[Football] Bad Boy Batty

"Where did he touch you? By God, I'm going to crush that guy's dirty hands!"

In the player tunnel, Aguero shouted angrily, his forehead was red and veins were exposed, and he was obviously on the verge of exploding. He lifted Batistuta's shorts and insisted that Batistuta point out where he was touched, like a lioness protecting her cubs.

"Don't scare him, he's still recovering from the stress." De Bruyne pulled Aguero to calm him down, "They (Anfield staff) will find that guy."

Yes, Batistuta was harassed after falling into a crowd of fans.

Without him being able to see, someone reached a hand into his shorts. The hand was wearing a leather glove with metal material on it. Batty felt it very clearly.

At Klopp's request, the game was temporarily suspended, and all the Liverpool and Manchester City executives present gathered in the player tunnel. They were confused when they were notified of the accident, but after understanding the situation, everyone became indignant.

Guardiola's face turned pale. He quickly walked over to Batistuta and wrapped him in a thicker coat.

"Did he touch you deeper?" the head coach asked seriously. "Don't be afraid to say no. I just want to know the truth."

Batty shook his head.

"No." He lifted up his jacket and shorts, revealing two clear red marks on the inside of his thighs, "but his glove scratched me."

Guardiola was on the verge of exploding like Aguero, but Arteta informed him that the club president was coming, which prevented him from shouting in anger.

At the same time, the fans were somewhat confused about the situation. They had not reacted at the moment the game was interrupted, but 5 minutes later, all the players on the field put on down jackets and returned to the player channel. Only then did they realize that something bad had happened.

There was chaos in the stands and the players' tunnel was not quiet either.

Everyone was asking each other what happened. After learning the details, the players took turns to come to Batistuta to comfort him. Batistuta swore that he had never received so many hugs from players and management in one day.

"If you need anything, anything, tell me and I will do my best to help you achieve it." Klopp came to Batistuta again after calling the club chairman. He handed him a hot water bottle and then reached out to pat Batistuta on the head. "Don't worry, this is Anfield, we won't allow this to happen."

The German head coach, who is over 6.3 feet tall and has a serious face, seems particularly reliable at this time.

Batty nodded. "I will."

Klopp walked away, his back looking angry and like a boxer about to go into the ring.

Batistuta looked up in the direction where the opposing coach left. Following Klopp's figure, he saw Guardiola and several managers whom he had only met when signing the contract. Kompany, who was injured and unable to play, also came, as well as Liverpool captain Milner. Several people gathered together and took turns scolding the guy who harassed Batistuta.

Well, sometimes being patted on the head isn't so unpleasant, Batty thought.

Soon the Liverpool police arrived at the scene. They first asked Klopp about the situation and then confirmed it with Batistuta. Two photographers on the sidelines also followed in and said they could provide help.

Finally, after discussion, the police decided to go to the stadium's monitoring room with the photographer to find the real culprit by combining all the videos. Loach also followed them, he couldn't wait to beat up the bastard.

Batty did not expect such a large scale of the battle.

So the small stove that was about to explode went out quietly.

He encountered a similar situation in Brazil, but not during the game but in the team locker room. A fan broke in and tried to shoot at Batistuta's locker and clothes, and Batistuta was present.

Later, the man was taken away by Batti's godfathers and was never seen again.

But that's not the point. The point is that, except for Barbosa who really cared about him, all the other teammates were scared to death and even refused to have any skin contact with him.

I don't know what they are afraid of.

Later Batty realized that there were far more people who had bad intentions towards him than he thought, and fewer people who cared about him than he thought.

In the past, those people only remembered that he had a gangster boss as his backer. Never before, had so many people cared about him so much after the incident, cared about him as a person, rather than his other identity.

"I promise you, we will catch that guy." Milner said to Batistuta with a serious face, "I'm sorry that this happened to you, I'm sorry."

Batty smiled at him.

"You don't have to apologize for being an asshole," he said. "I'm fine. This isn't your fault."

The Liverpool captain gave him a hard smile.

As a player, he felt like he had fallen to the ground with a mouth full of mud when this happened in his home court.

at this time--

"Caught!"

There was a commotion at the innermost side of the player tunnel. Soon, the police and stadium security guards appeared in front of Batistuta with a man. It was an ordinary middle-aged man. When he was brought in, he didn't even dare to look Batistuta in the eye.

"Look, is that him?" The police handed Batty a pair of gloves. "This is what we found on him."

Batty took the gloves and nodded.

"It's him." He returned the evidence gloves and pursed his lips. "Can I--"

The police and security guards understood what he meant and carried the man to Batty, who pinched his finger bones and then broke his nose with a punch.

The man was taken away by the police car with a bleeding nose and screaming. Batistuta took the tissue handed over by Aguero and wiped the red stain on the back of his hand with disgust. He looked to the side where the referee team of this game was standing.

"Come on, gentlemen, I'm ready." Batty raised his lips, "I used violence, I should be given a red card."

The referee raised an eyebrow at him.

"What are you talking about? What just happened here?" he asked.

Batty's eyebrows jumped.

"Who saw what just happened here?" the referee asked around, "Did any violence occur?"

No one answered 'yes'.

So the referee shrugged at Batistuta. "I don't know what you mean. None of us saw any violence." He said, "No one deserves a red card, including you."

As the jury passed by, Barty whispered "thank you".

"Let's go," Aguero hooked his arm around Batistuta's neck, ruffled his hair and kissed his face as usual, "We still have a game to win."

After a 20-minute break, the game resumed.

……

In the 38th minute of the previous game, Guardiola noticed that Batistuta's running posture was a little strange. He called the team doctor. After a few minutes of observation, the team doctor believed that Batistuta had an injury to his shoulder.

"It must have happened when he fell into the crowd of fans," Arteta said. "Shoulder injuries are not serious injuries for football players and will not affect their running too much, but I am not sure what happened. Should we replace Batistuta after that incident?"

Guardiola frowned, thought for a few seconds, and then nodded.

"Kevin, Kun! Let Batistuta come over!" Guardiola shouted onto the field, "He has a shoulder injury, he has to come down!"

Batty heard what the head coach said and trotted to the sidelines.

"I'm fine. I can still hold on." He stretched his shoulders and said, "It's no big deal. At least we have to hold on until we score a goal."

"We might not score a goal in the next 50 minutes! But your shoulder is getting worse."

The head coach spoke of the cruelest possibility mercilessly. Compared to the result, he now hopes that Batistuta is okay.

"I am the head coach. I make the decision on who to replace. This is not a negotiation."

Batty was anxious, he couldn't accept this result.

"Five minutes! Give me another five minutes!" He smoothed his hair, "Let me finish the first half, please."

Guardiola didn't answer, so Batistuta took it as his agreement.

And it turns out that this decision was the right one.

With 1 minute left in the half-time break, Liverpool made a mistake in pressing in the frontcourt. Gundogan passed the ball straight into the middle to Batistuta who was returning to the middle. Manchester City formed a 3 to 2 situation in the frontcourt. Batistuta passed the ball diagonally to De Bruyne, and then quickly went to the side.

De Bruyne didn't even need to keep his eyes on the ball, he easily passed it back to Batistuta, who made a cross from the bottom line, and Aguero had a clear path ahead.

The ball went in!
Near the end of the first half, Manchester City took the lead away from home.

Aguero was extremely excited after scoring the goal. He waved to Batistuta and then hugged him.

Manchester City has recently unlocked a new celebration posture, which may have started with De Bruyne. In short, no matter who scores the goal, he has to pick up Batistuta and run two steps before completing the celebration.

"Hurry! Let's go to Pep!" Batistuta climbed onto Aguero's back. "He was just about to take me off the field!"

At some point, Batistuta began to refer to Guardiola as the more intimate Pep.

"No problem!" The Argentine player named Kun led Batistuta straight to the coaching booth, "He said you should replace him! Look! Who got the assist now!"

Guardiola, whose face was covered with the players' celebrations, smiled helplessly, then reached out and rubbed his light-skinned head.

"Yes, yes, it's my fault."

……

After the half-time break, Batistuta was substituted with satisfaction. At this time, many fans at the scene had already learned what had happened through the news, and they applauded Batistuta.

It is not easy to win the applause of the kops at Anfield. The last person to receive applause was Cristiano Ronaldo in 2014.

Batistuta was taken back to the injured room in the locker room by the team doctors. They asked him to lie down and began to check his shoulder. A few minutes later, Loach ran in, bringing Alandez with him.

"They won't let me in!" Loach squatted in front of Batty's bed and complained, "If it weren't for Alan, I would still be stopped outside." "You haven't passed your nutritionist qualification exam, of course they won't let you in." Batty smiled and said, "Turn on the TV for me, I want to know what's going on on the court."

"Don't think too much since you're already injured." Alandos interrupted. He didn't want to see the players not taking care of their bodies. "We originally customized various indoor training for you, but now it seems that we have to postpone it."

Loach touched Alandos's calf, signaling him not to talk about this topic anymore because his boss was still injured.

Alandez shut up, but Batistuta didn't care, he was in a good mood. Although he was touched on the thigh, the game was suspended for 20 minutes because of him, and the police were dispatched. He broke the guy's nose, but the referee didn't give him a red card, and he even got an assist in the end.

Could there be a better day than this?

Batty asked the team doctor to turn on the TV, and the situation on the field still seemed to be in their favor.

After a while, Kompany came down from the stands and came to the locker room. Although the Manchester City captain has been plagued by injuries, he is still a stabilizer for Manchester City. The reason is simple: that kind of cohesion and leadership ability is not possessed by everyone.

Kompany asked Batistuta how he felt and asked the team doctor about his injury. When he learned that he would have to wait until he returned for further examination, he showed some worry on his face. But it was only for a moment, and he soon returned to his warm smile.

"You'll be back on the court soon, don't worry," Kompany said, patting Batistuta on the shoulder.

The game soon reached the 85th minute and De Bruyne was also substituted. The first thing he did was to run back to the locker room to find Batistuta, and he even forgot to put on his down jacket.

"How's your shoulder?" the Belgian midfielder asked with concern.

"It's OK." Batty tilted his head and replied, "I don't feel anything different. You guys are too nervous."

"It's not a bad thing to be nervous." De Bruyne said as he produced a lollipop from nowhere like a magic trick. "Here you go, your favorite chocolate flavor."

Batistuta took the lollipop with surprise and kissed De Bruyne on the face, but because he was in a hurry to unwrap the lollipop, the kiss went a few centimeters downwards and landed on the corner of his mouth.

De Bruyne was stunned.

It wasn't until Batty put the lollipop into his mouth and his questioning eyes returned to his face that he came to his senses.

This is not right.

The Belgian midfielder quickly straightened up and turned around, pursing his lips and biting them hard.

This is not right.

As the pain from his lips spread to his brain, De Bruyne felt the corner of his mouth begin to burn. He subconsciously reached out to touch it, and the moment his fingertips touched the skin at the corner, the situation on the field suddenly changed.

Liverpool scored.

The sounds of frustration from Manchester City employees filled the entire locker room.

"What the hell!" Batty waved his lollipop. "There were only a few minutes left, how could we lose the ball?"

In the 87th minute, Liverpool still maintained a high-intensity run. Lallana made a cross from the left, Wijnaldum followed up and headed the ball into the goal from 12 yards, beating Kolarov.

The referee awarded 5 minutes of extra time, but neither team had any better chances and the score remained 1-1 until the end.

The final game of the 2016 Premier League ended in a draw.

On the way back, Manchester City players were a little depressed. Sterling sat next to De Bruyne, and soon he noticed that his friend had been staring at the car window for more than 10 minutes.

"It's just a draw, don't dwell on it." He nudged De Bruyne with his elbow. "We're still at the top of the Premier League, even though we're only one point ahead of Chelsea... Why do you keep touching the corner of your mouth? Is it broken?"

De Bruyne came back to his senses as if waking from a dream.

"Nothing." He smiled at Sterling, "You're right, it's just a draw. We can catch up soon."

After saying this he looked out the window again, the feeling at the corner of his mouth beginning to disappear.

……

After returning to the club, Guardiola said a few simple words and let the players go home to rest. Aguero volunteered to go to Batistuta's house to take care of him, even though he had said hundreds of times that it was not necessary.

"I'm going to take a shower," Aguero walked into the bathroom carrying a bunch of things, "Call me if you need anything."

Batistuta nodded perfunctorily, then lay on the bed with his legs crossed and played with his mobile phone. The lower left corner of the screen showed that he had a bunch of missed calls. Batistuta clicked on them and found that at least half of them were from Neymar.

He looked in the bathroom and saw that Aguero couldn't come out for a while, so Batistuta took the opportunity to call back.

"Oh my God, you finally have news!"

Neymar's face appeared on the screen at an exaggerated upward angle. He looked anxious and shook his mobile phone several times at the large screen behind him. There was a projection on it, a news detail page of the match between Manchester City and Liverpool.

"I saw the report. Are you okay, Batistuta? Damn the molester. That was a stadium! Who would do that to a player who was still playing... Yeah! I saw he was caught. How many years was he sentenced to? Can he be charged with additional crimes? And I saw you were substituted in the second half. Were you injured somewhere?"

It feels familiar, he still has so many questions.

Batistuta placed his phone against the head of the bed, trying to fit his entire body into the camera. He then lay on his side, raised his legs, pulled up his shorts, and showed his inner thighs to Neymar.

The two original red marks there had faded and were almost invisible.

"It's okay, look." Batty stretched out his hand and ran his hand across the skin. "It's not even broken."

What kind of posture is this... Neymar frowned and tapped the screen twice, "Put your pants on before talking."

"Why am I wearing pants when I'm almost going to bed?" Batty cast a strange look at the other side. "Anyway - don't worry, the law on protecting minors in the UK is very strict. I don't think that guy will get out without spending a few years in jail."

"As for being replaced—" He licked the inside of his upper gums, "I just twisted my shoulder when I fell into the crowd. I just need to rest for two days."

Neymar didn't seem to have calmed down yet. He took a few deep breaths and suddenly his eyes became strange.

"Wait, Barty, why are you so calm?" He leaned closer to the camera and asked, "With your temper, you actually——"

Batty rolled over twice on the bed.

“I punched the guy,” he said. “I don’t know anything else, but his nose was definitely broken.”

"That's good, but that's not what I'm talking about, Barty, are you...are you okay?"

"Why would I feel bad?" Batistuta asked. "I've encountered this kind of thing a lot, and I've never seen such a scene. You saw it, right? Klopp suspended the game because of this. A lot of people consoled me, and the police came. I felt - very good, especially good. There's no better time than now."

He said this sincerely, and Neymar finally felt relieved. Although Batistuta is sometimes good at pretending nothing has happened, the feeling is indescribable when he decides to confide in you.

"I'm glad you're okay." The Barcelona star relaxed and leaned back on the sofa. "So what are you going to do tonight? Do you need me—"

Before he could finish his words, the bathroom door opened with a 'crash' and Aguero, wrapped in a bath towel and wiping his hair, walked into the camera.

"Are you ready, Barty? It's time for a bedtime story!"

Soon, the Argentine striker discovered that Batistuta was on a video call and also saw Neymar on the opposite side, and he waved in a friendly manner.

Neymar: ???

Then, more questions were thrown at him, and Batty had to turn down the volume on his mobile phone to protect the windows from being shattered.

Aguero didn't understand what was going on, and Batistuta didn't know how to explain it to him, so after thinking about it, he took a pair of headphones.

"Turn off the lights and go to bed," he told Aguero.

"I won't cut it off, and you don't have to ask any more questions. Just go to sleep," he said to Neymar.

Thus began the warm (?) night with an inexplicable atmosphere.

of course not.

About half an hour later, Batty opened his eyes.

Aguero's snoring was particularly loud tonight.

"God, I don't know how Messi slept with him for 10 years." Batty went to the next room with the quilt and the phone, "Ney, are you still awake?"

"Hmm?" Neymar's voice sounded hazy for a moment, "Of course I'm still awake." He took off the earphone receiver and yawned, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, Kun was snoring, so I moved out to sleep." Batty said, "I thought you should want to know about this."

Neymar made a "yeah" gesture in his mind.

"Then I'll sing for you. My mother used to sing to me to sleep." He said, "Maybe it will help you a little."

Batty hummed.

But 5 seconds later he began to hate his decision.

then--

When he sang the third syllable, Neymar heard the clear hang-up sound in his headphones.

"Bati? Why did he die…"

After putting down his headphones, Batty was still scared. He didn't understand how someone could sing every note so far off.

After sealing his cell phone and headphone cord together in the corner of the room farthest from the bed, Batty finally had a good night's sleep.

(End of this chapter)