Sunday, September 8th, 2022

Demien's Apartment, Bergamo

10:47 AM

Demien woke to sunlight streaming through the curtains and his phone buzzing on the nightstand, and when he checked the screen blearily he saw forty-three new notifications from Instagram, twenty-seven from Twitter, and six missed calls from his mother.

He sat up slowly, his legs still heavy from yesterday's ninety minutes, and he unlocked the phone to find his social media feeds absolutely

exploding.

Instagram:

His follower count had jumped overnight—427,891 followers, up from around 150,000 yesterday morning, and the number was still climbing in real-time as he refreshed.

The comments under his last post—a simple photo of him holding the man of the match trophy—had reached 14,000 and counting:

@calcio_fanatic: 5 goal involvements at 18??? This kid is SPECIAL 🔥

@atalanta_ultras: Walter is the future. Mark my words.

@football_scout_italia: Serie A just got a new superstar. That free-kick was INSANE.

@mud104: Been following since the debut. Told you all he was different. 💙🖤

@SerieA_Daily: Two goals, three assists, 95% passing accuracy. EIGHTEEN YEARS OLD.

Twitter:

The trending topics in Italy showed his name sitting at number seven—#DemienWalter—with over 50,000 tweets in the past twenty-four hours.

@FabrizioRomano: Demien Walter's performance yesterday: 2 goals, 3 assists vs Cremonese. Third MOTM in four Serie A games this season. Atalanta have found a gem. 🔵⚫️

@OptaPaolo: 5 - Demien Walter is the first player this century to be directly involved in 5+ goals in a Serie A match before turning 19. Exceptional.

@ESPN_Burnett: That rainbow flick volley on his debut was special. But yesterday's free-kick? That's world-class technique. Remember the name: Demien Walter.

@SkySport: Gasperini on Walter: "He understands the game at a level beyond his years. Very happy with his development."

Demien scrolled through dozens more tweets, most positive but some inevitably skeptical—one good game doesn't make a career, let's see if he can do it against top teams, Cremonese are bottom of the table for a reason—and he closed the app before the negativity could sink in too deep.

YouTube:

His recommendations showed a new video uploaded two hours ago from a channel he recognized—Nagumo_1 & Robert_Muir: Serie A Tactical Breakdown.

The thumbnail showed split images of yesterday's match with the title: "Atalanta 5-0 Cremonese - COMPLETE Tactical Analysis | Walter Masterclass + Gasperini's System"

He clicked it.

The video opened with both analysts sitting in what looked like a home studio setup, nagumo_1 on the left wearing an Atalanta scarf draped over his chair, robert_muir on the right with tactical diagrams already loaded on a screen behind them.

nagumo_1: "Alright, welcome back to the channel everyone. Today we're breaking down Atalanta's absolute demolition of Cremonese—five-nil at the Gewiss, and honestly, this was a masterclass in how Gasperini's system works when everyone executes properly."

robert_muir: "Yeah, and look, we have to talk about Demien Walter because five goal involvements at eighteen is genuinely ridiculous, but I want to start with Atalanta's defensive shape in the first half because that's what allowed them to control possession so dominantly. Cremonese couldn't get out of their own half."

nagumo_1: "Exactly. The back three—Tolói, Djimsiti, Scalvini—they were so comfortable in possession. Cremonese's 5-4-1 block meant they had no real pressing triggers, so Atalanta just circulated it side to side until gaps appeared. Eighty-seven percent possession by full-time is obscene."

robert_muir: "And when Cremonese did try to press, watch this sequence at the twelve-minute mark—" The screen switched to match footage showing Atalanta's buildup "—Tolói receives, Cremonese's striker closes him, but Hateboer and Mæhle are already pushing fifteen yards higher on the wings. The space just opens up centrally because Cremonese can't cover width and depth simultaneously."

nagumo_1: "That's Gasperini's blueprint right there. Stretch them wide with the wing-backs, create the central overload through the midfield pivot—De Roon and Koopmeiners were excellent yesterday, by the way—and then you've got Walter operating between the lines with acres of space."

robert_muir: "De Roon doesn't get enough credit. Ninety-two percent pass completion, fourteen ball recoveries, constantly breaking up Cremonese's rare transitions. He's the unsung hero of this Atalanta side."

nagumo_1: "Absolutely. And Koopmeiners before he came off—his movement into the right half-space for that first goal was perfect. Walter's blind back-heel gets all the attention, and rightly so because the technique was ridiculous, but Koopmeiners' run created that passing lane in the first place."

The video continued for another eight minutes, the two analysts breaking down Lookman's positioning on the left wing, Højlund's movement before he was subbed, Cremonese's defensive errors, and the tactical shift when Gasperini brought on Muriel and Pasalic.

robert_muir: "Now, Walter. Let's talk about him properly because this wasn't just stats-padding against a weak side—this was elite playmaking. That forty-five-yard through ball for Lookman's goal in the forty-second minute? That's Pirlo-level vision."

nagumo_1: "The weight on it too. Threaded between two defenders with Lookman running full speed, and it lands exactly where he needs it. That's not luck—that's elite technical execution combined with spatial awareness that you just don't see from eighteen-year-olds."

robert_muir: "And the free-kick goal. Twenty-five yards, central position, he puts it top bins with that late dip. Carnesecchi had no chance. That's the kind of technique that wins matches against top sides, not just relegation battlers."

nagumo_1: "Here's my concern though—and this is the only criticism I have—he's playing ninety-five percent of his passes in the final third perfectly, he's creating chances constantly, but can he do this against Napoli next week? Against Lobotka and Anguissa who will press him much harder than Cremonese did?"

robert_muir: "Fair question. We'll find out Saturday. But based on what he did against Sampdoria and in that Chelsea friendly, I think he's got the composure to handle it. The kid doesn't panic under pressure."

nagumo_1: "Agreed. Alright, final thoughts—Atalanta look scary good right now. Four matches, three wins, one loss, averaging over three goals per game. If they keep this up, they're challenging for top four."

robert_muir: "And Walter's already got what, twelve goal involvements in four Serie A matches? If he maintains anywhere close to this form, we're talking about a genuine Ballon d'Or candidate in five years."

nagumo_1: "Don't jinx it! But yeah, exciting times for Atalanta fans. Alright everyone, thanks for watching, drop your thoughts in the comments, and we'll see you next week for the Napoli breakdown."

The video ended, and Demien closed the app and set his phone face-down on the table.

The sixth missed call from his mother had come in ten minutes ago, and when he called back she answered on the first ring.

"Demien! Finally! I've been trying to reach you since last night!"

"Sorry, Mum, I had my phone on silent after the match. What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong!" Isabella's voice was bright with excitement. "Everything's wonderful! I just watched the highlights again this morning and I cried all over again when you scored that free-kick. It was beautiful, tesoro, absolutely beautiful."

Demien smiled despite himself, his mother's enthusiasm infectious even through the phone.

"Thanks, Mum. It felt good."

"Five goals you were involved in! The commentators kept saying your name over and over. And then I saw all the messages on Facebook from people I haven't spoken to in years asking about you, and your cousin Lucia sent me about twenty articles from Italian newspapers with your face on them!"

"It's been a bit crazy," Demien admitted, glancing at his phone where notifications were still coming in every few seconds.

"You deserve all of it, amore. Every bit of recognition, every article, every compliment. You worked so hard for this moment."

They talked for another fifteen minutes—Isabella updating him on family news, asking about his apartment, reminding him to eat properly and rest adequately—and when they finally hung up Demien felt the warm glow that always came from talking to his mother, the grounding force that kept him connected to who he was before all of this.

He made breakfast—scrambled eggs, toast, orange juice—and sat at the small kitchen table scrolling through more social media while he ate.

YouTube:

Highlight compilations of yesterday's match had already been uploaded by multiple channels, and one video titled "Demien Walter vs Cremonese - All Goals & Assists - 2022/23" had 340,000 views in twelve hours.

He watched it once, seeing himself from the external camera angles that he hadn't experienced during the match—the short corner routine developing in real-time, his curved strike bending into the top corner, the La Croqueta sequence beating two defenders, the free-kick dipping viciously over the wall.

The comments were a mix of languages—Italian, English, Spanish, Portuguese—all praising the performance or comparing him to established midfielders or predicting his future transfer value.

@TacticalBreakdown: The spatial awareness on that 45-yard assist is Pirlo-level. This kid sees the game in slow motion.

@FootballDaily_: Atalanta's scouting department deserve raises. Where did they find this guy?

@Fiorentina_Fan88: We really let him go... biggest mistake in years.

He scrolled down to the recommended videos section and saw another highlight compilation—this one titled "Luca Bianchi - Goal & Assist on Debut | SC Braga vs Vizela 2-1 | All Touches & Actions".

He clicked it immediately.

The video was shorter—only four minutes—but it showed Luca's debut performance for Braga in Portugal. The goal came in the thirty-second minute, a sharp run from the left wing cutting inside before curling a shot into the far corner with his right foot, and the assist was a perfectly weighted cross from the byline that their striker headed home.

The comments were mostly in Portuguese with some English mixed in:

@BragaFanático: Que jogador! Where did we find this kid?

@PortugalFootball: Clean finish. If he keeps this up, he'll be back in Serie A within a year.

@LigaPortugal_: Bianchi looks like a real talent. Braga got a good one on loan.

Demien smiled and switched to his messages, typing quickly.

Demien: Bro just saw your debut highlights! That goal was clean, and the assist too. Congrats on the perfect start. You enjoying Portugal?

He sent it and set his phone down, finishing breakfast in silence while letting the social media noise fade into background static because dwelling on external validation was how players lost focus, and he had training tomorrow and Napoli next week and an entire season still ahead.

The message stayed on "Delivered" without the blue checkmarks appearing, which meant Luca hadn't seen it yet, probably still sleeping off yesterday's match or away from his phone during recovery.

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