Gewiss Stadium

Press Conference Room

3:15 PM

Gasperini's pre-match press conference was brief and focused, and he sat at the long table with Atalanta's press officer beside him while journalists filled the room with cameras positioned along the back wall.

The first question came from a local reporter. "After Wednesday's comeback in Rome, how do you manage the squad's energy for Sunday's match?"

"Recovery protocols," Gasperini replied, and his tone was matter-of-fact. "Thursday was light mobility work. Friday was maintenance rather than intensity. The players who went to extra time are monitored individually, and we make decisions based on physical data rather than emotion."

"Will Demien Walter start against Udinese?" another journalist asked.

"The lineup will be confirmed tomorrow," Gasperini said without providing the answer everyone already knew. "Walter trained fully this week without issues. His availability is not in question."

A third journalist pressed for more detail. "His performance in Rome suggested he's regained match fitness. Does that mean he's back to being a regular starter?"

"It means he's available for selection based on form and fitness," Gasperini replied, and his face showed nothing. "Starting positions are earned through training and maintained through consistent performance. Walter has done the work. Now we see how it translates over multiple matches."

The press conference continued for another ten minutes with questions about Udinese's strengths and Atalanta's league position and injury updates for other squad members, and when it ended Gasperini stood and left without more comments.

Sunday, March 5, 2023

Gewiss Stadium, Bergamo

12:42 PM

Sunday morning brought clear skies over Bergamo and the Gewiss Stadium sat quiet in the hours before kickoff, and groundskeepers moved across the pitch making final work while stadium staff opened gates and set barriers for the arriving crowd.

The Atalanta team bus pulled into the secure entrance at twelve-thirty PM, and players filed off carrying their bags toward the home dressing room, and the routine was familiar enough that conversation stayed casual while some checked phones and others spoke quietly about pre-match meals they'd eaten at the hotel.

Demien moved through the process without urgency because three hours remained before kickoff and rushing accomplished nothing, and when he reached the dressing room his number 28 shirt was hanging in its usual spot with his name displayed above the space.

He sat and began changing slowly into his base layers while around him teammates went through their own pre-match rituals like some listening to music through headphones, others stretching in open floor space, a few reviewing tactical notes on tablets from the analysis team.

The atmosphere was calm rather than tense because Udinese represented a winnable home match rather than a crisis situation, and the confidence from Wednesday's comeback had settled into the squad's collective mindset without creating complacency.

By one PM most players were changed and moving toward the warm-up area, and Demien followed the group through corridors that led to the tunnel where they'd emerge later for the official warm-up session on the pitch.

Broadcast Studio

1:38 PM

The pre-match show was running on Sky Sport Italia with the usual panel of former players and tactical analysts seated around a curved desk, and highlights from Wednesday's Roma match played on screens behind them while they discussed Atalanta's current form.

"Demien Walter starts today for the first time since November," the lead analyst said while clips showed his goal against Roma. "Three months out injured, comes back with a goal and an assist in a cup quarterfinal. Now we see if that performance works in league football where the schedule demands doing it again and again rather than once."

A former midfielder on the panel added his view. "The difference between cup matches and league matches is keeping it up. In the cup you can play above your level for ninety or even a hundred-twenty minutes because there's nothing after that. In the league you have to repeat that performance every three or four days. Walter's test isn't whether he can change one match because Wednesday proved he can. The test is whether his body holds up over weeks of regular football."

The third panelist mentioned the tactical change Gasperini would likely make. "Against Udinese's compact shape, Atalanta need someone centrally who can receive under pressure and turn quickly. Walter gives them that. The question is whether Udinese's midfield three can limit his touches the way Roma failed to do in extra time."

The conversation moved to other topics like Udinese's recent form, their injury situation, predictions for the match, and Demien's name appeared sometimes but not constantly because the focus had shifted from his return being a question to his role being an established part of Atalanta's tactical approach.

Gewiss Stadium

Pitch-Side

2:17 PM

The official warm-up began at two-fifteen PM with both squads coming out from their tunnels, and Atalanta's players spread across their half of the pitch while Udinese took the opposite end, and the stadium was beginning to fill though kickoff was still over an hour away.

Demien jogged lightly with the group during the opening circuits, and his legs felt significantly better than they had on Thursday morning because three days of recovery work had cleared most of the accumulated tightness, and when the warm-up progressed to dynamic stretching and short passing sequences his movement felt controlled and sharp.

Cameras positioned along the touchline tracked him more closely now than they had before the injury, and the broadcast feed cut to him periodically during the warm-up coverage while commentators mentioned his expected role in the starting lineup.

The warm-up ended after twenty-five minutes and both teams returned to their dressing rooms, and the stadium's noise was building as supporters kept arriving and finding their seats, and the atmosphere carried expectation without pressure because home matches against mid-table opponents were meant to be won rather than survived.

Inside Atalanta's dressing room Gasperini confirmed the starting lineup officially, the same eleven he'd named internally on Friday, and Demien's position in the forward midfield role was set without discussion.

The coach's final instructions were brief. "Udinese sit deep. We circulate patiently. When space opens, we attack it decisively. No rushing. No forcing. We control the match through possession and precision."

Players nodded and began their final preparations, and the room's energy shifted from calm professionalism to focused readiness as kickoff approached.

Gewiss Stadium

Main Tunnel

3:42 PM

The teams lined up in the tunnel at three-forty PM with Atalanta in their home black and blue and Udinese in white, and Demien stood in his position while the noise from outside filtered through concrete walls in waves that suggested the stadium was nearly full.

His hands adjusted his shirt once at the collar and his eyes stayed forward without scanning around because his mind was locked into what came next, and the official who would lead them onto the pitch was checking his watch while linesmen positioned themselves at the front of both lines.

The stadium announcer's voice boomed through speakers confirming the attendance, and then music started playing as the signal that teams would come out shortly, and Udinese's captain shifted his weight slightly while Atalanta's players stayed still.

The cameras were waiting at the tunnel exit—positioned to capture the emergence onto the pitch—and the broadcast feed was already live showing the tunnel mouth where both teams would appear within seconds.

Demien's breathing stayed even and controlled, and his focus narrowed to the rectangle of light at the tunnel's end where grass was visible and the roar was building.

The official signaled forward.

Both teams stepped out together into the noise and the light, and this time Demien wasn't framed as returning.

He was framed as starting.

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