Chapter 53: Chapter 52: Media Storm [III]
Marco Benetti’s Apartment - Milan
Marco sat at his kitchen table with a cappuccino, scrolling through his phone while preparing to post the official announcement on his agency’s Instagram page. He’d already drafted the post—a photo carousel of both Demien and Luca holding their new Atalanta shirts, congratulatory text about their professional debuts, the standard agent celebration.
His finger hovered over the "Post" button when his phone suddenly buzzed with a notification.
His friend Giuseppe had forwarded him something—an Instagram post from Fabrizio Romano, the journalist whose "Here We Go!" catchphrase had become synonymous with transfer confirmations.
Marco tapped the notification, and the post expanded on his screen:
@FabrizioRomano: 🚨 DONE DEAL! Atalanta have completed the signing of midfielder Demien Walter (18) from Fiorentina academy. The young Italian-English talent was released by Fiorentina but impressed during a trial at Atalanta — with first team coach Gasperini personally requesting he be signed directly to the senior squad. 🔵⚫️ Also confirmed: Luca Bianchi (18) joins Atalanta’s system. More details on Ademola Lookman deal still in final negotiations. #Atalanta #SerieA #Transfers
The post already had hundreds of likes and the comments were rolling in fast.
Marco’s eyebrows rose. Fabrizio Romano posting about trialists? That was unusual. The journalist typically only covered established names and big money transfers.
He opened the comments section, curious to see the reaction.
calcio_fan92 who even is this guy??? 😂😂 why is fab posting unknown players lmao
atalantaultra another nobody signing 🙄 wake me up when we actually sign someone good
seriea_scout If Gasperini personally wants him there’s gotta be something special there... trust the process 👀
footballtactics.it Wait wait... Fiorentina released him and now Gasperini PERSONALLY requested him?? 😳 Someone at Viola messed up big time
italian.football Atalanta really out here signing rejected academy kids now?? 🤷♂️ what’s happening
bergamo_blue People need to TRUST Gasperini!! When has he ever got a signing wrong??? NEVER 💪🔵⚫️
transfernews24 Lookman deal still not done but they announcing trialists?? 😑 priorities man...
Marco smiled as he read through the skepticism and doubt. He’d been in football long enough to recognize this pattern—unknowns always received this treatment until they proved themselves on the pitch.
Soon, he thought. Soon the whole world will know Demien’s name.
He returned to his own draft post, hit publish, then sat back with his coffee to watch the social media reaction unfold.
His agency’s Instagram post went up with professional photos of both signings. Within minutes, his notifications started lighting up with congratulatory messages from other agents, scouts, and football contacts.
Then he checked Atalanta’s official page.
They’d posted only thirty minutes ago—a single photo of Demien in the Atalanta shirt, holding it up with that genuine smile from the photo session, and a simple caption:
@Atalanta_BC: Welcome to the Nerazzurri family, Demien Walter! 🔵⚫️ The 18-year-old midfielder has signed his first professional contract and will join our first team squad for the 2022/23 season. Benvenuto! 🙌 #Atalanta #WelcomeDemien #NewSigning
The comments there were more mixed:
atalantafan1907 who is this?? 😭 are we seriously signing nobody players when we need depth
nerazzurri_forever Trust in Gasperini!! Trust in Percassi!! They’ve never let us down 💙🖤
italian_footie 18 years old... rejected by Fiorentina... I hope he proves me wrong but this seems weird ngl 😬
udine_fan Atalanta’s scouting department is literally the best in Italy fr if they signed him there’s a reason
bergamo_born another young talent to develop and sell for millions 😤 the Atalanta way smh
footballscout_it People forget Atalanta signed Ilicic Gomez Zapata Muriel when nobody believed 👀 they know what they doing
But then something shifted.
Marco noticed a new post starting to gain traction—someone had compiled video footage from Demien’s trial matches. The Como U23 game. The Fiorentina U23 game. Key moments edited together into a two-minute highlight reel.
@ItalianFootballHighlights: Demien Walter - Welcome to Atalanta | Trial Highlights 🔥 Skills, passes, and that assist against Fiorentina... judge for yourself ⚽️🎯 [Video]
Marco clicked play.
The video was well-edited, set to dramatic music. It showed Demien’s defensive work against Como, his composure on the ball, the pinpoint passes. Then the Fiorentina match—the buildup play, the vision, and that sublime assist to Luca.
The comments on this post were markedly different:
tactical_analyst Okay NOW I see why Gasperini wanted him 😳 that composure under pressure is rare af for 18
atalantafan88 Just watched the full trial footage... this kid can PLAY 🔥🔥 people need to stop judging before seeing him
seriea.watch The vision on some of those passes tho... if he develops physically he could be something special 🌟
italian_football_daily Fiorentina really let him go?? 😂 their loss is Atalanta’s gain fr
bergamoultra I WAS SKEPTICAL BUT AFTER WATCHING THIS... WELCOME TO BERGAMO 🔵⚫️🔥🔥🔥
footballtactics.it That composure!! That vision!! Those one touch passes... Gasperini is gonna LOVE coaching him 💯
calciomercato Dark horse signing of the summer?? People are sleeping on this one 😴➡️😮
Marco watched as the tide of opinion began to shift. Still plenty of skeptics, but now defenders emerging, people who’d actually watched the footage and seen something worth believing in.
He checked Atalanta’s official post again.
The club had only posted Demien’s photo, not Luca’s. Strategic choice—build the narrative around the rejected prospect who earned his way into a Serie A first team. Classic underdog story that Italian football loved.
Marco refreshed his own agency page.
The follower count hadn’t changed much, but Demien’s personal Instagram—which had been sitting at a modest few hundred followers—was starting to climb. Slowly at first, then faster.
500 followers.
600 followers.
750 followers.
Marco switched to Demien’s account and saw the numbers continuing to tick upward in real-time.
1,000 followers.
1,200 followers.
People were finding him through the transfer announcements, through the highlight videos, through simple curiosity about the name "Demien Walter" that was suddenly appearing across Italian football social media.
Marco smiled and took a sip of his coffee.
The world is starting to notice, he thought. This is just the beginning.
Demien’s Apartment - Evening
Demien lay on his bed, phone in hand, watching in real-time as his life changed.
The Instagram notifications wouldn’t stop.
lucabianchi22 started following youenzyx11 started following youatalantafan1995 started following youmud104 started following youhikenace started following youmr_raiden started following youcalcio_enthusiast started following yousingularity21 started following youtenma_hayate started following youshaan_uthappa started following youbergamo_blues started following younr_bappy started following youmiguel_jeann started following youeunice_owusu_7455 started following youshojomojo_ started following you
They came in waves, dozens per minute, the numbers climbing faster than he could process.
His follower count had jumped from 300 this morning to over 2,500 now, and it showed no signs of slowing.
He opened his DMs and found them flooded with messages—congratulations from people he’d never met, questions about his position, welcome messages from Atalanta fan accounts, even a few scouts from other clubs who’d apparently been following his trial.
The most shocking thing was the comment section under his last post—a simple photo from two weeks ago with his mother.
@atalantaofficial
had commented: Welcome to the family! 🔵⚫️That official comment alone had triggered another surge of attention.
He switched to Twitter and found his mentions exploding there too. His name appeared in thread after thread:
"Who is Demien Walter and why did Gasperini personally request him?"
"Fiorentina’s biggest mistake: letting Demien Walter go"
"Trial to First Team: The Demien Walter story"
Some tweets showed clips from his trial matches. Others debated his potential. Many were skeptical. But a growing number were intrigued.
He found the highlight video that was going viral—the one showing his best moments against Como and Fiorentina. It already had over 100,000 views.
Demien set his phone down and stared at the ceiling, overwhelmed.
This morning, he’d been a nobody. Just another rejected academy player trying to find his way. Now his name was being discussed by thousands of people, his highlights were being analyzed by tactical accounts, major football journalists were announcing his signing.
His phone buzzed again. And again. And again.
The follower count kept climbing.
2,800.
3,200.
3,600.
Demien picked up his phone again, scrolled through the endless stream of new followers, the comments mixing praise with skepticism, the notifications that wouldn’t stop coming.
He opened his camera roll and found the photo his mother had taken—him at the table, pen in hand, signing the contract with the Atalanta crest visible on the document. His expression in the photo was focused, serious, the weight of the moment captured perfectly.
He uploaded it to Instagram.
Caption:First professional contract signed. Thank you to everyone who believed in me, especially my mom. Ready for the next Chapter. 🔵⚫️ @atalanta_bc #ForzeAtalanta
He hit post.
Within seconds, the likes started rolling in. Ten. Twenty. Fifty. A hundred.
The comments came just as fast:
lucabianchi22 My brother!! Let’s gooo 🔥🔥
atalanta_bc Welcome to the family, Demien! 🔵⚫️
bergamo_blues you’re gonna do great things kid 💪
enzyx11 congratulations bro!! 🎉
tactical_analyst the beginning of something special 👀
italian_football_daily Fiorentina in shambles rn 😂
Demien set his phone down, his heart pounding. The post already had over 300 likes and the number kept climbing.
For the first time, he truly understood what it meant to be a professional footballer in the age of social media.
The world was watching now.
And there was no going back.