Then his teammates were there again, surrounding him and congratulating him and pulling him into hugs, and Gasperini was walking onto the pitch with that calm satisfaction on his face, and when he reached Demien he grabbed both his shoulders and looked him in the eyes.

"This is just the beginning," the manager said, his voice cutting through the noise. "Remember that. This is just the beginning."

"Yes, Coach," Demien managed to say through the emotion clogging his throat.

Gasperini smiled and patted his cheek once before moving to congratulate the other players, and Demien turned toward the stands where he could see Isabella still crying, Marco still celebrating, Luca still jumping around like a lunatic.

He waved to them and they waved back, and even from this distance he could see his mother's face clearly—pure joy, pure pride, pure love—and something inside his chest cracked open because this was real, this had actually happened, and she'd been there to see it.

「MISSION COMPLETE」

The system chimed and the panel appeared.

「Mission Name: Serie A Baptism」

「Objectives:」

・Achieve match rating of 7.5 or higher ✓ (Final Rating: 9.3)

・Complete at least 5 accurate passes ✓ (Completed: 34 passes, 91% accuracy)

・Provide at least 1 assist ✓ (Completed: 1 assist)

「Base Rewards:」

・50 MP

「BONUS OBJECTIVE ACHIEVED」

・Exceeded 7.5 rating threshold

・Bonus Rewards: +4 SP | +100 MP

「MATCH PERFORMANCE BONUS」

・2 Goals Scored: +100 MP

・Man of the Match: +50 MP

「TOTAL REWARDS」

・+4 SP

・+300 MP

「Rewards applied. Current Balance: 314 TP | 20 SP | 366 MP」

Demien dismissed the panel with a thought and turned to walk toward the tunnel, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"Not yet," de Roon said with a smile. "Man of the match. You need to stay."

"What?"

"They're giving you the award. Come on."

The captain led him back toward the center circle where a television crew was setting up, and sure enough, someone was approaching with a trophy—a small crystal award that caught the stadium lights.

The interviewer was a woman in her thirties holding a microphone, and she smiled warmly as Demien approached de Roon beside him.

"Demien Walter, congratulations on your debut," she said in English once the cameras were rolling. "How are you feeling right now?"

Demien's throat felt tight and his mind was racing and every emotion from both lifetimes was trying to surface simultaneously, but he managed to say, "I'm just... I don't have words. This is incredible. My dream came true."

"Two goals and an assist in your first match," she continued. "What was going through your mind when you scored that second goal?"

"Honestly? Nothing," Demien laughed slightly. "I saw the space, saw the goal, and just hit it. Sometimes you don't think, you just do."

De Roon was grinning beside him, and the captain added, "He's being modest. That was special. Both goals were special."

The interviewer turned to de Roon. "As captain, what did you think of watching him tonight?"

"I think we've found something special," de Roon said seriously. "The talent was obvious in training, but to do this on your debut in Serie A? That's different. That's confidence, that's quality. We're happy to have him."

She turned back to Demien. "Your celebration after the second goal was very emotional—was that your mother you climbed to reach?"

"Yeah," Demien nodded, and he had to pause because his throat tightened again. "My mum. She's been there for everything, supported me through everything, and having her here to see this... it means everything."

"Beautiful moment," the interviewer smiled. "Do you have a message for anyone watching?"

"Yeah," Demien said, and he looked directly at the camera. "Thank you to my mum for never giving up on me. Thank you to Marco for believing in me and getting me this chance. Thank you to Luca for being the best friend anyone could ask for."

He paused, and something made him add, "And to a special girl—I hope you watched. This is for you."

The interviewer laughed and de Roon grinned wider, reaching over to rub Demien's head affectionately. "Young love!" the captain said, and everyone laughed.

"Well congratulations again," the interviewer said, presenting him with the man of the match trophy. "What a debut."

Demien took the crystal award and held it up, and the crowd that was still in the stadium cheered, and the cameras flashed, and it all felt surreal.

As they walked toward the tunnel together, de Roon leaned in and said quietly, "I hope you're ready for what's about to come when you step out of here."

"What do you mean?"

The captain just smiled. "You'll see."

******

Twitter - Live Reactions

@SerieA_Central DEMIEN WALTER POST-MATCH: "To a special girl, I hope you watched the match and this is for you"

The interviewer and de Roon are DYING 😂😂😂

18-year-old scores a brace on his debut including THAT rainbow flick volley and has time for romance 💀

[Video clip: 2.4M views]

@Enzyx11 NAH THIS KID IS DIFFERENT 😭😭😭

Rainbow flick to volley on your DEBUT then dedicates it to your girl on live TV???

Main character energy is INSANE

@FootballDaily Demien Walter's post-match interview is going absolutely viral

"To a special girl..." - the audacity 😂

Meanwhile his captain de Roon rubbing his head like a proud dad

@Atalanta_English Our new boy Demien Walter: ✅ 2 goals on debut ✅ 1 assist

✅ Rainbow flick volley ✅ Man of the Match ✅ Making his captain laugh ✅ Dedicating goals to his girl on live TV

He's 18. 💙🖤

@TacticalThoughts Forget the romance for a second - Walter's post-match composure is remarkable for 18

Articulate, humble, credits teammates and family first, then adds personality

Atalanta have found something special here

@ItalianFootballTV "To a special girl" - Demien Walter

Somewhere in Italy a young woman is getting BLOWN UP by her friends right now 😭😂

@CalcioInsider De Roon to Walter after the interview: "I hope you're ready for what's about to come"

Kid just went viral for that romance line. His DMs are cooked 💀

Atalanta Dressing Room - Post-Match

The dressing room was controlled chaos—music playing from someone's phone, players in various states of undress heading toward the showers, others sitting on benches nursing sore muscles, everyone still riding the high of the opening day victory.

Demien sat in his assigned spot with the man of the match trophy beside him and his phone in his hands, and the moment he unlocked the screen the notifications exploded.

Instagram:

+70,247 new followers

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