Sunday, September 3, 2023

Team Coach, Leaving London

Evening

The coach pulled away from the Emirates while the London lights smeared across the windows, and the mood inside it sat heavy and quiet in a way the Forest draw never had, because a win away at Arsenal carried weight even when the legs were too tired to celebrate it loudly.

Demien sat by the window with his headphones around his neck and nothing playing, watching the city slide past, while a few rows ahead Bruno kept turning back to Rashford to talk through the third goal with his hands moving, and Casemiro sat with his eyes half-closed like the result had already been logged and filed. A couple of the defenders looked more relieved than pleased, because Arsenal’s late surge had come close enough to taking the three points back.

His phone buzzed against his thigh and he checked it without scrolling for long.

Isabella: Mi amor, I watched every minute. That pass! I cried a little. Are you eating after? Te amo.

Sophia: Saw the assist. Luca says it was "annoying" — apparently he hates when you make hard things look that easy. He means well, I think.

Demien’s mouth moved at that one before he locked the screen and set the phone face-down on his thigh, because the praise was nice but the win sat better, and this time the work had ended in three points rather than two dropped.

Monday, September 4, 2023

Carrington Training Centre

10:00 AM BST

Carrington ran on a different rhythm with the international break opening, and the corridors carried that split-camp energy — some players packing for national duty, some staying behind for recovery blocks, staff moving between them organizing travel plans for everyone heading abroad.

Ten Hag gathered the squad briefly before they scattered, and he didn’t turn the Arsenal result into a speech.

"Good win," he said. "But the run after the break is heavier. Brighton, then the Champions League. Whoever leaves for your country — come back sharp, not comfortable. The season does not pause because you do."

He let it sit for a second, then sent them to recovery.

Demien moved through the protocol — bike first, then mobility, the massage table, light ball work, physio checks on the legs that had covered every yard at the Emirates. The system surfaced as he settled onto the bike.

「DAILY TRAINING MISSION ACTIVATED」

「Post-Match Recovery」

「Complete recovery protocol」

「Maintain optimal condition after Arsenal」

「Light technical work without fatigue drop」

「Reward: 8 TP」

「Bonus: Enter international break in peak condition」

「Bonus Reward: 5 MP」

He worked through it without cutting corners, the soreness sitting where it should after ninety minutes against that press.

「DAILY TRAINING MISSION COMPLETE」

「Recovery Protocol: Completed」

「Fatigue Drop: None」

「Technical Work: Completed」

「Reward: 8 TP」

「Bonus Reward: 5 MP」

「Current Balance: 622 TP | 358 SP | 1038 MP」

Monday, September 4, 2023

Carrington Training Centre

Midday

The England confirmation came through after recovery, an email from the FA followed by a message from Marco, and it didn’t shock him after the last month, yet it still landed differently than the first one had. The first call-up had felt like a door swinging open. This one felt like something expected of him now.

Marco called while Demien was changing.

"You’ve seen it," Marco said, not asking.

"Yeah."

"Then hear me before you go." His tone stayed flat and practical. "This is not a reward trip. At United you’re still earning Ten Hag week to week. At England you’re walking into a room full of players who already have their place, their history, their roles. You don’t arrive there owed anything."

"I know."

"Last camp you were the surprise," Marco said. "Nobody expected the Atalanta kid to do what you did. This camp they’ve watched you play in the Premier League. They’ll expect it now. That’s a different room to walk into."

"Understood."

"Good. Travel safe."

The call ended fast, the way Marco’s always did when the point had landed.

Monday, September 4, 2023

Temporary Apartment, Manchester

7:30 PM BST

Demien called Isabella before he finished packing, and she answered on the second ring with the warmth that hadn’t changed since he was sixteen.

"You’ve packed properly?" she asked. "Not just boots and three shirts like last time?"

"Properly. Promise."

"And you’ll eat on the journey? Not skip it because of nerves?"

"I’ll eat, Mama."

She didn’t ask about the match or the lineup or what role he’d play, because that wasn’t why she called — she asked whether the travel was wearing him down, whether the new city still felt strange, and her voice carried the quiet worry of someone watching her son’s life move faster than she could keep pace with.

Sophia called after, the warmth from her Manchester visit still sitting under her voice.

"England’s borrowed you before the Manchester girls even got a fair chance," she said, then before he could answer, "I’m joking. Mostly."

"How’s the company?"

"The conference helped. Now I’ve got more decisions waiting because of it." She paused. "Luca watched the Arsenal game after training. Sent me a voice note to pass on."

"Go on."

"He called the pass ’disrespectful.’" She was clearly reading it back. "And he said you need to stop making Premier League defenders look like training cones, because some of them used to cost a lot of money."

Demien laughed properly at that.

"He’s getting good, by the way," Sophia added. "Gasperini’s playing him wide. He won’t tell you himself, so I’m telling you."

Wednesday, September 6, 2023

St George’s Park, Burton-upon-Trent

Afternoon

The long drive into St George’s Park curved past the outer pitches the same way it had the first time, the clean low buildings and the hotel wing and the quiet professionalism all familiar now rather than new, yet the way people moved around him had shifted.

He wasn’t the Atalanta breakout arriving off a Coppa Italia season anymore. He’d played against Wolves and Tottenham and Forest and Arsenal since then, and the staff who’d nodded politely last time now greeted him by name.

Kane caught him in the corridor near the team room and shook his hand. "Good to have you back. Settling at United?"

"Getting there."

"Takes a bit." Kane’s grip was firm and unhurried. "You’re doing fine from what I’ve seen."

Saka came past with a kit bag over his shoulder and stopped, a grin breaking across his face. "You couldn’t let us have the three points, could you."

"You started it. Havertz scored first."

"And you lot finished it." Saka shook his head, still smiling. "That pass for Rashford, though. Out of order, that was."

Rice arrived behind him and gave Demien a flat, dry look that didn’t reach his eyes. "Don’t get comfortable. We get you again later in the season."

"Looking forward to it," Demien said, and Rice’s mouth twitched before he carried on toward the lift.

Bellingham was already in the team room when Demien walked in, sprawled across one of the sofas with his phone, and he glanced up, gave a short nod, and went back to it. Demien took a seat across the room and let the camp settle around him without trying to fill the quiet, because the level in the room spoke loudly enough on its own.

Thursday, September 7, 2023

St George’s Park — Training Pitches

10:00 AM BST

The system activated before the first proper tactical session.

「NATIONAL TEAM MISSION ACTIVATED」

「St George’s Park」

「England Tactical Integration」

「Complete full training session」

「Maintain 88%+ pass accuracy」

「Create 2 chances in tactical phase」

「Record 3 defensive actions in transition drills」

「Reward: 15 TP」

「Bonus: Earn senior squad trust through tactical play」

「Bonus Reward: 20 MP」

He read it once and let it go, because the panel wasn’t asking him to take the session over — it was asking him to slot into a side stacked with quality and show his without forcing everything through himself.

The session opened with possession work, and the standard around him was immediate. Kane dropped off the front and linked play with a single touch each time, never holding it longer than the move needed. Saka stayed wide and high, timing his bursts inside so the fullback could never settle on him. Rashford attacked the space behind the line the instant the ball turned over. Rice sat at the base and moved the whole shape with small adjustments of his body, rarely needing to sprint because he was always already there.

Demien found his rhythm inside it by keeping things simple early — receive, release, move again — and he didn’t demand the ball every phase the way he could at United, because here the ball would come if he made himself an option rather than the only option.

His first chance came through Kane. Kane dropped short with his back to goal and Demien read Saka peeling off the shoulder of the marker before the run had fully started, and rather than trying to force the ball through three bodies himself he laid it into Kane’s feet. Kane cushioned it back first-time into his path, and the half-second the lay-off bought let his vision settle on the gap — Pirlo’s read flickering through him as the lane opened between two defenders — and he threaded it into Saka’s stride. Saka took one touch and lashed it low, the training keeper getting down to push it wide.

During the transition drills he picked his defensive moments by reading the loose pass rather than diving into challenges, and when he stepped across a careless ball in midfield and turned it back into attack, Rice gave him a short nod from across the grid before resetting.

The second chance came off Bellingham. He carried it through the middle with a defender on his back, holding him off with his frame before releasing Demien at the edge of the final third, and Demien shaped his body to switch it wide — shoulders turning that way, the defender shifting with him — then slipped it the other direction into Rashford’s run instead. Rashford took it in stride and finished past the keeper.

The work clicked because he played with the group rather than around it, and the chances came from the combinations rather than from him beating anyone on his own.

Thursday, September 7, 2023

St George’s Park

Post-Session

Southgate called them in afterward, his voice calm and even.

"This match won’t be about who’s in form at their club," he said. "It’ll be about control. Patience. Making the decision the game state asks for, not the one that looks good." He let his gaze move across the group. "We need players who can change the tempo without breaking the shape. That’s what wins these."

He didn’t name anyone, but the line about changing tempo settled somewhere near where Demien stood before moving on.

The system completed as the players broke off toward recovery.

「NATIONAL TEAM MISSION COMPLETE」

「Training Session: Completed」

「Pass Accuracy: 90%」

「Chances Created: 2」

「Defensive Actions: 3」

「Reward: 15 TP」

「Bonus: Senior Squad Trust — Progress Noted」

「Bonus Reward: 20 MP」

「Current Balance: 637 TP | 358 SP | 1058 MP」

Demien let it fade, and progress noted sat about right, because he hadn’t conquered the camp — he’d taken one clean step inside it.

Friday, September 8, 2023

St George’s Park

Late Afternoon

After the final tactical session Southgate held a few midfielders back briefly — Rice, Bellingham, Henderson, Demien among them — and ran through a handful of in-game scenarios on the board, the way the match might shift through its phases.

He didn’t name the eleven there. He only told them to be ready, because the game would need control in different moments and he wanted options who understood that before they stepped on.

Demien walked back toward the main building afterward while staff moved equipment through the corridor, the camp shifting now from training rhythm into matchday rhythm — boots being packed, recovery kits labeled and stacked, white shirts sealed into clear garment bags on a rolling rail.

A kit crate rolled past him toward the loading area, and the folded shirts inside showed their names printed across the backs.

Kane.

Saka.

Bellingham.

Walter.

He slowed for half a step, then carried on toward the lift.