[Football] Bad Boy Batty

Three days later, Brazil faced their last opponent in the group stage, France. Perhaps because they had played too much, Batistuta didn't see a familiar name on the opponent's roster until the tactical analysis training session before the game.

"Augustus Rothschild? Why is he here?" Batistuta sat lazily in the first row of chairs. This was a habit he developed from Aguero. He held his chin with his arms and raised his eyebrows to look at Mikael. "I thought this guy was already 21 years old."

Richarlison sat next to Batistuta like a large dog. He didn't recognize the name on the screen, but as long as Batistuta said it, he believed it unconditionally, so he looked at Mikael with the same inquiring eyes.

"Yeah, Coach, why is there a grown man on our opponent's team?" he asked.

The light from the projector shone on the head coach's face. In the shadow of several railings in the photo, Mikael looked particularly helpless.

"Yes, we also thought he was an overage player at first, and we reported this to FIFA." Mikael sighed, "But they handed me a document with a long list of reasons. In summary, due to some force majeure, Augustus' birth certificate showed that he was two years older than his actual age, so they finally agreed to let him participate in the World Youth Championship."

Batty uttered a loud laugh.

"Sorry, Coach, not you." He raised his chin and said, "I'm sure the force majeure refers to the check. His family is so poor that they only have money left."

A quiet discussion broke out in the room, and the players asked each other about the overage player whose family was very rich on the screen. Mikael took a deep breath, and after repeating "I am the coach, I am the boss" several times in his mind, he shook the metal stick in his hand.

"Anyway - let's take a look at the French team's personnel configuration." Mikael dragged the topic back to the game, and then switched the screen to the French team's lineup in the first two games. "They most often use this traditional 442 formation. These two forwards and two fullbacks are the ones we need to focus on."

Batty clapped his hands, the chatter in the room gradually faded, and the players refocused their attention on the screen. Of course, not everyone was willing to listen to him, and there were a few people who were about his age who were dissatisfied with him, such as Anthony, who had a slight overlap with his position.

"He's only played well for one season. I don't understand why everyone acts like Brazil will rely on him in the future." Anthony whispered to Rodrigo next to him.

They are roommates and neither of them has had a chance to play in this World Youth Championship.

"Neymar is the real soul of the Brazilian team. Batistuta is still a long way from competing with him for the throne. And don't think that they have a good relationship now that they sleep in the same bed. I swear that in another season or two, they will fight each other. At that time, I will firmly support Neymar." Anthony added.

Rodrigo doesn't want to get involved in these things. He is easy-going and has no interest in the competition between Batistuta and Neymar for the top spot in the national team.

Yes, although the two parties involved did not show that intention at all, and one of them has not even joined the national team (adult), this matter has become the focus of conversation for almost every Brazilian (not limited to the football team) after dinner.

"You're thinking too far ahead. Anthony and Batistuta haven't even been called up to the national team yet." Rodrigo said in a low voice, "Besides, our Brazilian team has never fought for rights to the point of bloodshed. We don't engage in internal strife."

"Don't give me that. Didn't you watch the Olympics last year? He had a fight with Neymar right after training." Anthony pouted disdainfully, then he stretched out a finger and poked Rodrigo's chest. "You'd better decide who to support as soon as possible. That day won't be too late."

Even if Batistuta really quarreled with Neymar over the national team leader's seat, it has nothing to do with them. How dare he dream of joining the national team when he hasn't even got a chance to play in the youth team?

But this time, before Rodrigo could say anything in rebuttal, Vinicius in the front row turned around and made a "silence" gesture to the two of them.

Rodrigo nodded apologetically, then pulled Anthony to listen quietly to Mikael's arrangements.

The French team on the screen has already introduced its defenders.

The few who are the focus of attention are picked out and placed aside, with a row of photos on top and their names, ages, positions, and the leagues and clubs they play for below.

France's forward pair is Dembele and Mbappe, who play for Dortmund and Monaco respectively. There are two zoomed-out game screenshots on the right side of the screen, which are the games that Batistuta played against them in last season's Champions League.

"They are all speed players, but their footwork is still far from perfect."

This is what Batty said about them.

Now the two full-backs, Lucas Hernandez and Pavard, were magnified on the screen. Batistuta didn't see how strong they were yet, and his impression of them was only "cowardly neighbors".

"They are all players in the A-League." Mikael said as he switched slides and played a short match video clip for the players. It was from the Madrid derby last season in Spain. The Atletico defender wearing the No. 19 jersey neatly intercepted the ball from the feet of Real Madrid's No. 7. "Lucas Hernandez currently plays for Atletico Madrid. He is a stable starter, has strong individual combat capabilities, and is good at wing defense."

Singlehandedly defending Ronaldo and gaining the upper hand, Batistuta straightened up slightly.

interesting.

Next, Mikael played Pavard's performance in the Bundesliga, but Batistuta didn't listen to anything else. After listening to Guardiola's tactical arrangements, listening to anyone else made him feel like playing a game and the frame rate dropped from 60 to 30.

As for Augustus...

Batty thought about it and decided to ignore this guy who was approaching like his shadow and following him wherever he went.

The lion cares no more how many ants he crushes while hunting than he cares about himself.

"Okay, they are indeed good, but that's just good." After Mikael finished speaking, Batty stood up as the captain, stretched his body, turned around and looked at his teammates, "Come on! Let's go! Nothing to say, crush them and give them the same score as Vietnam!"

"Bati is right!" Richarlison very consciously played the role of second-in-command. He stood behind Batistuta and shouted with his full voice, "Show them some color!"

……

On the day of the game, the Brazilian team appeared in the player tunnel ready to go. Batistuta put on the captain's armband and prepared to go to the front of the team. On the way, he met Lucas who just came out from the other side. The French full-back was stunned for a moment, then broke into a bright smile.

"Hi, Barty!"

They exchanged a hug.

"Lucas, right?" Batty asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, and my roommate, Benji." Lucas pulled the little curly-haired guy who seemed to have not figured out the situation over to him. "Today, the two of us are left and right sidebacks. The coach said that you have strong firepower, so we should pay special attention."

"He's right."

"Yeah, I know you guys are scary, but that's it." Lucas said with a grin, "Today you're playing against me, you know, I'm good at defending wingers, I'm afraid your forwards will be silenced today."

Batty glanced at him quickly up and down, then raised the corners of his mouth slightly.

"Have you thought about how to break your legs against me?" he said. "I don't even need to dribble past you. I can just throw a spider at you and all my problems will be solved."

Lucas:…

"How come you still remember it?" The French defender scratched his hair a little awkwardly, then smiled with all eight teeth showing, "Anyway, don't think you can get through easily today!"

Batty raised his chin.

"bring it on."

……

After saying goodbye to Lucas, Batistuta came to the front of the Brazilian team and stood there. He could feel two fiery gazes staring at him from behind.

It was Augustus.

A few minutes ago, Batistuta saw Augustus in the player tunnel. Augustus had a new hairstyle, and the color was no longer the dazzling red but the most normal black. He looked like an ordinary player.

For a moment, Batty was sure that they had made eye contact, but in the end Augustus did not come to talk to him, which surprised him. Batty looked at the referee in front of him and thought, maybe that was the reason.

But considering that the other party seemed fearless in front of the police when they first met, the whole thing seemed a bit unjustifiable.

To be honest, Batty didn't quite understand what Augustus wanted.

Like——

Many people have desires for him and want to have something happen with him. In order to achieve this desire, those people usually do whatever it takes. Augustus gives Batty the feeling of being very similar to those people, but not completely, because the things he does are very stupid and weird.

Coming to his parties to get close to him, buying shares in Manchester United to enter the youth training system, and even changing his age to follow him to the World Youth Championship, Batistuta didn't see how doing these things would help him get into bed.

Does he desire him?

Yes, obviously.

Augustus's eyes were unconcealed, just like now, Batty could feel that the gaze behind him was almost stripping him naked.

But he really couldn't figure out what the other party's ultimate goal was.

"It's time." The referee from Slovenia looked at his watch and turned to the captains of both teams and said, "Let's go on the court."

So Batty shook his head and stopped thinking about those things.

The competition is the most important.

……

【Welcome to watch the final round of the World Youth Championship Group G. The two most favored teams, France and Brazil, will compete for the chance to advance to the next round at the Cheonan Stadium. The most watched player in the Brazilian team is undoubtedly Batistuta. The young player who just turned 18 won the Premier League title with Manchester City last season and reached the Champions League final, but unfortunately the award went to the more experienced Real Madrid.
In comparison, the French team has more dazzling players. Last season, Mbappe led the team to reverse Barcelona, ​​making him the object of competition among many giants this summer. His partner Dembele also helped Dortmund threaten Bayern's position several times. The defense line is full of talents. Lucas and Pavard are both good demons in FM. 】

While the commentator was still introducing the players, the Brazilian team had already attacked the French team's penalty area.

Brazil played particularly fiercely after the opening, without any probing, and immediately broke through the French team's defense. It was not until the team's most experienced midfielder asked his teammates to come back to fill in that the French team regained their positions.

However, at this time Batistuta had already completed two shots. Although one was too high and the other missed the target, it at least helped to boost the adrenaline and warm up his teammates. Overall, Batistuta was very satisfied with their opening attack.

After struggling to hold off the attack in the first 7 or 8 minutes, the Brazilian team's tempo gradually slowed down, which gave the French team a chance to catch their breath. Under the coach's roaring arrangement, they gradually stabilized the situation.

In the 11th minute, Batistuta asked for the ball. Lucas noticed his movement and defended in advance, blocking his position with his body, leaving no space for Batistuta to stop the ball and turn around, and the ball went out of the sideline.

Although the ball was still in the hands of the Brazilian team, the opportunity for a quick attack was gone.

This happened several times in the next 10 minutes. Lucas' defense was absolutely world-class. His kicks were fierce and decisive. Either the ball went out of the sideline or he was squeezed and lost control of the ball.

This is the strength of Atletico Madrid's defensive players.

But Batistuta was not so easy to contain, if that was the case he would not have scored 33 goals in his first season in the Premier League. He quickly became familiar with the opponent's operation and found ways to foul him while avoiding losing the ball.

In the 26th minute, Lucas tripped Batistuta and Brazil got a free kick in a good position.

Several midfielders plus Richarlison surrounded the referee and asked for a yellow card, but Batistuta quietly left the team and found their midfielder Guimaraes to discuss the set-piece.

"You wanna take a kick?" Batty asked.

As the captain of the team, he has to care about various problems of the players on and off the court. Batistuta cannot do it off the court, but at least on the court, he can give his teammates some opportunities to build their self-confidence when they have an advantage over their opponents.

This is what Neymar taught him.

"Me?" Guimaraes seemed a little flattered. "I, uh, yes, if you want."

"What does it have to do with me? I'm asking you if you want to take the penalty." Batistuta said in the most unfriendly tone, showing his concern for his teammates. "I see their goalkeeper is not very fast when he gets down to the ground. We can make some moves, get to the front point, and then - what the hell are you doing here?"

As he was speaking, Augustus suddenly came closer, and Batti pushed him away without thinking.

"Go back, you spy!"

"I didn't mean to eavesdrop on your tactics, Barty baby." Augustus blinked innocently, "I just missed you a little bit. It's been almost half an hour since the start of the game and you didn't even look at me."

"Who allowed you to call me baby?" Batty pushed him away mercilessly. Without getting entangled, he went straight to the referee to complain, "Sir! That French No. 17 harassed me!"

The referee, who had just said that there was no yellow card and escaped from the encirclement of Brazilian players, felt a headache: "...You said he harassed you?"

"Yes." Batistuta raised his chin and took a deep breath. "France's No. 17 Augustus prevented us from taking a free kick."

Oh, that's what you're talking about.

The referee breathed a sigh of relief and told Batistuta not to worry, then went on to warn Augustus not to provoke opposing players, and that was the end of the matter.

In fact, his colleagues had reminded him before the game that the Brazilian team had a beautiful young player and they must be careful to prevent certain accidents from happening.

Batistuta gave Guimaraes a look to signal him to do as he had just said, and then walked to the middle of the players who were trying to score in front of the goal, pretending to be somewhat dissatisfied with the referee's decision.

"Why do you hate me so much, dear?" Augustus came up again. He was responsible for defending Batistuta, but it was hard not to believe that he didn't take the opportunity to stick to him. "I tried very hard to catch up with you. Have you ever seen the sky in Manchester at 4 a.m.?"

Batty rolled his eyes and ignored him, but the more he paid attention to him, the more excited he became.

Guimaraes made a gesture to confuse his opponent, and then kicked the ball to the front point. Batistuta drew the attention of Augustus and two other defensive players, and Richarlison headed the ball directly into the French team's goal!
[The ball goes in! In the 27th minute, Richarlison heads the ball in and Brazil leads 1-0! ]

"I know you can do it, Richard!" Batty jumped on Richarlison and kissed him on the forehead. "Unexpected, but wonderful!"

Yes, it was a little different from his script, but a goal is a goal.

"You said it, give them a 9-0." Richarlison hugged Batty, looked up, his eyes bright, "As long as you said it, I will do it no matter what."

Batty's smile widened, and he held the other's face and kissed him on the forehead for a second time.

"Then let us--continue."

Someone in the stands calmed down from the celebration. He stared through a telescope at his compatriots who were still hugging each other on the field, mumbling something that was drowned out by the cheers of tens of thousands of people.

Kissing and hugging, tsk, go back and play football.

……

In the 43rd minute, Brazil extended the lead to 2-0 thanks to a goal from Batistuta.

Lucas completed two excellent defenses, but even so he was still not stopped. Football is a team game. Lucas is strong, but the central defender who partnered with him is still a kid from the youth league. He was almost mentally broken after being knocked down by Batistuta several times. He can't be expected to fill in the position at all.

Therefore, he fouled Batistuta in the penalty area and the referee awarded Brazil a penalty.

The young goalkeeper of the French team was on high alert, hoping to determine the direction of Batistuta's shot through any details, and dreaming of becoming famous by saving the opponent's penalty.

But unfortunately, dreams are just dreams after all.

Batistuta played a trick, taking small steps to run up and pausing before kicking the ball, which completely confused the young goalkeeper's brain. Before he could react, Batistuta's penalty kick had already flown into the blind corner of the goal.

【2-0! Batistuta scored a goal in one fell swoop, creating a penalty and scoring it himself. Brazil was still very powerful in the first half, scoring 7 goals with 2 shots on target. It seems that the conversion rate is not high, but you have to know that up to now, France has only had 3 shots from Mbappe, and no shots have hit the goal. Let's see if France can get a shot on target by the end of the first half. 】

The first half is over.

France's shots increased to 5, with 1 shot on target, but still 0 goals.

The score remained 2-0 until halftime.

Without giving a minute of stoppage time, the referee blew the whistle to end the first half.

"I think I deserve at least a compliment from you, dear. My block just now was absolutely amazing. If it weren't for me, you would have scored that goal."

When returning to the locker room, Augustus approached Batistuta again.

"I think I found an opportunity. As long as you limit the point where you pass the ball to the ball, you will have to move away from the goal to receive it. What threat is there?" he said.

Batistuta was in a good mood. He had just seen Neymar in the stands perform a cute heart gesture for him, so he didn't intend to argue with the madman next to him. He turned around and gave him an arrogant but sincere smile.

"Keep it up, my dear. Maybe in the second half we can only score 2-0 like in the first half. You can limit the score to 5 goals! Wait, what's the difference between 9-0 and 4-0? Aren't they both - losing?"

After hypocritically mocking his opponent, Batistuta dodged Augustus as if he was avoiding a virus, then waved his hand casually and returned to the Brazilian team's locker room.

"Hey Batistuta, I saw a guy stopping you in the tunnel." Richarlison handed Batistuta half a bottle of water and asked casually, "What did he say to you? Was it a provocation?" "It's not a provocation, just some crazy words." Batistuta took off his socks and began to remove the bandages.

Many players like to stay the same during the half-time break, but not Batistuta. If he doesn't take off his shin guards to breathe, his calves will suffocate.

"Compared to those things, think about how to celebrate after winning. How about going to a nightclub?" Batty said again.

"Well, not bad." Richarlison answered casually, and then he patted Batistuta's shoulder with some concern, "But I saw that guy staring at you a lot, and I felt he had bad intentions. Be careful in the second half."

So what if he has bad intentions? This is a football field.

On the court, you can -

Ha! What can be done on the court?

Batty suddenly had a 'bad' idea.

He raised the corner of his mouth and leaned over to put his hand on Richarlison's shoulder, and lied very naturally: "You are right, that guy really has bad intentions towards me. We both play football in England, and he has long been resentful of me. He will definitely target the right side in the second half."

"I'm telling you!" Richarlison waved his fist, looking indignant. "I think his words carry a lot of weight in the French team. We can't just let him target us. Batistuta, what do you think we should do?"

"Don't worry, I have a way." Batty raised his hand to ruffle Richarlison's hair, and then suddenly changed the subject: "Richard, have I told you that I admire your style as a striker who can knock down defenders?"

Richarlison was stunned for a moment. "Uh, no."

"Well, now you've heard it." Batty smiled. "Augustus is good at fighting, but I guess no one has ever targeted him on the court. You should retreat more in the second half - I'll go find Winnie later. Don't worry, we will fill your position."

"what do you mean--"

"That's right." Batty patted Richarlison's chest with a wicked smile and said slowly, "Let's give him a fight."

……

In the second half, the offense and defense transitions of both sides were still fast, and the scenes were more intense than in the first half, such as conflicts.

[beep——]
In the 56th minute, the referee stopped the game again, gave the French team a free kick in the midfield and showed a yellow card to Richarlison who brought down Augustus.

There is nothing wrong with this yellow card. Richarlison's foul was a typical 'failure to pass the ball past the opponent'. He just stretched his foot towards Augustus' calf, and this was the second time in the second half that he intercepted France's attack from Augustus. The referee gave him a verbal warning the first time, but the second yellow card was unavoidable.

"Go form a human wall!"

Batistuta directed his teammates to line up in front of the goal, high-fived Richarlison, and then trotted over to Augustus. Richarlison was hit hard, and he hadn't even gotten up from the grass yet.

"Stop acting, the referee has already left," Batty taunted.

"Why are you always so mean to me?" Augustus raised his eyebrows and looked up at Batistuta. Then he stretched out his hand. "It's okay for you to let your teammates foul me. I know football is not a graceful sport. At least pull me up, Batistuta baby."

Batty gave him a fake smile and held out his hand.

"No one is targeting you, it's you who can't resist." He said, pulling Augustus up into the air, then lowered his head and approached him, deliberately letting his breath hit the tip of his nose, "Oh sweetheart, I suddenly found that you are actually quite my type-"

Looking at the blue eyes so close to him, Augustus' heart beat faster and he felt unprecedented joy. But before he could completely transform this into excitement, he heard Batty finish the second half of his sentence.

"--when you were lying on the turf!" After saying that, Batty let go and Augustus fell back onto the turf.

The Brazilian captain teased his opponent severely.

"Look, this suits you so well. Just lie here. You have a VIP ticket to watch the game. You can watch your defeat up close. It can't be more suitable for a loser like you, right?"

Of course, teasing comes at a price.

This was a provocative action and the referee showed Batistuta a yellow card warning.

"Bati!" Mikael was so angry that he jumped up and down on the sidelines. "That's totally unnecessary! Why did you have to provoke him? You have four yellow cards now. If you get another one, you will be suspended!"

Batty shrugged at the coach.

“Worth it”

……

In the second half, Batistuta did what he said. He scored a goal and assisted Guimarães to score another one. After helping the team take a 4-goal lead, he signaled to his teammates to slow down.

Now the chance came to the French team, but Dembele, who had performed well in the first half, seemed to have lost his soul. After getting the ball in the 70th minute, he kicked the ball out of the sideline in a way that no one could understand.

Looking at the French coach who was going crazy not far away, Mikael felt much better.

In the final moments, Mbappe used his speed to break away from the Brazilian defender's defense and shot into the far corner, saving face for the French team.

4-1, Brazil won all 3 games and advanced to the knockout stage as the group leader.

……

That night, Batistuta paid for the entire team to go to a famous nightclub in Seoul to relax. Although Mikael condemned this on the surface, he chose to acquiesce in private.

What can we do? Anyway, the Brazilian team is usually a team that can achieve good results if they play with enthusiasm. It is natural for them to go out and relax after winning a game.

As long as the players don't do anything illegal or are caught by the media behaving badly (such as soliciting prostitutes), Mikael will turn a blind eye.

Unfortunately, there were minors in the Brazilian U20 team, and the nightclub security guard at the door refused to let them in no matter what.

"I saw that the nightclubs in South Korea were not strictly controlled. Many underage artists were able to enter. It must be because we were too flashy and they were afraid of causing trouble." Richarlison whispered in Batistuta's ear. He looked to the side and said, "We didn't take any protection when we came out. A lot of reporters followed us."

Batty waved his hand indifferently. "We just go in there to dance and relax. We're not taking drugs or anything. Nothing will happen."

"But he really didn't let us in." Richarlison scratched his chin, "How about we go to another place? Find a quiet bar and invite a few artists to come, it will be similar to a nightclub."

"Not even close." Batty refused to give up. He thought for a moment and suddenly turned around and asked, "What time is it?"

"10:15, what's going on?"

"What time is it in Los Angeles?"

"Uh." Richarlison was a little confused. He looked at Guimaraes behind him and asked, "What is the time difference between the United States and South Korea?"

"Fourteen hours, maybe," Guimaraes shrugged.

"Well, it's almost 8 o'clock in the morning in Los Angeles." Richarlison came to the conclusion with difficulty. "Why are you asking this, Batistuta?"

Batistuta didn't answer the question, just gave him a look of 'wait and see', then turned aside to make a phone call. Richarlison was a little confused, and he elbowed Guimaraes.

“Who do you think he called?” he asked. “It couldn’t be Neymar.”

"It must be his godfather. Edmundo just returned to Los Angeles the day before yesterday." Guimaraes said, "You also came from the slums, didn't you? He is your predecessor. How can you not associate this with anything?"

"Of course I know this, but -" Richarlison showed an incomprehensible expression, "He has all the power in Hollywood, what can he do here?"

Guimaraes raised an eyebrow. “Have you ever seen Snowpiercer?”

"I've seen it. It was released in 13, starring Captain America. I was impressed by the protein blocks made of cockroaches." Richarlison spoke quickly. He glanced at Batistuta, who hadn't finished his call yet, but from his expression it looked like he was about to succeed. "Why are you asking this? Does it matter?"

"Of course." Guimarães waved him over. "Snowpiercer was produced by South Korea's CJ Entertainment and distributed by DreamWorks. Edmundo is the founder of DreamWorks and the producer of this film. CJ was the partner he found back then. Last month, the media photographed him having dinner with CJ Chairman Lee Mi-kyung. Do you think he has any connections in South Korea?"

Richarlison was stunned. He didn't pay much attention to the entertainment industry. Apart from knowing that Edmundo was awesome, he knew nothing else. After hearing what Guimarães said today, he realized what kind of heavyweight figure came out of the Brazilian slums in the last century.

"I can tell you didn't pay attention in class. Every teacher kept talking about Edmundo until everyone's ears were callused." Guimaraes teased him, "By the way - Lee Mi-kyung is from the Samsung family. Last year, there was a rumor that Edmundo was going to help her take the position of heir. Yes, that Samsung you know."

"At that time, my mind was full of football and making money. I didn't have time to listen to these nonsense." Richarlison shook his head and put his hand to close his chin. "Anyway, I just followed Batistuta. Why think so much about things he can solve."

Batistuta's phone call just ended. He walked back to his teammates with a cheerful step, and pointed at the door with his thumb. "Okay, let's go."

The security guard didn't know what was going on and continued to block them as usual, "Sorry, I still can't let them in."

"Don't speak too fast." Batty brushed away his raised arm, then patted his shoulder playfully, "You'd better call your boss. Now, I'm the boss here. What, the boss is not allowed to bring his teammates to a party to relax?"

"What?" The security guard couldn't believe his ears and even began to doubt his English level. "You, you said that now you are——"

"Yeah, things change all the time, don't you think?" Batistuta smiled brightly at him, then tilted his head to signal the Brazilian U20 players behind him to go inside. At the last second before going in, he looked at the security guard again, "Stop the boss, you're fired."

what?
The security guard was completely panicked, but before he could react, Batty retreated again.

"Hey, I'm kidding. You're not fired. You were just doing your job. I'm not the kind of boss who makes trouble for no reason." Batty reached out to help the tall security guard in front of him straighten his collar and name tag, and then stuffed a roll of bills into his shirt pocket.

Facing the security guard's incredulous expression, Batty smiled as if he had succeeded in his prank and gave him a wink: "It's never wrong to stick to your principles. Remember that. See you later."

The light-haired boy disappeared at the entrance of the nightclub. After a while, the music inside changed to Latin-style reggaeton music. The security guard touched the money on his chest and came back to his senses.

The colleague next to him poked him in a mean way.

"You're blushing."

"...Nothing."

"Don't deny it, our new boss is really hot."

"...Hurry up and do your work."

……

When it was almost 4 a.m., only a few older players were still playing. In order not to break the rules, Batistuta did not let his underage teammates drink too much. So, without the paralysis of alcohol, they could not hold on until 1 or 2 a.m. and had to go back to rest.

Richarlison returned to the booth and only Guimarães was still drinking there. Vinicius had already lay down, and Anthony was browsing his phone nearby.

"Where's Buddy?" he asked.

"I don't know." Guimarães waved his hand. "Neymar just came over, and then they disappeared. Maybe they went dancing. What do you want to talk to him about?"

"No, I found a dice and wanted to ask him to come over to play. Since Neymar is there, forget it." Richarlison scratched his hair and felt his bladder protesting as he stood up. "Hey Bruno, I'm going to pee, wanna join me?"

Guimaraes shook his head and asked the two juniors next to him. After receiving a negative answer, Richarlison curled his lips and walked to the bathroom alone.

The door panel divides the inside and outside into two worlds, and the noisy music does not penetrate into the bathroom.

Richarlison hummed a half-melodies as he opened the floodgates, but just as he was about to finish, he suddenly heard a crash in the compartment behind him, along with a sigh.

"Who's there?" he asked, turning around.

The brain soaked in alcohol reacted a little slowly, and it took a long time to realize that the voice was extremely familiar.

"Wait..." Richarlison pulled up his pants and walked over slowly, "Is that you here, Batistuta?"

no respond.

Richarlison was a little confused, but he didn't give up. Just as his fingers were about to knock on the door of the cubicle, the person inside spoke: "Yes, it's me, Rich, I'm...well, I drank too much."

Batistuta's voice sounded strange, but Richarlison couldn't tell what was wrong.

"Are you okay?" Richarlison asked with concern, "Did you vomit? I'll help you get some water."

"No! I mean...ha, ah, thank you, no need." Batty refused intermittently, "You go back and continue playing, don't worry about me, I'm fine."

"You don't sound well," Richarlison said. "You really don't want my help?"

"No need." Batty looked like he was about to cry. "Go back to your seat, Richard. I'll be there soon. Open a few more bottles of champagne for me. I'll continue when I get back."

"It doesn't matter, I've already opened a lot." Richarlison counted on his fingers, "It adds up to tens of thousands of pounds."

"It's okay." Batty said decisively, as if he was driving Richarlison out, "Go, Richard! See you later."

Richarlison responded and walked out of the bathroom. As soon as he walked out of the door, he slapped his head and remembered that he had forgotten to ask Batistuta where Neymar was. However, just when he was about to go back, Guimaraes waved at him and asked if he wanted to leave, so he immediately forgot about it.

Fortunately, he did not go back, otherwise he might have heard something he shouldn't have heard.

……

There was nothing much to say about the subsequent knockout matches. Brazil defeated Senegal 3-0, the United States 8-0, and Uruguay 4-1 to secure a ticket to the final. Batistuta also ranked first in the scorer list with 17 goals, far ahead of Mbappe.

Speaking of Mbappe——

This involves a very funny thing.

After losing to Brazil, most members of the French team were interviewed by reporters. Augustus said that it was just a mistake and they had not yet worked well together. They would show their true strength to defeat Brazil in the final.

However, the French team did not make the final. They were dragged into overtime by England in the semi-finals, and then were unfortunately eliminated by a young player named Rice in the last 2 minutes.

Brazil's final opponent is England.

When he got the news, Batistuta was arguing with Neymar. He had grown taller, and was obviously several centimeters taller than Neymar. He wanted to change his position, but Neymar refused to admit it and did not agree to change his position. Batistuta almost laughed himself to the ground.

(End of this chapter)