Chapter 36: Chapter 35: Fiorentina U23 vs Atalanta U23 [II]
The referee’s whistle blew sharp and clear as Parisi tapped the ball back to restart play, and Atalanta’s players spread across their half while determination replaced the shock of going down early.
Six minutes into the match, Demien received the ball in central midfield with his back to goal as Fiorentina’s pressing had intensified after their opening strike, and he felt Fabbri closing in from behind while Cataldi cut off the passing lane to his right.
He tried something ambitious.
Without looking, Demien attempted a no-look pass toward where he thought Riccardo was making a run, and his foot connected with the ball while his eyes stayed fixed forward to sell the deception, but the weight was all wrong as the pass rolled weakly toward the space between two Fiorentina players.
Fabbri reacted first and stuck out his leg, and the ball deflected off his shin before bouncing harmlessly to Cataldi, who immediately turned and launched a counter-attack while Demien cursed under his breath and sprinted back to recover.
On the touchline, Coach Rossi’s lips pressed into a thin line as he watched the turnover unfold, and his eyes flicked toward Demien with an expression that said even stars make mistakes, but learn from them before he shouted, "Get back! Shape up!"
In the directors’ box, Gasperini leaned forward slightly as his pen moved across his notepad, and he wrote: Walter - ambitious but careless pass, 6’ - risks don’t always pay off, needs better decision-making under pressure.
His assistant murmured, "Trying to do too much."
"Maybe," Gasperini said while his eyes never left the pitch, and he added, "Or maybe he’s still figuring out the tempo after that early goal."
Isabella sat in the stands with her hands gripping the edge of her seat as she watched her son chase back frantically, and the sight of him making a mistake twisted something in her chest because she knew how hard he’d judge himself for it.
Three minutes later, Atalanta regained possession as Moretti intercepted a pass near the halfway line and immediately looked up before playing it wide to Luca on the left wing, who controlled the ball with his first touch while Fiorentina’s right-back Signorini rushed to close him down.
Luca took one look at the defender’s positioning and made his decision in an instant.
He chopped the ball sharply inside with the outside of his left foot as Signorini lunged to block the path down the wing, and the sudden change of direction left the defender off-balance while Luca accelerated into the space that had opened up through the inside channel.
His legs pumped as he burst past midfield with the ball moving ahead of him in controlled touches, and Fiorentina’s defensive structure began shifting as Bellotti stepped out from center-back to cover while Gabbrielli dropped deeper to protect the space behind.
Luca’s momentum forced them backward, and he could feel the weight of opportunity pressing on him as Coach Rossi’s pre-match instructions echoed in his head: Use your pace on the wing, get at them, make them uncomfortable.
He looked up and saw Parisi making a diagonal run toward the near post while Costa was arriving at the far post, and Luca planted his right foot before his left foot wrapped around the ball as the inside of his boot generated curl and pace, delivering a low cross that bent toward the six-yard box with purpose.
Parisi timed his run perfectly and arrived exactly where the ball was heading, but his jump was fractionally early as his body twisted to meet it, and his head made contact with the bottom half of the ball instead of the middle, sending it skimming just wide of the far post by inches.
"Ahhhh!" The collective groan from Atalanta’s supporters mixed with relieved exhales from Fiorentina’s fans, and Luca threw his hands up in frustration before Parisi raised his hand in apology while jogging back.
On the touchline, Rossi’s eyes narrowed as he made a mental note about the near-miss, and he acknowledged the growing confidence in his winger’s play even though the finish hadn’t materialized, and he called out, "Good work, Luca! Keep going at them!"
In the directors’ box, Gasperini’s assistant lowered his binoculars and said, "The wing play has real promise."
"The finishing needs work," Gasperini countered, though his tone suggested he wasn’t dismissing what he’d seen.
Sophia sat three rows behind Isabella and watched her brother with a mixture of pride and anxiety as she recognized the frustration on his face, and she thought about texting him after the match to tell him the cross was perfect even if the finish wasn’t.
Two minutes passed before Atalanta’s build-up from the back began with Leone rolling the ball out to Ferrari, who took one touch before playing it square to Moretti, and the center-backs moved the ball patiently while Fiorentina’s forward line pressed without committing too many numbers forward.
Moretti found Riccardo dropping deep to receive, and the captain controlled it before turning and immediately spotting Demien making a run between Fiorentina’s midfield lines, and Riccardo played it into his feet with a firm pass that arrived cleanly.
Demien’s first touch was clean as he cushioned the ball and let it roll across his body while feeling Fabbri closing in from his left and Cataldi approaching from his right, and he spotted Parisi making a run toward the channel between center-back and full-back.
Demien’s right foot connected with the ball before either midfielder could close him down, and the pass sliced between Fiorentina’s midfielders with good weight, though Parisi had to adjust his run slightly to the right to collect it as the ball arrived a bit wide of his path.
Still, Parisi managed to control it without breaking stride, and suddenly he was through on goal with only Battistini to beat as the Fiorentina goalkeeper rushed off his line to narrow the angle.
Parisi took one touch to steady himself as Battistini committed and dove early, but the striker’s shot flew just wide of the left post by mere inches, and the ball rolled harmlessly behind for a goal kick while Parisi dropped to his knees in frustration.
"So close!" someone shouted from Atalanta’s bench, and several players threw their hands up in disbelief at the miss.
Coach Rossi clapped his hands twice and called out, "Great ball, Demien! Great ball!" before turning to Parisi and adding, "You’ll get the next one!"
In the directors’ box, Gasperini leaned forward in his seat as the pass was played, and his assistant exchanged a brief glance with him before saying, "That’s special."
"Perfect weight," Gasperini murmured while watching Parisi’s miss, and he sat back without writing anything down, simply filing the moment away mentally.
The Atalanta supporters in the stands groaned collectively at the missed opportunity while a few applauded the quality of the pass itself, and someone shouted, "Great ball, number eight!" while others called out encouragement to Parisi to finish the next chance.
Moments later, Fiorentina launched a counter-attack as Cataldi intercepted a loose pass from Martinez and immediately played it wide to Franchi on the right wing, who controlled it with space ahead of him while Atalanta’s defensive shape scrambled to recover.
Franchi took two touches forward as Luca sprinted back from his advanced position trying to close down, but the winger had too much of a head start, and he drove at Esposito with direct running that forced Atalanta’s right wing-back to make a decision about when to commit.
Esposito held his ground near the edge of the box, and Franchi suddenly dropped his shoulder and cut inside with a quick stepover that sold the fake perfectly, and Esposito lunged left while Franchi accelerated right past him with the ball glued to his right foot.
The winger reached the byline and whipped in a dangerous cross that curved toward the penalty spot with pace, and bodies converged as Moretti rose powerfully to meet it with his head, but his timing was fractionally off as he made contact with the bottom of the ball instead of the center.
The header flew just past the far post, and the ball skimmed wide by inches while Leone watched it sail harmlessly out of play, and a wary whistle came from sections of the crowd as the near-miss registered.
Coach Rossi’s jaw tightened as he watched the replay in his mind, and he turned to his assistant and said something quickly before the assistant nodded and made notes on his clipboard about defensive positioning when dealing with quick wingers.
The match continued its frantic pace as Fiorentina controlled possession in Atalanta’s half, and Cataldi played it wide to Venturi on the left, who took two touches before crossing toward the box, but Rinaldi read it well and headed clear before Vitale could attack it.
The ball dropped to Demien near the halfway line, and he controlled it with his chest before playing a simple pass to Riccardo, who moved it quickly to Costa on the right wing, but the attack broke down when Costa’s cross was blocked by Marquez for a throw-in.