"He's a great player. You all saw it—he's practically unstoppable!"
At the post-game press conference, Batty rested his chin on his right hand and spoke to the reporters, his face etched with weariness. He was still wearing his dark blue No. 9 jersey, which was wrinkled and dirty—scars from the battle he had just fought.
Below the stage, the reporters' pens flew across their notepads.
A reporter raised his hand and asked Batty for his thoughts on Argentina's World Cup journey this year.
Batty rubbed his face. "We were very lucky. We kept winning and made it to the semifinals. We've been improving. In '94, we made the Round of 16. Four years ago, we reached the quarterfinals. And this year... I can't say this result isn't good enough, but I still have regrets."
