Wednesday, September 28, 2022

Bergamo Orio al Serio Airport

10:52 PM

Demien's flight from London Gatwick touched down at Bergamo's airport just before eleven PM on Wednesday night, and the journey had been short by distance—barely two hours in the air—but draining in the way that travel always was when your body had played international football less than twenty-four hours earlier, and his legs felt heavy even after sitting still for most of the flight.

He collected his kit bag from the luggage carousel and walked through the arrivals area where a few other passengers moved with similar exhaustion, and the airport was quiet at this hour with most shops closed and only essential staff working the late shift.

Atalanta had arranged a car service for returning internationals, and the driver was waiting near the exit holding a tablet with Demien's name displayed, and they exchanged brief greetings before loading the bag into the trunk and beginning the fifteen-minute drive toward Demien's apartment in central Bergamo.

His phone buzzed with notifications he hadn't checked since leaving Munich—Instagram comments, WhatsApp messages, Marco's follow-up—but he ignored them while staring out the window at the empty streets passing by.

The drive to his apartment took twelve minutes through empty Bergamo streets, and when he finally reached his building and climbed the stairs to his floor, the only thing that mattered was dropping his bag near the door and heading straight to the bedroom.

He stretched briefly on the floor—hamstrings, hip flexors, lower back—because recovery mattered even when you were exhausted, and the tight muscles loosened slightly as he held each position for thirty seconds before moving to the next, and when he finished he checked his phone one final time.

A message from Atalanta's fitness coach had arrived during the flight, simple and direct:

Recovery tomorrow 10am. Hydrate tonight. Rest.

Demien set his phone on the nightstand without scrolling through the rest of his notifications—Instagram comments, WhatsApp messages from friends, Marco's follow-up about the Germany match—and sleep came quickly once his head hit the pillow because his body had been running on adrenaline since Tuesday evening and now that the international window was over, exhaustion finally caught up.

Thursday, September 29, 2022

Centro Bortolotti Training Complex

9:52 AM

Thursday morning at Zingonia was subdued as Demien arrived eight minutes early and found the training complex already populated with other internationals who'd returned overnight from various national team duties, and the atmosphere carried that particular quality of players blending back into club routine without ceremony or fanfare because international breaks were part of the calendar rather than exceptional events.

Demien walked through the main entrance and headed toward the locker room where several teammates were already changing into training gear, and the conversations were quiet and functional—tired bodies preparing for recovery work rather than intense sessions.

Gasperini appeared near the pitch entrance as Demien was lacing his boots, and the manager's eyes found him briefly before he nodded once and said, "Well done," without stopping or breaking his stride toward the coaching staff area, and the two words were delivered matter-of-factly rather than as praise because representing your country was expected at this level rather than celebrated.

The message was clear enough without elaboration: the international break was over and focus returned to Atalanta immediately.

Demien finished tying his laces and joined the group gathering on the main training pitch where the fitness coaches were setting up equipment for the morning session, and the September air was cool but comfortable as autumn began settling over northern Italy.

The session began with recovery work as expected because players who'd traveled and competed needed lighter training before resuming full intensity, and Demien started on the stationary bikes alongside Lookman and Malinovskyi who'd both been away with their national teams, and they cycled at moderate pace for fifteen minutes while their heart rates stayed controlled and their legs loosened gradually.

Mobility drills followed as the squad spread across the pitch in organized rows, and the movements were systematic—leg swings, hip rotations, dynamic stretches that activated muscles without straining them—and Demien moved through the routine with practiced efficiency while his body responded better than it had yesterday when stiffness from the Germany match had been more pronounced.

After thirty minutes of recovery work the session transitioned to light rondos, and Gasperini organized the squad into small groups of seven versus three possession circles where the focus was technical sharpness and decision-making rather than physical intensity.

Demien was positioned centrally in his rondo group, operating as an attacking midfielder between the lines where he could receive with defenders behind him and teammates ahead, and his first touch felt clean as the ball came to him under moderate pressure, and his awareness was sharper than it had been before leaving for England because international football carried a particular intensity that translated back to club training.

He scanned early before receiving, his head turning twice to register where pressure would come from and where space existed, and when the ball arrived at his feet he released it quickly with one touch toward the free man rather than trying to dribble or create something individually, and the choice reflected what Carsley had emphasized during England camp—circulation over invention when the situation didn't demand risk.

When pressure closed in from behind during the next sequence, Demien didn't force a turn against his marker's body position because fighting for space that wasn't there would risk losing possession, and instead he laid the ball off first-time to Malinovskyi who was showing for it and moved immediately into a new position where he could receive again, and the pattern repeated as teammates began using him as a reference point rather than a risk because his decision-making was consistently sound.

Gasperini watched from ten yards away with his arms crossed and his expression neutral, and he didn't offer commentary during the rondo because the exercise was functioning properly, but his eyes tracked Demien's movement and positioning with the attention he gave to all players when evaluating their readiness.

Midway through the session Gasperini changed the structure without explanation as he often did when testing adaptability, and he called out, "Demien, right side," while pointing toward the wide position in the formation they were drilling, and suddenly Demien was operating on the right flank rather than centrally.

The contrast was immediate and uncomfortable.

Space was narrower because the touchline compressed the field width, and pressure arrived sooner because defenders could use the sideline as an extra defender, and Demien's first few touches drifted too close to the touchline where control became harder to maintain, and one heavy touch invited a challenge from the defender pressing him and the ball was taken cleanly before he could recover.

"Body shape," the assistant coach called from the sideline, and his voice was calm and clinical rather than critical. "Open up before receiving. Don't let the ball take you toward the line."

Demien nodded once and reset his positioning, and the next time the ball came to him he adjusted his body angle to receive across his body rather than straight on, and the touch was better but still felt less natural than operating centrally where space existed in multiple directions.

The drill continued for another fifteen minutes with Demien alternating between right-sided and central positions, and the difference in comfort level was obvious to him even if it wasn't dramatically visible to observers because playing wide required different scanning patterns and different decisions about when to dribble versus when to pass, and the adjustment would take time to feel instinctive.

As the session wound down and players began walking toward the locker room with water bottles in hand and conversations resuming, the system interface materialized in Demien's peripheral vision with a quiet chime that only he could hear.

「TRAINING SESSION COMPLETE」

「+10 TP」

「Current Balance: 119 MP | 38 TP | 2 SP」

The notification faded quickly and Demien continued walking without breaking stride because the training point accumulation was expected rather than exciting, and ten points for a recovery session made sense given the reduced intensity.

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