Thursday, February 23, 2023

Demien's Apartment, Bergamo

8:15 AM

Morning light came through the bedroom window and Demien woke to his phone buzzing on the nightstand, and when he reached for it the screen showed three missed calls from Marco and a text that read Call me when you're up, and the timestamp showed the messages had arrived within the past twenty minutes.

He sat up slowly and his legs protested immediately with the kind of soreness that comes after extra time, and every muscle from his hips down felt tight and heavy in a way that would take days to fully clear, but the pain was expected rather than concerning because forty-eight minutes of competitive football after three months out always carried a cost.

The apartment was quiet and Sophia had left sometime before dawn because her schedule required early meetings in Milan, and the note on the kitchen counter read You were amazing last night. Talk later. S with a small heart drawn beside the initial.

Demien unlocked his phone and scrolled through notifications that had built up overnight, and the volume was higher than usual because the Roma comeback had generated more attention than regular league matches, and headlines across Italian sports sites led with variations of the same story.

La Gazzetta dello Sport: Atalanta's Resilience in Rome: Walter Returns, Moretti Shines in Coppa Quarterfinal Thriller

Corriere dello Sport: Five-Four in Extra Time: Atalanta Steal It at the Olimpico

Sky Sport Italia: Walter Impact Immediate on Return: Goal and Assist Shift Atalanta's Momentum

The articles focused on the comeback's structure rather than trying to make it bigger than it was, and most analysis pieces highlighted the substitutions' timing and how Atalanta's shape change after Demien's introduction had shifted Roma's defensive organization, and pundits replayed his goal and the penalty incident with tactical breakdowns showing how he'd positioned himself between the lines throughout his time on the pitch.

One piece from a respected Serie A analyst included a clip compilation showing his movements during the eighteen minutes of regulation time he'd played plus the thirty minutes of extra time, and the commentary noted his composure under pressure and how he'd used his body to shield possession when space closed rather than forcing dribbles, and the analysis concluded that his return looked decisive rather than tentative.

The Coppa Italia draw had been confirmed overnight and Bologna were named as Atalanta's semifinal opponent after they'd beaten Lazio in their own quarterfinal, and the first leg was scheduled for early April with the second leg three weeks later in late April, but most coverage treated this information as something to note rather than focus on because the league remained the priority and semifinals were still six weeks away.

Demien set his phone down and stood carefully while his right hamstring pulled slightly when he straightened his leg, and he moved to the kitchen to make coffee while his mind was already turning toward today's recovery session and what the physios would prescribe after the extended match minutes.

By nine AM he was dressed in training gear and driving toward Centro Bortolotti, and traffic was light because most of Bergamo was still settling into Thursday morning routines, and when he pulled into the training complex parking lot several teammates' cars were already there because recovery sessions started earlier than normal training to allow afternoon rest.

Centro Bortolotti Training Complex

9:34 AM

Inside the training complex the atmosphere was quiet and professional, and players moved through corridors wearing recovery gear rather than full kits because today's work would be light mobility and stretching rather than tactical drills, and the medical staff had set individual sessions based on how many minutes each player had logged during the Roma match.

Demien entered the main recovery room where foam rollers and massage tables were set up in neat rows, and several teammates were already working through their routines while physios moved between stations checking form and making adjustments.

Lookman was on a foam roller working his calves, and when he saw Demien enter he lifted his head briefly. "Legs dead?" he asked, and his voice carried the kind of tired satisfaction that comes after winning matches the hard way.

"Pretty dead," Demien confirmed while setting his bag down near an empty station. "Yours?"

"Can barely walk," Lookman admitted, and he grimaced slightly when the roller hit a tight spot. "Worth it though."

Moretti sat on a massage table across the room with a physio working on his hamstrings, and his face showed the same shock from last night though now it was mixed with physical discomfort, and when Demien caught his eye the young defender smiled and raised one hand in acknowledgment before the physio told him to lie still.

The lead physio approached Demien with a tablet in his hands, and his expression was focused but not concerned while he gestured toward an empty massage table. "Morning. How are the legs feeling?"

"Sore," Demien said honestly. "Hamstring is tight but not painful."

"Expected," the physio replied while making notes on his tablet. "Forty-eight minutes after three months out will do that. We'll start with manual therapy to release the tightness, then light stretching, then fifteen minutes on the bike. Nothing intense."

Demien nodded and moved to the table, and for the next thirty minutes the physio worked through his legs while focusing on the right hamstring that had torn back in November, and the work was uncomfortable but needed because muscle tightness after matches had to be fixed immediately rather than allowed to build into problems.

By ten-fifteen the manual therapy was complete and Demien moved to the stretching area where he worked through movements that targeted his hips and hamstrings and lower back, and each position was held for thirty seconds while his breathing stayed controlled, and the routine was familiar from the months of rehabilitation he'd completed during his injury layoff.

The final portion of the session involved fifteen minutes on a stationary bike at low resistance, and the movement was smooth and controlled without any strain, and when the timer reached zero the system activated quietly in his peripheral vision.

「TRAINING SESSION COMPLETE」

「Recovery Work: Approved」

「+10 TP」

「Current Balance: 20 TP | 3 SP | 104 MP」

The interface faded after three seconds and Demien stepped off the bike, and the session had registered as standard training even though no tactical work was involved because the system recognized that recovery protocols were part of professional development.

Tuesday, February 28, 2023

Centro Bortolotti Training Complex

9:47 AM

By Tuesday the soreness from Roma had cleared enough for full training to resume, and Gasperini's session focused entirely on Udinese's defensive structure because the weekend's opponent played a compact 3-5-2 formation that put defending the center first and forced attacks wide.

The coaching staff had set up mannequins to show Udinese's midfield block, and Atalanta's attacking players worked through patterns designed to find space between the lines or pull defenders out of position through movement rather than direct dribbling.

Demien operated centrally in these drills with instructions to receive on the turn whenever possible and to arrive late into the box when crosses came from wide areas, and Gasperini's voice carried across the pitch saying repeatedly that Udinese would sit deep and absorb pressure, so creating chances required patience and precise passing rather than forcing attacks.

"They defend crosses well," Gasperini said while stopping the drill to demonstrate positioning. "Three center-backs means numerical advantage in the box. We don't beat them by putting hopeful balls into crowded areas. We beat them by creating overloads on the flanks, then cutting back for late runners from midfield."

He gestured toward Demien specifically. "You arrive when the cross is coming, not before. Too early and you're marked. Too late and you miss the chance. Timing matters more than positioning."

Demien nodded and the drill resumed, and over the next forty minutes the pattern became clear in his movement as he learned to read when teammates would deliver crosses and changed his runs to match, and several times his timing was perfect and he met the ball cleanly though the finishes went wide or over because accuracy under match pressure would be different from training sequences.

The session concluded with a full eleven-versus-eleven practice match where the second team was organized to replicate Udinese's defensive shape, and Demien played the full sixty minutes as part of the starting midfield while Gasperini observed from the sideline without offering constant corrections, and his silence indicated the work was meeting standards.

When training ended the system confirmed the session quietly.

「TRAINING SESSION COMPLETE」

「Full Participation: Approved」

「+10 TP」

「Current Balance: 30 TP | 3 SP | 104 MP」

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