CHAPTER 154: CHAPTER 149: MATCHDAY

Sunday, September 18, 2022

Team Hotel, Naples

8:00 AM

Morning began with 8 AM breakfast in the hotel dining room, and the pre-match meal sat heavy with carbohydrates and lean protein while Italian sports shows played on the restaurant TV.

The broadcast displayed Napoli’s home record—unbeaten in their last twelve at the Maradona—and graphics highlighted Osimhen’s goal-scoring form with numbers that looked intimidating when converted to visual representation.

Demien ate mechanically while watching the screen, and his body moved through the routine without conscious thought because David’s seventeen-club career had taught him that match-day mornings were about routine over emotion.

The team bus departed at 10:30 AM for a light walkabout at the stadium, and stepping onto the Maradona pitch in daylight revealed exactly what tonight would bring.

The stands rose steep on all sides, the famous curve sections where Napoli ultras would create walls of noise sat empty but ominous, and grass that looked perfect would play fast under evening lights.

Demien walked through his assigned zones and felt the space, and the stadium was quiet now but in ten hours it would be deafening.

Back at the hotel by noon the afternoon crawled through mandatory rest time, and Demien lay in his room unable to sleep but keeping legs elevated while Lookman dozed beside him.

Pre-match snacks came at 3 PM—fruit, energy bars, light sandwiches—and the final team meeting assembled at 4:30 PM where Gasperini stood before the tactical board with the 4-2-3-1 formation displayed.

"They’ll come at us hard from the first whistle," Gasperini said, and his voice carried absolute conviction. "Stay disciplined. Trust the system. This is what we prepared for."

Bus to Stadium

5:45 PM

The bus ride to the stadium at 5:45 PM cut through Naples traffic as police escorts cleared the route, and Napoli fans lined the streets with flags and flares while chanting songs that filtered through the bus windows.

Demien felt David’s thirty-seven years of experience recognizing this atmosphere—hostile, passionate, dangerous for visitors but also the exact environment where reputations got built—and his chest tightened slightly though his face stayed calm.

Inside the away dressing room at 6:30 PM the energy shifted to focused intensity as players changed into match kits, and Demien pulled on the number twenty-eight shirt before lacing his boots tight while Italian rap played from someone’s speaker.

The stadium announcer’s voice bled through the walls announcing team news in rapid Italian, and the sound of the crowd building outside created pressure that felt physical.

Gasperini called everyone to the center for the final huddle before walking out, and his words landed simple and direct.

"This is Atalanta. We don’t fear anyone. Go out there and show them who we are."

Broadcast Booth

7:30 PM

At 7:30 PM the Sky Sport Italia broadcast began as the lead commentator Fabio Caressa settled into the commentary booth high above the Maradona pitch, and his co-commentator Giuseppe Bergomi—former Inter defender and Italian legend—sat beside him reviewing tactical notes.

"Buonasera a tutti," Caressa began, and his voice carried across Italy to millions watching. "Good evening everyone and welcome to the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona here in Naples for what promises to be a fascinating encounter in Serie A’s fifth round of fixtures."

The broadcast cut to sweeping shots of the stadium filling with supporters, the Curva A and Curva B sections already packed with Napoli ultras holding massive banners and setting off blue smoke.

"Napoli come into this match top of the table with four wins from four," Caressa continued. "Luciano Spalletti’s side have been nothing short of sensational—twelve goals scored, only two conceded, and the Maradona has become a fortress once again."

Bergomi leaned forward slightly. "What impresses me most, Fabio, is the tactical evolution. Spalletti has them pressing with intelligence rather than just aggression. Lobotka dictating tempo, Anguissa providing physicality, and then you have Kvaratskhelia and Osimhen terrorizing defenses with pace and movement."

"Atalanta present an interesting challenge though," Caressa responded. "Gasperini’s side are coming off that dominant five-nil victory over Cremonese where young Demien Walter produced five goal involvements—two goals, three assists. The eighteen-year-old English midfielder has been a revelation since joining from nowhere this summer."

The screen displayed Demien’s statistics: 4 matches, 12 goal involvements..

"Just called up to England Under-21s this week," Bergomi added. "Impressive start to his Serie A career, but tonight will be completely different. This is the Maradona. This is Napoli at their peak. Can he handle this atmosphere? Can he handle Lobotka marking him? That’s the question."

Caressa nodded. "Gasperini will ask him to operate between the lines as the number ten, linking midfield to attack. But Napoli’s press is relentless. If Walter can’t receive cleanly and turn under pressure, Atalanta will struggle to create anything."

The broadcast showed both teams in their dressing rooms, players going through final preparations while coaches delivered last instructions.

"The atmosphere here is already electric," Caressa said, and the camera panned across the packed stands. "Fourty-five thousand Napoletani ready to roar their team forward. For Atalanta’s young players, this will be an education in what Serie A football at the highest level truly means."

Away Dressing Room

7:35 PM

At 7:35 PM the tunnel call came and Atalanta’s players lined up in numerical order, and Demien stood between Lookman and Malinovskyi while his heart hammered against his ribs though his breathing stayed controlled.

The noise from the stadium filtered through concrete walls—not individual voices but a sustained roar that never stopped—and when the tunnel doors opened the sound hit like a physical wave.

Napoli’s players emerged from their dressing room across the tunnel, and Demien caught glimpses of Osimhen, Kvaratskhelia, Lobotka, all wearing sky blue with faces focused and ready.

The referee gestured both teams forward and they walked out together into the Maradona, and the noise became overwhelming immediately because fifty-five thousand Napoli fans erupted for their team while Atalanta’s players received whistles and jeers that came from every direction.

Stepping onto the pitch under floodlights revealed a sea of blue in the stands that stretched in every direction, and the weight of playing away in Serie A pressed down like atmospheric pressure that made breathing harder.

Demien jogged to his position for the pre-match lineup and the stadium announcer’s voice boomed through speakers introducing Napoli’s starting XI, and each name triggered fresh waves of celebration that shook the ground.

The teams lined up for the Serie A anthem and Demien stood between his teammates while cameras panned across faces, and somewhere in England his mother was watching, and somewhere in the stands Atalanta’s traveling support sang their songs though they were drowned out completely by home fans.

The anthem ended and players shook hands quickly before moving to starting positions, and Demien stood in the center circle while Napoli prepared to kick off.

The referee checked his watch.

Raised the whistle to his lips.

And at 8:45 PM exactly, the whistle blew sharp and clear.

A/N

2 extra Chapters will be upload soon but later in the day. thanks