[Football] Bad Boy Batty

Manchester City's midfielder Kevin De Bruyne was standing by the window in his pajamas with a cup of hot tea. He had just received a call from Guardiola, who told him that the next opponent in the Champions League had been confirmed to be Bayern.

He had been feeling unwell earlier today and a doctor's check-up confirmed he had the flu.

The temperature in the UK has been unstable these days, and it is the peak season for influenza. It must be because someone brought the virus to the party yesterday, and De Bruyne accidentally got infected.

The unlucky De Bruyne who didn't attend the training in the afternoon stood there, looking over with affectionate eyes, all he saw was his healthy self running on the training field.

According to his original plan, he would have made it clear with Batistuta after training this afternoon. He had no intention of asking the other party to give an immediate answer to accept or reject him. He was just too anxious and overwhelmed by the coming-of-age ceremony. He hoped that Batistuta would not be angry with him and would not let it affect his condition.

But now all of that has been ruined by the damn flu.

Batistuta must have gone to training. What would he think when he found out that the guy who chased him and kissed him last night and refused to let go didn't go to training? Would he think it was the kiss that caused it? Or - would he find out that Kevin De Bruyne was ill and couldn't go to training?
These questions ultimately boil down to one fundamental question: Does Batistuta care about him?

Just when De Bruyne was daydreaming, the doorbell of his house rang. The Belgian, who was more tangled than a ball of wool, opened the door without even thinking about it (usually only the postman would come at this time).

"Hi, Kevin."

Batistuta, who was wearing training clothes and had obviously just come out of the club, was standing there with a bright smile and a few freshly picked flowers in his hands.

"I heard you had the flu, so I came to see you." He waved his hand and stuffed the flowers into De Bruyne's arms, "Here, smell it, it smells so good."

……

This is so unexpected.

De Bruyne let the person into the house in a daze, and the first thing he did was not to find a vase for the flowers, but to put on a mask.

Batistuta sat down on the sofa naturally, then looked up at De Bruyne who was already wearing a mask and blinked in confusion. "Why are you wearing that?"

"The flu will infect you." De Bruyne shrugged and replied. Since Batistuta couldn't see his expression, he tried to make his body movements more vivid. "These flowers - where did you get them from?"

"In your next-door neighbour's garden," Batistuta said without guilt. "He has a black cat and when I came over he sat on the fence. The little guy meowed at me and waved, so I had to scratch him... or her head (De Bruyne: It was 'him'). Your nasty neighbour sprayed me with a hose and called me a 'little bitch', so I did it."

"Yeah, that guy is really annoying. Last time he even knocked over a trash can and left it alone." De Bruyne said as he went to the kitchen to find a jar to put the flowers in. "But the more annoying a guy is, the more likely he is to raise a polite child. The black cat you saw, I call him Jam. He often comes to my house - maybe you'll run into him later."

Batty didn't continue the topic. He found a comfortable position on the sofa, then crossed his long legs and placed them on the coffee table, then patted the place beside him.

"Come and sit down. It's not contagious just sitting next to you." He said in a light tone, "It's not like we're having a deep conversation, right, Kevin?"

In-depth communication, when he talked about this, he couldn't help but think of the two completely different kisses yesterday. To be honest, he liked the first one more, which was the one that was not completed, because he was the dominant one. Of course, the second one was also great. He enjoyed Batistuta's initiative to kiss him. It would have been better if the head coach hadn't shown up.

As he was thinking, he sat down on the sofa. To be on the safe side, he did not sit next to Batty.

This caused Batistuta's dissatisfaction, "I came to see you, why are you sitting so far away." He measured the distance with his eyes, then lay down directly, with his head resting on De Bruyne's thigh, "That's it, don't move."

"...There are still risks." De Bruyne shook his head helplessly, "Bati, I think you--"

"It's just a minor cold, what's there to be afraid of." Batty said nonchalantly while lying on his back on his legs, "You are our leader, how can you be defeated by a flu?"

"The one at the helm?"

"Yes, didn't you read the newspaper? They call Manchester City an aircraft carrier. I am the main weapon, you are the helmsman, and Pep is the navigator." Batistuta said, "You have to get better soon, there are many games waiting for you. Manchester City can't do without you, and so can I."

This is so unfair.

Batty's last words echoed in his mind.

"I'll be back soon," De Bruyne said, running his hand through the light-colored hair. The boy narrowed his eyes like a cat. "I'll be able to resume training once the flu symptoms are completely gone."

"That's great, this way we still have plenty of time to rehearse tactics. I don't know if you have heard that our opponent in the Champions League quarter-finals is Bayern." Batistuta said as he reached out and took the TV remote control from the coffee table. He planned to project the Bayern game on the screen, but he didn't expect that when he turned it on, he would see what he wanted.

"I know, Pep has told me," De Bruyne replied. "I've been watching their recent games this afternoon, from the league, the cup, to this one on TV, the 5-1 win over Arsenal."

"Which game are you talking about?" Batty joked with a sly smile, "Both rounds were 5-1, so the total score was in double digits."

"Well, but this gives people an illusion that Arsenal is weak and Bayern is strong." De Bruyne took the remote control from Batistuta, and after adjusting the progress bar a few times, the screen stopped on Bayern's two defenders Boateng and Alaba. "Boateng is a central defender, but as a central defender he is slow and not strong in confrontation. We can attack him from behind. Alaba is in the opposite position with you. He is offensive and likes to go to the wing and cooperate with Ribery to play as a double forward, but he is not a technical type. You can completely suppress him so that he dare not go up."

Batistuta listened carefully to his analysis and nodded. "You and Pep are talking about the same thing. In addition, Bayern's Robben is in good shape recently, so they will focus on the right side and use long passes. If we can cut off their route, then victory will definitely be ours."

This is De Bruyne's ideal life.

On a quiet night, watch the game with the one you love and discuss your opponents. It doesn’t have to be very interesting, as long as you spend time together, that’s the best.

Sudden--

"Hey! Look!" Batty tugged at his sleeve, "You were right, the little guy is really here."

Looking in the direction of Batty's finger, he saw the neighbor's little black cat coming in from the unclosed balcony door in the backyard. When he looked over, the cat had already nimbly jumped onto the sofa, and then lay down on Batty's stomach very naturally.

"profound--"

Batty made such a cute sound.

"Why didn't you tell me that you had such a treasure? If you had told me, I would come here every day." He complained in a low voice.

Batistuta lowered his head slightly to look at the cat, and De Bruyne lowered his head slightly to look at Batistuta, and the scene was very warm for a moment.

"Do you think this looks like a family of three?"

When De Bruyne heard himself say this, he was stunned as soon as he finished speaking, because he had not intended to say this sentence out loud. He was just thinking about it. It was just a fleeting thought, and it came out of his lips and vocal cords on its own without going through his brain.

The Bayern game was still on TV, and the cat was still sleeping comfortably on Batistuta's belly, but the atmosphere became strangely ambiguous.

"You have a rich imagination." Batty lowered his voice and spoke slowly, "I didn't expect you like this type, Kevin. Yesterday I thought you were a hedonist."

Before De Bruyne could figure out how to respond, Batistuta hooked his hands around his neck, used the force to lift his head, and then used the momentum of that moment to kiss him on the neck.

To be precise, it was a kiss on the Adam's apple.

"You're the one wearing the mask. I can only get here." Batty narrowed his eyes and smiled. "This is the deposit. I'll pay you the balance after we get all the trophies we deserve."

……

De Bruyne's flu soon improved, and he caught up with the next round of the league against Everton, visiting Goodison Park (Everton's home stadium). Batistuta could not forget the shame of conceding 4 goals to the opponent in the first leg at Etihad, so he went all out and teamed up with De Bruyne and Jesus to score 5 goals for Everton.

In the end, Manchester City avenged their previous defeat by defeating Everton 6-2 and continued to lead the Premier League.

Warm sea breezes descended on the British Isles. It was mid-April, and all events were coming to an end. After five league games, Manchester City extended their unbeaten streak to 4 games this season. At the same time, Chelsea lost to Manchester United, which caused them to fall further behind Manchester City in the championship race. Tottenham rose to the second place in the Premier League quietly, and Liverpool also moved forward steadily, still ranking fourth.

In this month, Batistuta was rotated on the bench in 2 games and scored in 3 games. He now tops the Premier League scorer list with a total of 26 goals. In second place is Tottenham's Harry Kane, who has scored 2 goals.

Sky Sports has a special report on this matter -

"Brazilian Rose shines in England, may become the next super shooter"

They believe that as long as Batistuta can maintain his form, his goal tally will easily reach 30 by the end of the season. This will break the record and become the first player under 30 to score 18+ goals in his first season in the Premier League.

If all age groups are counted, the last player to score 30 goals in the Premier League was Suarez before he transferred to Barcelona, ​​but he can now score 33+ goals every season.

However, as the discussion deepened, more negative views surfaced.

Many fans believe that Guardiola is overdrawing the young players' bodies and that this is not sustainable in the long run. In addition, he had a conflict with Bayern's famous doctor when he was coaching Bayern, so quite a number of people support this view.

Guardiola was also helpless.

"Look at what it says about me. I can't let you play any more games. The fans will eat me up." The head coach threw the newspaper into Batistuta's arms during the pre-match meeting. "Even if I say this is what you asked for, they won't believe me and will say I'm making excuses."

"All fans are like this." Batistuta didn't care. He didn't even look at the newspaper. He folded it twice and stuffed it under his butt. "You said you would let me play the full game in the next Champions League game, Pep, you can't break your promise."

There was a burst of good-natured laughter in the screening room.

Guardiola pinched his temples with a headache.

"And the opponent is Bayern." Batistuta continued before the head coach could speak, "Bayern is famous for its two wings. You still need me to suppress Ribery and Alaba. Am I wrong?"

Guardiola sighed, then used the remote control pen to turn to the next page, which showed their roster for the match against Bayern, and Batistuta's name was on the list.

So, he just complained a little, but he still had to put Batistuta in the starting lineup.

After coming out of the meeting room, Aguero was not in a good mood. Although he had recovered from his injury and returned to the team, Guardiola still let Jesus, who had performed well recently, continue to start for safety reasons.

Batistuta was very conflicted about this. Aguero was his friend, and he didn't want him to be benched because of injury, but Jesus was his compatriot, and he should be happy for him to gain a foothold in the team.

The court is so cruel and no one can change it.

……

The match day soon arrived, and Manchester City still played away first and then at home. 12 hours in advance, Guardiola brought his players to Munich.

After checking into the hotel in the morning and taking a short rest for a few hours, they set off for Bayern's home stadium, the Allianz Arena, for on-site training.

At Bayern's training ground, which is a few kilometers away, the players who are about to play in a few hours are doing nothing under Ancelotti's 'relaxed' management.

Almost all the main players gathered in the lounge. There was a TV hanging on the wall, and the match between Manchester City and Dortmund was playing.

This is Ancelotti's pre-match mobilization activity. He believes that watching the opponent's games more at this time can strengthen the players' "flash of inspiration" on the field.

“That little Batistuta is really good at dribbling past opponents,” Thomas Muller said as he collected his sheep’s head cards. He then threw a dice on the table at David Alaba’s head. “David, you big sieve, don’t let him get by too easily.”

Alaba and he both came from Bayern's youth training system. Over the years, he has gotten to know his teammate who is always joking, so he was not angry, but just rolled his eyes at the other party.

"Come to think of it, he went to the Olympics, right?" Captain Philipp Lahm, who had already decided to retire at the end of the season, suddenly said, "Joshua, you also went to the Olympics, didn't you? You played against him in the final. How did it feel?"

For a moment, most people in the lounge looked at Kimmich, but Kimmich was staring at the sofa leg opposite him and seemed to be completely distracted.

In fact, he was also thinking about the Olympics, thinking about the final. If they had been more serious in the second half, perhaps they would not have been reversed and won the championship. Then he thought of a few key points, such as the small incident during the overtime.

It is said that he misunderstood Batista and yelled at him, but after the game Batista still exchanged jerseys with him.

He still has the jersey, unwashed and not hanging it with the other jerseys he traded from other people, for reasons he couldn't quite explain.

"Hey! What are you thinking about!"

Kimmich woke up with a start, he looked up and saw it was Muller, the famous big mouth in the team, standing in front of him with a smile and snapping his fingers.

"I'm asking you a question, Joshua." Muller pointed his chin at him to look at the screen. "That Barty above, didn't you play against him in the Olympics? How was it?"

I don’t know if he was distracted and discovered or what, but Kimmich blushed a little, but he tried his best to cover it up with a blank face.

"You're right. I've played against him. The British media are not exaggerating. He is really good." Kimmich cleared his throat and said, "We should pay more attention to the wingers. He is very comprehensive, fast, technically good, and flexible. He has all the advantages of Brazilian players, and, uh, he likes to lob the ball past the opponent."

Mueller touched his chin and said "oh" meaningfully.

"I've never seen Joshua pay so much attention to someone before." He joked, "My requirements are not high. When I go on the court, just don't pass the ball directly to his feet."

Others followed with good-natured laughter. . .

Kimmich took a few deep breaths to calm himself down and ignored Muller's words. He looked at the TV, which happened to show a close-up of Batistuta preparing to take a free kick.

We meet again, he thought, I won’t let you pass this time.

……

At the same time, Kimmich's beloved Batistuta was returning to the hotel after finishing his spot training with Manchester City. In order to make Aguero forget his troubles, he prepared a popular movie for him this year -

"The Return of the Clown"

"Get lost! Who would show a horror movie to their teammates before the game?"

Aguero ran around the room holding a pillow, with Batistuta chasing him closely. Maybe they thought the room was not big enough, so they ran to the corridor, where De Bruyne happened to be walking into the room with coffee bought from a vending machine.

"be careful!"

But it was too late. De Bruyne was hit by Aguero, and Batistuta failed to brake and fell on top of him. The three of them rolled into a ball in an instant.

This scene happened to be seen by Guardiola who was going upstairs after the meeting.

Guardiola: …

(End of this chapter)