[Football] Bad Boy Batty

There were only three days between the two group matches, and the day after tomorrow the Brazilian Olympic team would face Iraq in their second match. Time was tight, so Mikael asked Batistuta to return to the training ground. Although Batistuta was to be confined until he calmed down, the schedule was so tight that only a fool would let the main players sit on the bench.

It was a sunny day without a single cloud in the blue sky. The sun made the grass on the training ground warm. Many staff members on the sidelines put on sun hats and sunglasses. Unfortunately, the players had no use for these equipment.

After the warm-up, the players rested in different corners of the training ground. Barbosa drank an energy drink and took a banana and handed it to Batistuta who was sitting on the side of the training ground. He was no longer angry. First, he did not play well on the field, and second, he knew Batistuta.

"What did Neymar say to you?" he asked.

Barty took the banana expressionlessly, peeled the skin slowly and replied: "What can he say? Apart from focusing on teamwork and unity to win the gold medal, he can't say anything else."

Barbosa's face wrinkled, and he quickly hooked his arms around Batistuta's neck and buried his face in his arms. He couldn't let anyone else hear what he just said. It sounded like he was saying that Neymar had no leadership ability. If someone with ulterior motives heard it and exaggerated it, not only would the game be over, but the media would also be outraged.

"This is not a club. If you can't do it, just keep quiet."

Barbosa was extremely nervous, but Batistuta didn't react. He broke free from his clubmate's grip and stuffed the last bite of banana into his mouth, saying incoherently: "What is there to hide? Did I make up what I said?"

"Oh my dear Batty, the problem is not what the truth is," Barbosa said helplessly, "the problem is how your words will be edited. The more you say, the more evidence people may have against you. Didn't they teach you this when you were on the 'streets'?"

This didn't sound right, Batti stood up and looked down at Barbosa, his beautiful brown eyes now narrowed dangerously and he exuded a dangerous aura.

"Who didn't teach me?"

Hearing this cold tone, Barbosa knew he had said the wrong thing. He had just been getting more and more excited, and in the end his words had changed their tone and touched upon what Batistuta hated the most. Everyone knew that Rocinha was behind Batistuta, and provoking him was basically courting death. Even if he was his teammate in the club, he would be beaten up without even a chance to defend himself.

Barbosa was so scared that he broke out in a cold sweat. He quickly raised his head and smiled at Batty in a flattering way. "You know I don't mean anything else," he said, "I'm just worried about you."

At this moment, the assistant coach's whistle saved the bad atmosphere here. The break was over and they started training with weights simulating the game.

"What are you waiting for?" the assistant coach shouted. Batty turned his head and waved his hand to indicate that he would be there soon. The dangerous aura around him finally dissipated.

Barbosa breathed a sigh of relief. It was such a close call.

"What are you doing? It's about to start!" Neymar shouted from the training ground, and then waved his hand with his signature harmless smile.

Batty pursed his lips and blew out air, making a "beep" sound. Barbossa subconsciously looked over, and then he was horrified to find that Batty rolled his eyes again.

Why is that?
Barbosa couldn't figure out what Batti was dissatisfied with. Could it be Nei - but before he could ask what was going on, Batti shook his arms and walked over quickly.

……

When they walked over, most of the players had already gathered around the assistant coach. Batty was walking through the crowd with one hand covering the back of his neck. He was looking around as if he was looking for something.

Soon he found his target in the outermost circle. The substitute goalkeeper of the Brazilian Olympic team, dressed in light green, was hiding in the corner, adjusting his gloves with his head down, looking indifferent to the world.

Batty licked the corner of his dry mouth. He liked people who were simple and innocent, but he didn't want the other person to be a sheep to be slaughtered at will.

"I'm in the same group with Ederson." Batty raised his hand and said to the assistant coach. He believed that he could be a good friend and a good teacher.

"Okay, be in the same group with Ederson. Let me see - huh?" The assistant coach wrote and drew on the notebook in his hand. Probably because he could not distinguish the names because he only heard the voice, he wrote down Ederson's name first, then looked up to find the source of the voice and write down another name. However, when he saw Battie's smiling face, his brain froze.

The poor assistant coach took a long time to react. He opened his mouth and thought for a while, then asked hesitantly: "Ah - is it you who wants to be in the same group with Ederson, Batty?"

In fact, not only the assistant coach, but everyone present was quite surprised, because from the first day of the training camp until now, Batista had been with Neymar except for the time when he fought with Neymar and was in the same group with Barbosa.

Everyone thinks it's natural that players with similar values ​​in the same team always stay together. They have their own circles, which is absolutely normal.

However, when did Batistuta, who is known as the future star of Brazil, start paying attention to Ederson, who is just a substitute goalkeeper?
Did one game make them good brothers on the bench, or did Batistuta discover Ederson's potential and prepare to recommend him to a big-name manager or club?

There were countless inquiring eyes at once, and even Ederson himself had mixed feelings, but at the same time he was a little excited. Brazil's future star was so obviously showing his interest in him, it was like an unknown dancer being noticed by a big boss in a nightclub, and the spotlight was on him in an instant.

"Don't you want to be in a group with me, Edson?" The light-haired boy walked up to Edson and asked. "No, no, how could that be." Edson shook his head quickly. "What I want to say is that after resistance training, it's time for special training. You-"

"That's perfect," Batty interrupted. "I need to practice shooting, shooting from all angles, and you also need to practice saving shots."

"That's what you said, but why do I feel that you..." Edson had ulterior motives. His expression was complicated, and he didn't say the second half of his thought.

Batty raised an eyebrow: "Why, do you think I will hurt you?"

"Of course not." Edson thought for a moment, "I mean, I'm honored to be in the same team with you." Then he saluted in a funny way.

Batistuta was amused by Ederson's actions. He shook his head slightly with a smile in the corner of his eyes, stretched out his hand and patted Ederson's shoulders meaningfully a few times, then turned around to get the weight belt.

Ederson was left there alone, pondering the incident, but even if he racked his brains he couldn't figure out what Batistuta meant.

But then Ederson felt relieved. Why think so much? The worst that could happen was that Batistuta would trade him to some agent. What could be more terrifying than being trapped in the slums for a lifetime?

Thinking of this, Ederson shook his head and quickly followed Batistuta to get the props.

Rafinha saw that Batistuta had found his companions and thought that his chance had come. His brain was spinning wildly and he rushed to Neymar and invited him as a club teammate.
"Then let's team up in pairs. I haven't had many opportunities in the club before. This time I have to learn from you."

Having said that, Neymar naturally had no reason to refuse. On the way to pick up the equipment, Rafinha was actively looking for topics to chat. He wanted to ask everything, from how Neymar usually trained to keep his feet in shape, to what was placed on Neymar's bedside.

As soon as they left, the gossiping duo started whispering to each other again.

"What do you think Rafinha is trying to do? Does he want to join Neymar's circle?" Barbosa asked Oscar. "Rafinha is not doing well in Barcelona. I have watched his games and it seems that he does not have much chemistry with his teammates. Do you think he is trying to find a way to integrate into their circle so that he can plan for the future?"

They took the equipment from the assistant coach and didn't have to move at all. They just had to wait for others to be ready before they could start training.

"That's probably what he intended, but it may not work." Oscar shook his head and said, "Don't look at Neymar's current glory in Barcelona, ​​MSN (Messi, Suarez, Neymar's forward combination), but he actually has no say at all. Not only is he the weakest in MSN, but in the small group of Barcelona, ​​he is not as good as Pique and Busquets. It's impossible to get in touch with him."

Barbosa frowned when he heard this. He tugged at Oscar's collar and warned him, "Don't say that about Neymar. Neymar is very strong. Without him, we wouldn't have been able to go that far in the World Cup two years ago. And his role in MSN is indispensable. Stop saying such sour words."

"Okay, okay, Neymar is the best. We are no match for him. So let's not talk about Neymar, let's talk about Batistuta." Oscar smoothed out the wrinkles on his collar that Barbosa had pulled out and said, "You have been teammates with Batistuta for a while. Have you met all of his adoptive fathers?"

Barbossa nodded, "Almost all of them."

"What about the most famous one?" Oscar asked, "Bloodhound, and his godfather, the famous director who ran from the slums to Oscar."

Barbosa said: "I saw him once. It was the day when Batistuta was included in the starting lineup for the first time. The big director happened to be back to shoot a movie, so he went to watch the game with Bloodhound."

"and then?"

"There's nothing else, what else can I do?" Barbossa replied with a shrug.

Oscar smacked his lips in annoyance. "Look, Rafinha has teamed up with Neymar for his own future, why can't you go find Batistuta for yourself?"

"That's only possible if I can get into Batty's circle." Barbosa had a complicated expression. He wanted to say something but held back. He shook his head for a long time and said, "You don't understand."

"I don't understand? I tell you, you have to seize the opportunity, otherwise this opportunity will be given to others for nothing, such as Ederson or something like that."

The conversation stopped here. Oscar and Barbosa adjusted their clothes naturally and greeted their teammates who gradually gathered around them with a smile. The assistant coach walked to the middle to count the number of people, and the second phase of training began immediately.

The weather was still bright and the sun was still warm, but Mikael, standing on the sidelines, did feel a little chilly. He sighed, thinking that it was becoming increasingly difficult to lead a team.

(End of this chapter)