th minute, Batistuta's shot, which looked like a pass or a shot, hit the post and bounced into the net, making the score 3-0.

If the previous two goals were the result of their hard work and cooperation, then this goal was purely due to luck. Batistuta himself did not expect to score.

"It means that the goddess of luck is on our side today!"

Aguero jumped onto Batistuta's back, and Batistuta staggered two steps to steady himself. However, even though he was steady, the weight of the Argentine striker was still a bit too much for him.

"Come down, Kun." De Bruyne followed him, "He won't be able to run later."

Batistuta gave him a disapproving look, "I'm not that weak, I can still carry Aguero on my back." He patted Aguero's calf that was clasped at his waist, "Come on, I'll take you to run two laps!"

"Save your energy, we still need to score a goal!" Aguero jumped down and said, he hooked Batistuta's neck, "How about, can you show us a hat trick today!"

Batty raised the corners of his mouth.

"It goes without saying."

……

However, Batistuta's hat trick did not come, but a yellow card came first, De Bruyne's yellow card.

In the 56th minute, the Belgian midfielder fouled the Swansea defender while advancing. The action was obvious and the referee decisively showed a yellow card.

"This is an act of revenge, sir!" Swansea's players were relentless, "He should be given a red card!"

Why do we say that this was an act of revenge? Because the Swansea defender who was fouled had just knocked down Batistuta 2 minutes ago, and was in the penalty area. However, the referee not only did not award a penalty, but instead accused Batistuta of diving and gave him a verbal warning.

The home fans were not happy. They booed Swansea loudly and, under the leadership of their leader, prepared to complain to the FA about the referee of the game.

It’s really unfair.

Batistuta was indeed fouled, but not with his feet, but with his hands. At the moment when he received the ball and turned around, the Swansea defender blocked the referee's view with his body, and then very covertly pulled Batistuta's arm that was across his chest to confront him.

The referee's attention was focused on the ground, so in his opinion, Batistuta did fall to the ground without being fouled. Not giving Batistuta a yellow gem card was a great honor to the host. "UN-FUCKING-BELIEVABLE!"

Batistuta sat on the grass of his home stadium and was reluctant to get up. He certainly knew that during a football match, decisions were made based on the referee's split-second judgment, but it was still very uncomfortable when he encountered injustice.

"Are you okay?" De Bruyne reached out and pulled Batistuta up. "Are you okay?"

Batty stamped his feet. "No, I'm not good!" he said. "I didn't dive. The referee didn't believe me at all!"

"I know." De Bruyne hugged him and comforted him, "Don't argue with the referee. There will be people who want to settle accounts with him after the game."

Batty's anger has not subsided yet.

"Not just the referee, Kevin." He raised his hand and yelled at the defender, "I'm talking to you, asshole! You just nearly pulled my head off!"

Kevin De Bruyne's mind went blank for a moment.

"Where did he catch you?" he asked unkindly.

"Chest! Where else could it be!" Batistuta bared his teeth fiercely. He quickly demonstrated the action just now to De Bruyne, "Not only did he grab my arm, but he also scratched my jersey and the flesh underneath! Look--"

Batty pulled open his collar: "It's all red!"

De Bruyne didn't see the real scene, but he still felt a "boom" in his head.

"Go back to your seats!" the referee shouted at them, "Otherwise I will have to deal with it as a violation!"

Batistuta responded, pushed De Bruyne back to his position, and then rolled his eyes at the defender and the referee. On the court, this was the cheapest and most affordable way to vent his anger without causing any trouble for himself.

Then?

Then there was De Bruyne's yellow card.

Fortunately, the referee did not agree with the Swansea players' idea. He only penalized the Belgian midfielder's tackle and did not classify it as retaliation.

"Thank you, but remember to find a smarter way next time." Batty went over and hugged De Bruyne's waist, "Come on, we still have a goal to score."

……

At the end of the second half, Batistuta's hat trick finally came.

Aguero was fouled and brought down in the penalty area and the referee awarded a penalty.

"Here you go." The Argentine striker threw the ball into Batistuta's arms, "Here's your chance, take it!"

Batistuta wiped the ball clean with his jersey before putting it on the penalty spot. He took a deep breath, kissed his fingers and prayed again, then ran up and shot.

5-0!

Batistuta deceived the goalkeeper and kicked the ball to the right. He created 4 goals in this game, including 3 goals and 1 assist, and successfully scored a hat trick. At the same time, this was also his first hat trick since joining the Premier League.

After the game, he was named the best player of the game and accepted interviews from multiple media outlets while receiving the MVP trophy.

However, Batistuta did not say much. After thanking a lot of people, he hurried back to the locker room. Just as the media were speculating on the reason, news came from inside that it was Aguero.

The Argentine striker was seriously injured when he was fouled, and it seemed to have triggered his old left calf injury. He is currently undergoing examination and the situation is not optimistic.

……

Aguero's injury cast a shadow over this game that should have ended with laughter. In the evening, Aguero was sent to Barcelona for treatment. Batistuta was worried, so he let Niu go with him, while he himself went home in De Bruyne's car.

"Don't worry, Kun will be fine," De Bruyne consoled him. "He is the most resilient and mentally competent guy I have ever seen. He will let you know he is safe by tomorrow afternoon at the latest."

"I know he'll be fine, but I just have a bad feeling," Batty replied.

He looked out the window. The sky was gloomy and it started to drizzle. De Bruyne turned up the heater in the car. Batistuta squinted his eyes and felt drowsy.

With the force generated by the brakes, the game ball in Batistuta's hand fell to the ground and he woke up.

"We're here." De Bruyne came over to help him straighten his collar, and then unbuckled his seat belt for him. "Go to bed early tonight, don't stay up late. We'll review the game tomorrow morning, and Guardiola will definitely talk about Kun's injury. I'm here to pick you up, don't be late."

Batty yawned, nodded, opened the door and got out.

"Wouldn't you like to come in and sit for a while?" He turned around and held the car door. "You haven't been to my house yet."

De Bruyne hesitated for a few seconds, but finally shook his head and refused. "I think this first time should be saved for your coming-of-age ceremony," he replied jokingly, "that way it will be meaningful."

Batistuta didn't understand what he was insisting on, but since he had said that, he stopped trying to persuade him. He waved his hand and walked towards the apartment door with the football in his arms.

His mind was in a mess, thinking about Aguero's injury, De Bruyne's concern for his coming-of-age ceremony, and himself...

But Batty didn't expect this -

On the steps below the apartment building, Neymar, who was supposed to be having a birthday party in Barcelona, ​​was sitting there bored and scrolling through his phone. Maybe he was infected, but he also yawned.

Batistuta stood there, and Neymar discovered him by yawning.

"Back?" With an upturned ending, the Barcelona star stood up, stretched his shoulders and walked towards Batistuta, "Yeah, faster than expected."

Batty didn't react yet, he blinked and asked, "Why are you here?"

"Of course it's a surprise!" Neymar smiled and pinched Batistuta's face, "Wish me a happy birthday!"

(End of this chapter)