[Football] Bad Boy Batty

After confirming that the final opponent would be Real Madrid, Manchester City began targeted training. The entire club was filled with excitement from top to bottom. After all, this was their first time to enter the European final in 47 years. The last time Manchester City entered the final of a European competition was in 1970, when they participated in the Cup Winners' Cup before the Champions League was reformed.

From another perspective, this is the first time in Manchester City's 123-year history that they have reached the Champions League final. Regardless of whether they can win the championship or not, they have already made history.

"Considering injuries and form, this should be Real Madrid's starting lineup," Guardiola said as he turned a page on the screen with a laser pointer. "We can't underestimate the enemy. I know there are all kinds of rumors online, like Real Madrid is not in good form, Bale is injured, and they have stumbled along the way, but no matter what, they have defeated all opponents and entered the final. We must be 120% serious."

Unsurprisingly, these words were directed at Batistuta, referring to the incident in which he and Sterling had a fight in the car before heading to Monaco's home game last month. Although Guardiola did not stop them at the time, he decided not to put pressure on them after considering many aspects.

But the situation is different now. Real Madrid is not Monaco. Their tactics must be changed, and the players' attitudes must be corrected. It is said that Brazilians love pleasure by nature, and they can win the championship by singing and dancing, but this also depends on the situation. Sometimes being too relaxed will ruin them.

Batistuta sat sideways in his seat and waved his hand to show Guardiola that he understood.

Real Madrid is different from Monaco. Their midfield running ability is not that strong, but their control and interception ability is much higher than Monaco. Moreover, their team is mostly composed of championship players, such as the midfield partners Toni Kroos and Luka Modric, and Casemiro, who is lagging behind in the lineup, also played a crucial role last season.

"We have to compete with Real Madrid for the midfield. Only by controlling the ball at our feet can we create more opportunities." Guardiola turned over two pages of offensive diagrams and said, "Bati, I will give you more room to move this time. Sagna will not go to the side, and his defensive task is heavier."

Sagna, Manchester City veteran, French, right back.

To be honest, Batty hasn't played much with him this season. He just roughly knows that the opponent has good one-on-one defense ability and can steal the ball, but this is not enough to be the reason for the opponent to start in the final.

but--

Batistuta looked back and saw the French defender waved to him in a friendly manner.

Forget it, Guardiola has his own ideas, and Sagna has always been good to him, so Batistuta dispelled his doubts.

Guardiola hasn't finished speaking yet: "Marcelo and Ramos are both on the left, they are bound to restrict the wing, Batistuta, you need to move back to the middle appropriately. Kroos likes to pass back, and Modric has a strong ability to get rid of the ball, but when they get the ball, Ramos is bound to come forward, that's your chance."

……

After the group circle training, the players dispersed to different places for special exercises. The forwards put on high-tech vests and elastic ropes that simulated confrontation to conduct shooting training at different angles.

After the two groups were over, Batistuta untied the weights and went to the sidelines to drink water. Aguero followed him. He touched Batistuta's arm and asked, "The final is coming soon. Are you nervous?"

"There's still more than a week left." Batistuta put down the water bottle and looked at Aguero strangely, then asked him, "What about you, are you nervous?"

"To be honest... a little bit." Aguero touched his temples and said worriedly, "I don't know how to put it better, but - the feeling now is very similar to the feeling before the 14 World Cup final."

"That was the World Cup, now it's the Champions League." Batistuta snapped his fingers twice in front of him. "Don't think too much, it's just a game. If you are really nervous, just call Messi. He has participated in many Champions League finals."

"I can't always trouble him. He hasn't had a good season." Aguero shook his head and said, "I called him yesterday and he had already returned to Argentina. He also said he wanted to come and watch our game, but I didn't let him come."

"Why don't you let him come?"

"He can't do anything if he comes, and he will distract me." Aguero took off his vest and handed it to the equipment manager, smacking his lips uncomfortably, "I don't know, maybe I'm too nervous in the first final - Oh! Hey! Why did you hit me!"

"I'm targeting you. Don't spread the tense atmosphere, Kun. Real Madrid has a lot of injured players, and they were defeated by Barcelona at home not long ago. Their morale is low. Think of something positive." Batistuta pinched his nose and said, "Besides, he's the only one who can't distract you. I asked Neymar to come over to play a few days ago. His plane should be arriving after training, and I have to pick him up."

"what?"

"what happened?"

"You asked Neymar to come to your house?" Aguero looked over in surprise. "We are about to play the final and you want him to come and play. If Pep knew, he would definitely scold you!"

"Then don't let him know." The boy shrugged nonchalantly, "You have to relax. If you tighten the string too much, it will break."

Aguero still didn't quite agree, but the topic could not be continued as De Bruyne appeared out of nowhere.
"Are you done here?" De Bruyne asked.

The Belgian midfielder put his hands on Batistuta's shoulders and pressed them intentionally or unintentionally.

"Alan asked me to ask you to look at the data regarding the physical training for the next few days," he said.

Batty patted the back of the other's hands on his shoulders, then casually brushed them away, "Okay, I'll be right over."

The boy looked natural, stretched his shoulders and walked into the room first.

De Bruyne didn't react much and followed.

Only Aguero stood still.

When did Kevin come here? Why doesn’t he have any recollection of it?

Unfortunately, Aguero couldn't remember it after thinking for a long time.

"Hey! Kun! What are you doing?" Batty in front waved at him, "Hurry up, let's go!"

So Aguero shook his hair and put the matter behind him.

"coming!"

……

Neymar was on a flight to Manchester, with 20 minutes left before the plane landed. He felt less nervous and more excited than when he first got on the plane.

He didn't tell anyone about this trip except his sister, including the friends and team who lived in his house, and most importantly, he didn't tell his father.

Originally he had a commercial event today, and he had used that thing before, which was really terrible. But your executive somehow found a friend of his father, and under the friend's persuasion he was forced to accept the endorsement.

Thinking of old Neymar's furious look at this time, Neymar inexplicably felt a sense of refreshment of rebelling, leaving home and achieving success.

Besides that, of course, there is Batty.

He hasn't seen each other for more than two months (video calls don't count), and - Neymar looked at the champagne glass in front of him, his eyes flickering unnaturally.

Batty says he will share his bed with him.

Although he hadn't decided whether to make everything clear, and there was a high probability that what he imagined would not happen, only a fool would not seize such a good opportunity.

[The plane has arrived at Manchester Airport. Please leave in an orderly manner. Please go to the gate to collect your checked luggage after getting off the plane. Take your personal belongings with you. I wish you a pleasant journey. Goodbye. ]

Neymar put on sunglasses and a hat, picked up the small suitcase he carried with him, and walked carefully towards the exit.

He is no longer an unknown person like he was a few years ago. If he walks out openly without any bodyguards, a group of people will immediately surround him.

But he soon realized that his disguise was all in vain.

Because Batistuta was standing there in a very fashionable suit, people who didn't know him would think he was a movie star. Most people around him were secretly looking at him. Neymar looked around and saw a few people grinning at their notebooks. He guessed that Batistuta must have signed autographs for them.

Not only that, he also had a sign under his arm that was more than half a person's height, with "Neymar Por aqui" written on it in red and blue markers.

Neymar: …

There was a strange feeling of joy mixed with shyness and a little bit of condemnation.

……

"Uh, is this okay?"

After getting in the car, Neymar took off his hat and sunglasses. He turned his head to look at Batistuta in the driver's seat. The strange right-hand drive system in Britain was really uncomfortable.

"What do you mean?" Batty started to walk skillfully. "I came here after training. Don't worry, I won't skip training because of you."

"No, I meant just now. A lot of people saw us."

Batty glanced quickly in his direction.

"Just look at it, what's there?" he said. "It's not some secret love affair that needs to be hidden."

Neymar scratched his hair: "But you are a Manchester City player and you have to play in the Champions League final next week. What will the media say if I come here so blatantly? British newspapers are no worse than Spanish ones. They are all good at making up stories."

"What are you afraid of? You and I are both Brazilians, and besides that, you are a Barcelona player. Our opponent is Real Madrid. You are old rivals, aren't you?" Batistuta said slowly. "Well, I want to get some information about Real Madrid from you. It makes sense."

"Right!" Neymar clapped his hands and understood, but he was quickly diverted by Batistuta's last sentence, "You must be careful when facing Real Madrid this time. They are very aggressive in the backcourt, especially Ramos. He made a tackle from behind during the national derby last month. Although he was given a red card, Leo was seriously injured."

"Yeah."

"Of course it's true. There's also Marcelo. You just happened to be playing against him. Although he's on the Brazilian national team, I still have to say that he sometimes makes a lot of small moves and is never polite." Speaking of Real Madrid's ferocity, Neymar began to talk non-stop. "Pepe is okay. He is injured and can't play. The same goes for Coentrao. He is not in Zidane's plan now... And Casemiro, he also makes big moves and likes to play innocent after committing a foul."

The corners of Batty's mouth curled up in a playful arc.

"Ney."

"Huh? What's wrong?"

"There are many compilations on YouTube about your clash with Real Madrid."

"so?"

Neymar suddenly had a bad feeling. He always felt that Batistuta's next sentence would not be what he liked.

"I read them all." Batistuta cleared his throat and said with a smile, "Including when you first went to Barcelona and quarreled with Coentrao and was scared by Pepe..."

"Stop! Stop talking!" Neymar, whose dark past was suddenly exposed, sat down and turned his head to look out the window. "It was all so long ago. The situation is no longer the same."

Batty looked over and could only see half of the other person's face and his red ears.

Interesting.

But I can't say any more. Looking at the situation, Neymar might jump out of the car if I continue.

So Batty turned on the car stereo and played the song he and Sterling played when they were playing together. It had nothing to do with the lyrics and the mood. Batty liked its lazy tune.

However, we don’t know whether someone in the passenger seat connected the lyrics together.

The rest of the journey was spent in the singing of the potted plants.

……

During the evening rush hour, Manchester's roads were not very peaceful. It took them nearly two hours to get from the airport to the apartment. By the time Batistuta took Neymar upstairs, it was almost 4 o'clock.

"A chef will come to cook in a while. Just drag whatever you want into the basket below. They will prepare the ingredients in advance." Batistuta threw Neymar a tablet with food from different countries on it. "I always order in the morning. If you really don't know what to choose, just look at the historical records. I have tried most of them. Let me give you a piece of advice, don't choose South Korea."

Neymar took the tablet to choose, then asked casually, "Where's Loach? Why isn't he here?"

The most annoying thing about being alone together is being interrupted unexpectedly.

Like 'Loach knocked on the door and asked them to eat' and 'Rafina called', he didn't want such things to happen again.

"He's on a date and may not be back until tomorrow night. Don't worry about him. Let's eat our food," Batty replied.

yeah!
Neymar made a victory gesture in his heart.

"Don't you like CS? Go ahead. I installed the computer specially for you and even got you a high-end account." Batty pointed to a room not far away and said. After that, he sat in front of the TV in the living room and took out a notebook, as if he wanted to write something down.

"What about you?" Neymar asked. "You're not coming with me?"

"Let me review Real Madrid's defensive video again." Batistuta turned on the TV, found the video and started playing it. He stared at the screen and waved to Neymar, "You go first, I'll find you later."

There is no such thing.

What's the point of letting him go and play by himself? Isn't the purpose of his coming here to be with him?

Neymar ignored the e-sports room prepared for him and sat down on the carpet next to Batistuta.

Batistuta turned his head to look at him suspiciously: "You're not going to play?" "No." Neymar said, he looked at the game on the screen, "This is the national derby between Barcelona and Real Madrid, I'm a participant here and you asked me to play."

"I asked you to relax, not to continue working."

"What kind of job is it to analyze a match?" Especially with you. Neymar said, he used the remote control to control the progress bar to the clip of Real Madrid defenders pressing defense, "Come on, you also helped me analyze the match against Paris last time, this time it's my turn to help you."

After thinking about it, Batistuta accepted Neymar's help.

……

"Typical Real Madrid midfield interceptions and steals, Kroos, Modric, and Casemiro are the ones you should focus on," Neymar said. "Sometimes Ronaldo will come back, but he rarely gets the ball in such a deep place, so it's more important to cut off his passing route."

Batistuta repeatedly played the clip of Iniesta being attacked on the right wing, and then wrote down the little moves that each Real Madrid player was used to doing in a notebook. Neymar was watching him writing and drawing, and he felt a little dry in the mouth, perhaps because the air in the room was not circulating.

Looking down, I thought I could look at the carpet to relieve my pain, but I unexpectedly saw a very conspicuous scar on Batty's ankle.

"You are here——"

"Huh?" Batistuta looked down. "It happened when we played against Monaco. Didn't you see it? Fabinho stepped on me from behind."

"I didn't expect it to be so deep. It left a scar."

"It's quite magical. I don't have a scar-prone physique, but there are always a few wounds that don't obey." Seeing Neymar's interest, Batistuta said a few more words, then he changed his posture, pulled up his trouser legs and laid his calves horizontally in front of him, and pointed to a few places: "They were all kicked in the Premier League this season. They all bled at the time, but you can't see it now. Only the ankle is particularly obvious."

Neymar reached out and grasped his ankle, then rubbed the pink bump (it's a scar, don't get the wrong idea) with his thumb.

"Shhhhhh, itchy, what are you doing?"

Batty shrank back, but the opponent subconsciously grabbed his ankle and he couldn't get away, which reminded him of a bad experience.

The sound of heartbeat gradually occupied my brain.

Just when he was about to break free violently, Neymar suddenly sighed.

"I felt so painful watching it on TV," he said. "You must have felt even more pain since you insisted on competing."

Oh, it's Neymar who's holding his ankle now, not anyone else.

Batty came back to his senses.

The heartbeat gradually returned to normal.

He tensed for two seconds, then relaxed.

"It's all right now. Don't look like you're going to cry." Batty shook his foot in the other's hand. "Go on. There are still 5 or 6 clips left to watch in the half."

But Neymar was lost in thought, and he circled his ankles and refused to let go, with a tendency to move his hands up to his calves, rubbing them lightly. Batistuta felt the nearby skin burning slightly, and a steady stream of instructions to tremble were being sent to his heart and brain.

Barty frowned.

Really, it's not like I don't have feelings for him, so why do I keep teasing him like this?

"you--"

The sound of the doorbell interrupted the slightly strange atmosphere in the room. Batistuta quickly retracted his legs, then stood up and walked towards the door. Neymar didn't have that idea, he just touched the scar and said, don't worry about it, there are still many trees in the garden... Batistuta said to himself as he walked.

If Neymar could hear Batistuta's inner thoughts, he would definitely shout "I'm kidding."

The warmth in his palms disappeared, and Neymar pounded the carpet in annoyance.

The third time!

This is the third time!

He roared in his heart, damn it, don't let him see the guy who interrupted him by ringing the doorbell, otherwise he will definitely teach him a lesson!
Just then Batty's voice came from the door -

"Ney, your dad is here."

Neymar: !!!

……

"He will definitely scold me because I embarrassed him by not attending the business event." Neymar paced back and forth anxiously at the elevator entrance. "I only told Rafina about this, the little traitor!"

Batty didn't care. He leaned against the side with his arms folded, watching the numbers on the elevator go from 15 to 22. It would take at most a dozen seconds to reach their floor.

"What are you afraid of? This is my place." He tilted his head to signal Neymar to stand aside. "If you are afraid, I will talk to your father."

Neymar pursed his lips: "I'm not afraid, he is my father after all, he won't hurt me, but this time... it's complicated."

"It's not that complicated." Batty waved his hand. "No, I'll give you a commercial endorsement as compensation. You can choose whatever you want. I can even let you perform at high-end fashion shows in Paris and New York."

Before Neymar could answer, the number above the elevator jumped to 33, and with a 'ding' sound, the door slowly opened.

But unexpectedly——

"I've wanted to see you a long time ago, Batistuta. You are the most talented after Neymar Jr. It's really God's gift for Brazil to have you both... Don't worry, I just came to visit and won't disturb you."

Looking at old Neymar who was shaking hands with him excitedly, Batistuta winked at the person beside him.

Is this the 'cruel' father you don't know how to face?
Neymar is completely down.

……

Neymar Sr. was just visiting, as he said, and it took only 15 minutes from the time he got on the elevator to the time he left. He praised Batistuta's talent and praised God for blessing Brazil, saying they would definitely add another star to their flag soon.

Neymar didn't react until he took the elevator down and left the apartment. He couldn't understand why his father didn't say a word about the business activity he skipped.

He spent the following analysis in a trance. Of course, Batty did not force him to cheer up.

At 5:45, the chefs arrived and Batistuta finished his analysis and preparation. At this time, Neymar received a text message from his father, which explained why the other party had just behaved in a series of unreasonable ways.

[It’s the right choice to get close to Batistuta, Junior, talk to him more and get his godfather’s phone number or other contact information. His resources are beyond the imagination of ordinary people.]

Oh, like this.

Neymar suddenly lost his temper, and it turned out to be because of this.

Looking at the text message, he suddenly felt sorry for Batty. Any relationship would be difficult to end if it was linked to interests. Asking him for the contact information of his godfather, what was the difference between that and asking for resources?
This was the situation he least wanted to see.

Looking up at the door and glancing at the wall clock, Neymar realized that Batistuta had been gone for 20 minutes. This was not right. He just went to see if the chef had arrived, so why did it take so long?

So Neymar got up from the carpet and went to the door to check.

"Bati, why did you take so long? What's the matter?"

As soon as he turned the corner, Neymar froze in place. The scene in front of him was unbelievable to him. His eyes slowly widened and his pupils began to tremble uncontrollably.

There was a blond guy leaning on the cabinet at the door with Batty trapped in his arms. The posture was extremely ambiguous under the dim light. The guy was still wearing a coat, as if he had just come in from outside. He lowered his head and seemed to have just said something to Batty. The boy kissed the corner of the other's mouth with a somewhat ingratiating smile.

No, it had to be a kiss on the face, Neymar thought. It must be the lighting.

"Ok?"

Hearing the voice, the man turned around and looked over here. Neymar knew him. He was Batistuta's teammate, the Belgian midfielder. He didn't know when he came to the apartment.

"What are you doing?" Neymar asked, trying to stay calm. "I thought you were going to see the chef, Batistuta."

Batistuta looked at him and blinked, then tapped De Bruyne's chin to signal him, then he squeezed out from between the other's arms and finally straightened his open collar.

He hadn't realized how anxious the situation was.

"Well, I came to see the chef, but Kevin came over suddenly, and the chef knew him, so he opened the door for him and came up together." Batty said naturally, "I told him that we only ordered dinner for two, which might not be enough, but he-"

"It's okay." De Bruyne took over the second half of the sentence and said, he walked to Batistuta, then reached out and pressed his shoulder, not surprised at the presence of Neymar, "I'm not too hungry, I can have one with you, if you don't mind me."

Of course Batistuta had no objection. The Brazilian's natural enthusiasm made him happy to share dinner with him.

Naturally, this dinner became Neymar's most difficult 30 minutes.

He had to watch Batistuta and De Bruyne huddled together, exchanging glances, feeding each other, and even exchanging saliva (wrong).

'banging'

Unable to bear the scene, Neymar threw away his fork and left the restaurant. He ran to the e-sports room prepared for him by Batistuta, and looking at everything prepared for him, made his tormented heart feel a little better.

"What's wrong with him?" Batty's hand stopped in the air while rolling the pasta. "Is he not to his liking?"

De Bruyne glanced in the direction where Neymar disappeared without commenting. He licked the corner of his mouth and then ate the noodles on Batistuta's fork in one bite.

Who wins now?

……

After dinner, Batistuta took De Bruyne back to the living room. He turned on the PS4, took out two controllers, then found a comfortable position to sit in the other's arms, ready to play some two-player games to pass the time.

Recently, De Bruyne started working out at the suggestion of Guardiola, and he felt particularly comfortable leaning on him. Batistuta discovered this in the training room that day, so he treated him as a long-term human cushion.

After choosing for a long time, I chose a two-player adventure game called "Escape from Death".

Players have to play the roles of two men with completely opposite personalities who escape from prison and seek revenge on the local gangster boss.

But before the game started, Neymar came out of the room.

He cut in forcefully, sat directly on the carpet next to De Bruyne, and then looked over with a slightly provocative look.

"I want to play too."

Batty was unaware of this.

"Sure," he said. "The controller is over there, connect it yourself."

But this meant he couldn't play A Way Out, so Batty controlled the game and exited it, then stared at his inventory and frowned.

"Isn't there some small game that three people can play?"

But who would have known that this simple soliloquy would cause a strong reaction from the two people next to him, and they finally reached a consensus on this matter.

Neymar: “No!”

De Bruyne: “No.”

hiss--

Batty narrowed his eyes.

He just said that.

(End of this chapter)