Monday, October 24, 2022

Centro Bortolotti Training Complex, Zingonia

9:15 AM

The team returned to Bergamo without ceremony.

The bus had arrived late Sunday night after the drive from Florence, and players dispersed to their cars or apartments with brief goodbyes while the win was still being talked about on social media and evening broadcasts, but inside the training ground on Monday morning it was treated like any other result.

Recovery came first.

The starters filed into the gym area where massage tables were already prepared and foam rollers waited on racks, and the atmosphere was professional rather than celebratory because three points in October meant nothing if the physical recovery wasn't managed properly.

Demien moved through light stretching near the windows overlooking the main pitch, and his hamstrings felt tight from ninety minutes at the Artemio Franchi while Koopmeiners worked through similar routines beside him, and neither spoke while they went through the familiar post-match protocol.

Outside on the pitch, the non-starters ran through a short training session under the assistant coach's supervision—passing drills and small-sided games to maintain sharpness—and the separation between those who played and those who didn't was standard procedure rather than punishment.

The system window appeared briefly in Demien's peripheral vision as he finished his stretching routine.

「TRAINING SESSION COMPLETE」

「Quality: Recovery」

「REWARD: +10 TP」

「Current Balance: 510 TP | 12 SP | 379 MP」

No extra prompts followed the notification, and no dramatic emphasis accompanied the reward, and the interface faded after three seconds while Demien transitioned to the stationary bike for twenty minutes of low-intensity cycling.

The day passed without incident as bodies recovered and minds reset, and by afternoon the training complex had emptied while players went home to rest properly.

Tuesday, October 25, 2022

Centro Bortolotti Training Complex

10:00 AM

By Tuesday, training intensity rose.

The squad gathered on the main pitch where cones marked out grids for rondos and positional drills, and Gasperini's voice carried across the grass with instructions that emphasized tempo and decision-making rather than physical exhaustion.

"Quick feet, quick minds!" he called out as the first rondo began with seven players forming a circle and two in the middle trying to win possession. "One touch when possible, two when necessary!"

Demien moved between his natural attacking midfield role during eleven-versus-eleven work and wider areas when the coaching staff rotated formations, and the trend Gasperini had been shaping continued without the manager ever announcing it publicly—versatility through repetition rather than dramatic tactical shifts.

The session flowed through multiple phases—rondos to warm decision-making, positional drills to reinforce spacing, short-sided games to simulate match intensity in compressed areas—and each segment built on the previous without breaks long enough to let focus wander.

During one sequence Demien received on the right side of a seven-versus-seven game, and Pasalic closed him down immediately from behind, and rather than trying to turn he played it first-time to Lookman who had shown for support before immediately moving into a different position.

"Good!" Gasperini shouted. "That's the speed we need!"

Outside the training ground fence, the headlines hadn't cooled yet.

Clips from the Fiorentina match still circulated on social media platforms where tactical accounts replayed the assist frame by frame while analysts discussed the duel between wonderkids and called it a glimpse into Serie A's future, and the phrase "next generation" continued appearing in articles and broadcast segments.

Inside the fence, no one mentioned it.

Training continued with professional focus, and when the session ended ninety minutes later the system registered the work without commentary.

「TRAINING SESSION COMPLETE」

「Quality: Good」

「REWARD: +10 TP」

「Current Balance: 520 TP | 12 SP | 379 MP」

Wednesday, October 26, 2022

Centro Bortolotti - Tactical Room

2:00 PM

Midweek brought the first real shift in focus.

The squad gathered in the tactical room where rows of chairs faced a large screen mounted on the wall, and players settled into their seats while Gasperini stood at the front with a remote control in hand and his assistant coach beside him holding a tablet.

The room quieted as the manager pressed a button and the screen illuminated with Inter Milan's crest.

"Inter Milan," Gasperini began, and his voice carried the same instructional clarity it always did. "Sunday at GEWISS STADIUM. Second in the table. Simone Inzaghi's team—organization, discipline, quality in every position."

The screen changed to show Inter's formation, and Gasperini's laser pointer indicated the shape.

"They'll line up in a three-five-two," he said. "Back three of Acerbi, de Vrij, and Bastoni. Wing-backs Darmian and Dimarco providing width. Midfield trio of Barella, Brozović, and Mkhitaryan. Up front, Džeko and either Lukaku or Lautaro depending on rotation."

He clicked to the next slide showing heat maps and passing patterns.

"Brozović is their metronome," Gasperini continued, circling the Croatian's position. "He dictates tempo, controls space, rarely wastes a ball. If you let him turn and face forward, he'll pick you apart. De Roon, Koopmeiners—when he has possession, you need to be on him immediately."

The footage showed Brozović orchestrating Inter's buildup with simple but devastating passes that consistently found teammates in dangerous positions.

"Barella," Gasperini said, and the pointer moved to the Italian midfielder, "is their engine. Box-to-box, excellent ball carrier, dangerous in the final third. He can beat you with his legs or his technique. Track his runs, don't give him space to accelerate."

More clips played showing Inter's wing-backs pushing high to create overloads, their back three staying compact, their forwards combining in tight spaces.

Gasperini spent the next thirty minutes breaking down Inter's pressing triggers in detail—when they squeezed space after losing possession, how they defended transitions with their back three staying compact while wing-backs recovered, where they were vulnerable when Dimarco and Darmian pushed too high and left gaps behind.

He showed clips of their build-up patterns, how Bastoni stepped forward with the ball to draw pressure before releasing to Brozović, how Barella made late runs into the box that defenders often missed, how their forwards dropped deep to create space for overlapping midfielders.

"Their set pieces are dangerous," Gasperini continued, clicking to footage of Inter's corner routines. "They have height, they have movement, and Dimarco's delivery is excellent. Zonal marking, stay disciplined, attack the ball at the highest point."

The tactical breakdown continued with Gasperini covering defensive transitions, counter-attacking patterns, and individual matchups that would be critical.

"Now," Gasperini said, his tone sharpening slightly, "let's talk about their anchor in midfield."

The screen changed to show a young midfielder in Inter's number six shirt—lean build, dark skin, focused expression during a match.

"Bolu Marino," Gasperini said. "Twenty-one years old. Defensive midfielder. Italian-Nigerian. Been with Inter since their academy, called up to the first team when he was seventeen, and now he's their starting number six."

The footage showed Marino in multiple matches—intercepting passes with precise timing, closing down space before opponents could exploit it, positioning himself perfectly to cut off attacks before they developed.

"He's not flashy," Gasperini continued while another clip played showing Marino making a tackle before immediately playing a simple pass to Barella. "He won't score goals or create highlight reels. But he makes everyone around him better and makes opponents uncomfortable."

The tactical diagram appeared showing Inter's shape with Marino positioned as the anchor in front of the back three.

"He controls the space in front of their defense. Breaks up attacks. Kills rhythm before it builds." Gasperini's laser pointer indicated the zones Marino typically covered. "When you receive the ball in these areas, he's already closing the distance. When you try to turn, he's already positioned his body to force you backward. When you release the ball, he's already reading where it's going next."

Demien watched the footage carefully, and his eyes tracked Marino's movements that weren't dramatic but were consistently effective—small adjustments in positioning that cut off passing lanes, anticipation that allowed him to arrive at loose balls a second before opponents, physicality that disrupted attacking rhythm without committing fouls.

This was a different kind of opponent.

Another young player making noise—but built on disruption rather than creation.

"Media's been comparing him to Makélélé, Busquets, every defensive midfielder who ever controlled a game without scoring goals," Gasperini said. "Whether that's accurate or not, what matters is that he's good at his job. Very good. And he'll be looking to shut down our midfield on Saturday."

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