Work Text:
SCREEN: “EUROPA Y SUDAMÉRICA”]
[Scene shows a compilation of different goals and scenes from various Copa America quarterfinal matches.]
VO: Fasten your seatbelts, because this Copa is going fast! We have some actual material to cover today, thanks to Argentina not playing an absolute pushover of a team as they did in all three parts of the group stage!
[Marsch pops up on-screen, annoyed.]
MARSCH: HEY!
VO: Sorry, Jesse, we'll get to Canada later. But first of all...[sighs] Argentina won AGAIN. Thankfully, it was more dramatic this time!
[Scene cuts to Macalistair in the locker room, packing up his gym bag.]
PRODUCER: Alexis, you're through to the semifinals. Nonetheless, did you find Ecuador a harder opponent than you expected?
MAC ALLISTER: It would be stupid to dismiss them. That's why Messi is a profound idiot.
PRODUCER: Do you think Argentina will find it more challenging to get past the semifinal stage?
MAC ALLISTER: Are you kidding me? We'll play either Venezuela or Canada! How is that hard?
PRODUCER: I'm just saying that you might turn into the version of Brazil that played Costa Rica.
MAC ALLISTER: [bursts into laughter] Yeah, that's not happening. Even if we played as badly as the US men's national team, the refs would probably red-card half of our opponent's players so things get easier.
PRODUCER: Are you implying that Argentina has become the international version of Manchester City?
MAC ALLISTER: [offended squawking] WHAT?!
[Scene cuts to highlights from the Venezuela-Canada game.]
VO: Canada continued to shock the football world by making it to the semifinals following a penalty shootout win to Venezuela. Out of the three Concacaf teams that made it to the tournament, Canada was expected to play the third wheel to perennial challengers Mexico and the home team USA. However, against the odds, everything has been totally flipped!
[Scene cuts to Marsch in his office in the Canada national team's training complex, reading through fan mail. The camera pans over one letter, which is filled with insults and trash talk. The camera then zooms out to reveal a giant stack of letters underneath the first letter, marked "Hate".]
MARSCH: [singing, to " All Star " by Smash Mouth] Somebody once told me the world is gonna roll me/ I ain't the sharpest tool in the shed
[Marsch reaches into a drawer and picks up a Polaroid photo. The camera pans to the photo , which is a picture of Mourinho making the "L" sign with one hand and flipping the bird with the other.]
MARSCH: He was looking kind of dumb with his finger and his thumb/ In the shape of an "L" on his forehead! [jumps off the desk and starts dancing] Well, the years start comin' and they don't stop comin'/ Fed to the rules and I hit the ground runnin'
[Scene cuts to the training pitch. The Canadian players are sprinting, and Marsch is running backwards, following them.]
MARSCH: [to players] Doesn't make sense not to live for fun/ Your brain gets smart but they say you're dumb/ So much to do, so much to see/ So what's wrong with taking the backstreets?
[Scene cuts to the Venezuela-Canada game. The last penalty is taken and the referee blows the whistle. The Canada players celebrate, and Marsch dances off the sidelines and onto the pitch.]
MARSCH: Well, now we know, 'cause we dared to go/ The doubters said that we couldn't glow
[Scene cuts to the Canada locker room. The Canadian players are running around in celebration, and Marsch is on a table in the middle dressed in a Shrek costume and dancing like Ted Lasso.]
MARSCH: Hey now, we are all stars/ Got your game on, we played/ Hey now, we're all rock stars/ Semifinals today/ And all that glitters is gold/ We are shootin' stars, we broke the mould
DAVIES: [spoken] So, coach...you do know that we face Argentina again, right?
MARSCH: [screams] WHY me?! WHY couldn't it be Ecuador? We'd have beaten Ecuador on penalties!
DAVIES: And in regular time?
MARSCH: [sighs] Probably not.
[Scene cuts to highlights from the Colombia-Panama game.]
VO: Colombia macerated Panama to earn their place in the quarterfinals. Here's Luis Diaz after their victory.
PRODUCER: Lucho, a good game, a sound victory, a goal for you. It seems like Colombia can't stop being perfect.
DIAZ: Perfect? [rolls his eyes] No way, compadre! Arizona is so hot that my skin feels like paper. But we made it, anyway.
PRODUCER: You've already played against one of your teammates in the group stage. Depending on the results, Colombia could end up playing Uruguay and Argentina, as well.
DIAZ: It does feel weird, playing against my teammates. We've not played together for a long time--Alexis only joined us last summer--but we're used to working as a team towards glory instead of fighting each other for it.
PRODUCER: How did it feel playing against Alisson in the group stage?
DIAZ: [laughs] Well, it was odd to see him saving my shots instead of trying to cross the ball to me from the other side of the pitch! Thankfully the game ended in a draw, so we both went through and neither of us was too upset.
PRODUCER: I can only guess that you two talked after the match.
DIAZ: Yeah, we met up in the halls before our teams went back to the hotels. Ali had Endrick with him, and he and I talked quite a bit. Endrick's such a little sunshine, it's a shame he's going to Real. Ali seemed a bit...off, for some reason, but he never told me anything. [frowns slightly] I hope he's okay.
PRODUCER: Maybe if Brazil goes through later, you'll have another chance to talk with him and ask him what's going on.
DIAZ: Yeah, maybe. But I also really miss Wino.
PRODUCER: Who will you be cheering for?
DIAZ: Um, NOBODY?! Both of them could beat us on a good day! [scowls] Lucky Lexi, getting the easy side of the bracket just like in the World Cup.
[Scene cuts to highlights from the Uruguay-Brazil game.]
VO: Brazil, as things ended up, did not end up going through. They lost to ten-man Uruguay on penalties, in what will feel to many Brazil fans like a cruel repeat of the most recent World Cup.
[Scene cuts to the last penalty of the match. It goes in, and the Uruguay players wheel away in celebration. Alisson looks around the place, clearly shaken. The camera then fades to Alisson alone in his hotel room, Music--more specifically, "Here Comes the Sun" by the Beatles, starts to play in the background.]
ALISSON: [singing] We've been knocked out/ We've been knocked out by Uruguay/ It's all right
[The door opens. It's only by a bit, but it's enough to reveal who's behind it--Bento. His eyes widen, but he stays quiet.]
ALISSON: [picks up Bobby Junior from his cage and sets him on a towel] Little Bobby, it's been a long, cold, lonely summer/ Little Bobby, it feels like years since we've been here/ The fire's begun, we didn't make it through/ The fire's begun , and I say/ It's all right
[The camera goes back to Bento...]
BENTO: [whispered, almost mouthed] You don't have to pretend to be okay, you know.
[...and then back to Alisson.]
ALISSON: [smiles strainedly] Little Bobby, the smiles will return to their faces/ Little Bobby, in a few years, we'll get back there/ That's delusion/ That's delusion, and I say/ It's all right
[Scene cuts to the hall. Endrick, who's doing something on his phone, bumps into Bento.]
ENDRICK: Bento? What are you doing here?
BENTO: I'm worried for him. I guessed something was up since the Colombia game, and this only confirms it.
ENDRICK: [confused] But he said he's okay! He went around making sure we were all okay. You don't do that if you're not okay .
BENTO: That's what I thought. [sighs, moves aside so Endrick can see through the crack in the door] I think you'd better have a look.
[Endrick looks through the crack of the door. Alisson is waltzing around the room with two of his suitcases that have been stacked, one on top of the other, and held together with a belt. Bobby Junior is standing on top of the second suitcase.]
ENDRICK: [eyes wide] What the...
ALISSON: [singing] The legends, here they come/ The legends, better run/ With their comments and guns! [spoken, to Bobby Junior] Metaphorically, but it still hurts!/ They're right, though, look at what we've done/ All their work has been undone...
[Alisson flops onto the bed. Bobby Jr. hops off the suitcase stack onto the bed, climbing onto Alisson's chest.]
ALISSON: Little Bobby, I feel the world is slowly shifting/ Little Bobby, it feels like years since it's been clear/ This delusion, it's coming apart/ The fire's begun, still I say/ It's alright/ This deception, I can't keep it up/ The fire's begun, but I say/ It's alright . [Music stops. He inhales shakily, hugging Bobby Junior close to him. His smile is gone, and his eyes are glistening.] It's...alright.
[The camera pans to the digital bedside clock, which reads 11:30 PM. Timeskip; the clock now reads 12:30 PM. Taffarel opens the door, holding a large plate of biscuits.]
TAFFAREL: You awake, kiddo? I brought these cookies from the cafeteria. They're a little different than the ones back on Merseyside, but they're still good. [sighs] I know, I know, they think I'm too worried about you. It's...different when you're with someone all the time compared to if you only interact with them a few weeks in a year. It's like the difference between a random kid falling off their bike, and your kid falling off their bike.
[He turns towards the bed and gasps. Alisson is in bed, but Endrick and Bento are there too. All three are cuddling, and Bobby Junior is on top of Alisson's chest, wiggling and squeaking in his sleep. Taffarel sighs in relief and takes a blanket from the chair in the corner, throwing it over the three players and settling Bobby Junior back in his cage.]
TAFFAREL: [ruffles Alisson's hair, then does the same with Endrick and Bento] Maybe the code of the Selecao isn't completely gone, after all.