[Football] Bad Boy Batty

Before the first wave of cold wave hit the UK, many South American players in Manchester City asked for leave from the club to join the national team. Batistuta, Jesus and Ederson were no exception. They flew back to Brazil to prepare for the World Cup qualifiers five days later.

Compared to other continents, the South American zone of the Russia World Cup qualifiers was almost a mess. Since Tite took office last year, Brazil's performance has made a big turnaround, rising directly from 6th place to 1st place and has remained there until now. Of course, it also indirectly led to the current chaotic situation.

Except for the Brazilian team which is far ahead in the standings, the remaining qualifying spots will not be decided until the last round.

So while other teams are fighting desperately for tickets to the World Cup, the Brazilian team only needs to complete the next games step by step and enjoy the joy brought by football. Even if they lose all two rounds, they can still successfully advance to the World Cup.

Speaking of which, Batistuta was actually recruited into the team as a replacement player.

As early as the end of 2016, Tite announced the new World Cup qualifiers, and Batistuta was not on the list at that time. After all, he was not yet 18 years old and was called up by the U20 team. As for why he went through the cumbersome procedures to bring him in now, Tite's answer was simple - Batistuta needed to adapt to the rhythm of international competitions.

Although there are still several months to go before the World Cup, they will have many warm-up matches and friendly matches to play during this period, but those are far from enough. If Batistuta wants to understand the rhythm of the games against other national teams before the World Cup, more games are needed.

Batty doesn't care much about these deeper reasons, he has other concerns.

"Don't worry, the coach will definitely let you play." Jesus said, he walked off the plane with his suitcase, ran two steps to Batistuta's right, "Your starting position is more stable than the two of us, and now we have qualified, just play as required."

Ederson on the left nodded, "He's right, you have nothing to worry about." He and Jesus joined the national team at the same time, had been here several times, and were more familiar with the process.

Loach, who was pulling Batty's suitcase from behind, was a little unhappy. He stuck out his tongue a little, then squeezed from Ederson to Batty to take back his position, and also squeezed Ederson with his shoulder.

"I'm not worried. Of course he has to let me play." Batty didn't react to the loach's behavior. He answered with his usual arrogance and then jumped onto the conveyor belt with great interest. "Come on, a great opportunity can't be wasted. Let's row!"

Yes, how can we not play games on the conveyor belt at the airport? So before entering the gate of the training base, several people, led by Batistuta, demonstrated the spirit of happiness first in Brazilian football philosophy.

How should I put it, at least the World Cup qualifiers in the next few days are secure.

It's also gratifying.

After getting off the conveyor belt and walking a few steps to the exit, Neymar's figure was particularly conspicuous. He had dyed his hair light-colored and permed it into wool curls. He was wearing a fluorescent green street-style jacket and floor-length trousers of the same color. He looked very energetic.

"Hi Batistuta! Over here!" Neymar pushed his sunglasses to his forehead and waved to Batistuta, then quickly walked over to him, "I haven't seen you for a long time. Come over here and repay the hug you owe me in one go!"

"We just had a video call last night, it wasn't that long." Batistuta said as he ran over to hug Neymar. He was now 6 feet tall, just enough for him to put his chin on the other's shoulder. He tilted his head and rubbed it. "Now we are in the same team again, it's great."

"It would be even better if you shared a room with me." Neymar patted his back and stepped back. Batistuta's 6-foot height was a little harder to accept than he had imagined. "I've already applied to my husband. Will you come?"

"Of course, make your bed, I can't wait!" Batty decisively abandoned his 'babysitter' Loach, raised his hand to mess up Neymar's carefully styled hair, then stepped back two steps, smacked his lips in disgust, "Look at what you are wearing, my friend, you play football in Paris, which is the fashion capital, why has your aesthetic regressed so seriously?"

"Nonsense, this outfit is very nice. I bought it because I saw it at the fashion week." Neymar dodged Batistuta's hand with a stern face, then grabbed his neck unconvinced and made him bow his head, gritting his teeth and retorting: "This is real fashion, it's art, what do you know?"

As the godson of Hollywood tycoon Edmundo, Batty was educated very well, at least no one has ever said anything to him about his dressing style.

"Okay, you're stubborn. Anyway, I'm not the one making a fool of myself. Stay away and don't let them think I know you well." Batistuta got rid of Neymar and deliberately distanced himself from him. "And be careful, I'm here to grab your position (Neymar mostly played on the right in Ligue 1 and World Cup qualifiers this season)"

Neymar waved his hands nonchalantly, "I play on the right because I am very versatile. I can play in every position in the front court." He said proudly, "Don't worry, you are not yet able to take my position."

Batistuta opened his eyes wide in shock. Normally, he was the one who would say such things. A few seconds later, Neymar's newly permed hair was shattered again. Of course, he did not sit still and wait for death. He sneaked around and attacked Batistuta's waist.

The two of them walked towards the door, joking and playing, completely ignoring the three people following behind them.

"Now you see clearly, loach, the one you should squeeze is Neymar." Jesus joked, "As long as he appears, there is no one else in Batistuta's eyes."

Loach curled his lips, said nothing, picked up the box and ran quickly to follow Batty.

Whoever his boss likes is honored, he won't be jealous.

"You may underestimate Loach, I mean underestimate his admiration for Batistuta." Ederson touched his chin and said, "If Batistuta fell in love with his girlfriend, he would definitely let her go without hesitation - I'm just assuming."

Jesus nodded, "A very reasonable assumption." He said, "Even if Batistuta fell in love with Neymar, Loach would wash him clean and send him to Batistuta's room without even thinking about it for a second."

As soon as the words were spoken, they were both stunned, then they imagined the scene in their minds at the same time, and finally they trembled in horror at the same time.

"They're going far away," Ederson pushed Jesus, "Come on, catch up."

Then they hurried to reunite with the main force, and no one mentioned the inappropriate joke again.

No one knew that this was the closest they had ever been to the truth.

...After arriving at the training ground, Batistuta signed autographs and took photos with the fans at the door. Perhaps the bodyguards had cleaned up in advance, so there were not many paparazzi around. After answering a few cute questions from the children, Batistuta walked into the venue.

The feeling of hometown is unmatched anywhere else. Take the fans here for example. They always look at him with pride as if their own children have made it. The kind of intimacy that emanates from their bones is impossible to find in a club.

This is not the first time Batistuta has entered the Rio training center, but it is his first time here as a national team player. Head coach Tite and his coaching team warmly welcomed Batistuta.

"How are you recently, Batistuta? I'm sorry that we can't prepare a more grand welcome party for you. I hope that your national team trip this time will be intense, understand?" Ti said, holding Batistuta's hand. "In the next week, we will train you in all aspects, and the intensity will not be lower than when you were in the Premier League. Are you ready?"

Of course he knew this; the training session before the World Cup qualifiers was not a vacation.

Batistuta smiled and shook hands with the head coach.

"Of course," he said cheerfully, "I'm always ready."

That being said, you have to know that the Brazilian national team is different from the youth team. It brings together elite players from all walks of life, all of whom are senior veterans who have experienced many major competitions. There are ultimate sly guys, there are troublemakers, and most importantly, they all have black hearts.

And since Batty was a newcomer, he was inevitably teased.

For example, table football is included as an entertainment activity by Brazilians. When he was in the club, Batistuta could easily beat his teammates. In the most difficult times, he just had to concentrate and play with his heart. But here, he was fooled by Alves and the goalkeeper coach.

However, Alves still knew his limits. Whenever he saw something was wrong, he was able to nip it in the bud in the bud, so Di never got angry from beginning to end.

Amid the astonished gazes of Neymar and others, Alves patted his sleeves, indicating that this was the gap in experience.

After returning to the room in the evening, Batistuta didn't want to stand for a second, and threw himself directly onto the bed against the wall and collapsed there. Neymar followed him in and couldn't help laughing at the sight of Batistuta being too tired to talk. Then he cleared his throat and said, "That's my bed, Batistuta."

"Is it?" Barty drawled, rubbing his hands against the pillow as if marking territory, then raising his hands to block out the glare of the light. "It's not now."

"You said you liked the window seat, so I gave you that bed." Neymar said as he sat in front of Batistuta and considerately used his body to block the light bulb on the ceiling. He pinched Batistuta's face and said, "If you don't get up, we can only sleep in one bed."

Hearing this, Batty became interested. He opened his half-closed eyes and moved back, then patted the place in front of him. "I'm fine." He said, "What do you think, come on?"

Neymar paused. He just wanted to use flirting to lighten the atmosphere. He was not trying to hint at anything for Batistuta, whose current state was a little beyond his expectations.

"We are preparing for the game, be serious." The current Brazilian captain said helplessly, "Don't tempt me, the next game against Argentina is still very important."

"Strictly speaking, you seduced me. Your bed is too close to the door. It looks like you're trying to seduce me to lie on it." Batty said illogically and confidently. He turned over and lay on his side, propped up his upper body, and patted the empty space in front of him again. "Didn't you hear what the gentleman said? Rational sex helps to maintain pre-match condition. He also gave business cards of high-end call girls. What? Do you think I'm not as good as them?"

"I'm not talking about sex, don't change the subject." Neymar said with a headache, "I think you don't live here just for this."

"Oh, then I'm leaving."

"Come back!" Neymar held down Batistuta who was pretending to get up, and then held him in his arms like a large plush toy. "Cease the battle now, take a break, and there will be evening training at 7 o'clock."

Batty muttered a few words and wanted to fight back but found that he didn't have the strength to raise his hands. So he gave up, closed his eyes and obediently became his stuffed toy.

As a result, both of them were late for training that night, and the head coach deducted their dessert for the next day.

Three days later, led by Tite, the Brazilian team flew to the Argentine capital, where they would play the penultimate round of qualifiers against their neighbor and arch-rival Argentina.

On October 10, the La Bombonera Stadium was packed with fanatical Argentine fans bringing drums to cheer for the team.

As expected, Batty was included in the starting lineup.

Tite used the 433 formation that Brazil is most familiar with, with Batistuta on the right, Neymar on the left, Jesus at the front, Coutinho, Casemiro, and Augusto in the midfield, Alves partnered with Marquinhos, and Miranda partnered with Sandro on the back line.

This is not their strongest lineup, but there is absolutely no intention to let Argentina get points and qualify for the World Cup.

It is worth mentioning that today's game was the national team debut of Batistuta and Ederson. At the same time, Sampaoli finally put Aguero in the starting lineup after keeping him on the bench for 3 months.

This way there are 4 Manchester City players on the field.

This indirectly led to Batty making a stupid mistake -

In the 13th minute of the first half, he suddenly passed the ball to Aguero.

(End of this chapter)