mc-med Chapter 395 - 1: Manchester Is Not Bergamo I
Chapter 395 - 1: Manchester Is Not Bergamo I
Tuesday, August 8, 2023 — Manchester, England — 4:30 PM BST
The car pulled up outside the apartment building while the driver helped with bags before heading back to the main road, and Demien stood on the pavement looking up at the modern glass and brick structure that would be home for however long it took to find something permanent as Manchester traffic moved behind him in the late afternoon heat.
Club-arranged meant temporary while fully furnished meant impersonal, and when he grabbed the two suitcases with his United kit bag he walked through the entrance where security nodded recognition without asking for ID because they’d been briefed yesterday about the new signing arriving today.
The lift took him to the fourth floor where apartment 4C sat at the end of the corridor, and the key card worked smoothly before the door opened into a living room that was modern though completely empty of personality—grey sofa facing a mounted television, glass coffee table with nothing on it, white walls without pictures, kitchen visible through an archway with appliances that looked unused.
He set the bags down before walking through slowly while his footsteps sounded louder than they should have against the hardwood floor. The bedroom had a queen bed already made with white sheets though grey pillows sat stacked against the headboard, desk by the window overlooking the street below, empty closet waiting for clothes that were still in his suitcase. The bathroom was spotless with hotel-grade toiletries still wrapped in plastic sitting beside the sink.
Everything was correct yet nothing felt like his.
He returned to the living room where he placed his Adidas boots near the kit bag by the door before folding his United training gear over the back of a chair, and through the window Manchester showed itself in late afternoon light with buildings taller than Bergamo’s while traffic moved heavier below, the city somehow larger though colder even in summer.
His phone buzzed with the updated schedule Marco had sent during the flight so the next six days were mapped out clearly.
Wednesday 9th: Carrington 9 AM - Post-tour reintegration
Thursday 10th: Carrington 9 AM - Wolves tactical prep
Friday 11th: Carrington 9 AM - Final prep session
Sunday 13th: Carrington 10 AM - Recovery + sharpness
Monday 14th: Old Trafford 8 PM - Wolves (Premier League Opener)
Six days until competitive football at United began properly, so he sat on the sofa while the apartment was quiet around him in a way that felt different from his place in Bergamo where the sounds of the city had become familiar over eighteen months because the routes to training plus the cafés plus the small routines had settled into something comfortable.
This was Manchester though this was temporary, which meant this was waiting to become real.
He didn’t unpack everything because some part of him understood this wasn’t permanent, so unpacking fully would mean pretending otherwise while some clothes stayed inside the suitcase as others went into the closet in a half-committed gesture that felt honest about what this place was.
The sun dropped lower outside while shadows stretched across the living room floor as Manchester prepared for evening, and Demien sat without moving for longer than necessary before finally standing to check the fridge that had been stocked with basics—milk, eggs, bread, butter, bottled water.
No system message appeared though no mission activated, which meant no reward waited while the silence pressed around him as he stood in the kitchen looking at food he hadn’t bought in a place that didn’t feel like home.
Just the reality of a new club with a new city where a season was about to begin.
He looked at the training schedule again on his phone before quietly accepting that this week was where the United arc truly started.
Wednesday, August 9, 2023 — Carrington Training Centre — 8:45 AM BST
The drive from the apartment took twenty-three minutes through morning traffic so Demien arrived fifteen minutes early because being late on the first day back would set the wrong tone, and when he walked into Carrington the atmosphere was different from the USA tour in ways that registered immediately.
Staff moved faster while players were quieter, which meant the pre-season looseness was gone because everyone understood the Premier League opener was close enough to feel.
He changed in the dressing room where Mount was already lacing boots while the sound of studs clicking against tile echoed off the walls.
Mount spoke without looking up. "First real week. Different vibe, yeah?"
"Noticed," Demien said while pulling his training shirt over his head.
"Wait till Friday," Mount continued as he tied his left boot tight. "That’s when it gets tense."
Blue text appeared privately before training began when the system panel materialized in his peripheral vision.
「MISSION: DAILY TRAINING」
「Location: Carrington」
「Type: Tactical Work」
「Complete session」
「Pass accuracy 85%+」
「Central zone dispossession max 1」
「+10 TP base」
「+5 TP if coaching staff acknowledge」
The panel faded before Demien walked out to Pitch One where Ten Hag was already waiting with his assistants while the squad gathered in the morning air that was cool despite August.
Ten Hag’s voice cut through without needing volume. "Pre-season’s finished. Tour’s over. Premier League starts now. Wolves will be physical, direct, dangerous in transition. Anyone thinking friendly performances guarantee a starting place is wrong."
The message landed though nobody responded because there was nothing to say, so training began with possession drills where Demien rotated with the second unit working alongside Eriksen plus McTominay plus other squad options while the likely starters ran their patterns around Casemiro with Bruno alongside Mount.
He didn’t force anything since his passing stayed sharp while his first touch controlled the ball cleanly, and when pressure closed the Press Resistant trait helped him keep possession secure without needing to panic or play hopeful passes into areas that weren’t there.
「TRAIT ACTIVE」
Press Resistant
During one sequence he received between two pressing players before seeing a vertical pass through the middle that he could make technically, but the drill structure demanded patience so he turned out to play the safer ball that reset the shape the way Ten Hag wanted.
The Dutch manager noticed—not because it was flashy but because it showed discipline—so his eyes tracked Demien for the next three movements before returning to the wider pattern.
Near the end of training Demien broke pressure with a one-touch pass into Eriksen before immediately moving to create the next angle where he could receive again, and an assistant coach tapped his pen against the clipboard while nodding once as he made a note.
Small acknowledgment though acknowledgment nonetheless.
The session ended so players walked toward the dressing room while groundskeepers began preparing the pitch for academy training later, and the system appeared when Demien reached the tunnel entrance.
「TRAINING COMPLETE」
「Pass accuracy: 89%」
「Dispossessions: 1」
«Coaching acknowledgment: Yes»
«+10 TP»
«+5 TP (bonus)»
«Balance: 480 TP | 24 SP | 503 MP»
He read it without celebration because fifteen training points was small though the real message was clearer than any numbers—United wasn’t looking for him to be special every second, instead they were looking for whether he could be trusted when the structure mattered more than individual brilliance.
Thursday, August 10, 2023 — Carrington Training Centre — 9:00 AM BST
Thursday’s session was sharper plus more tactical with Wolves preparation beginning properly, so Ten Hag divided the squad into groups before training started while assistants set up cones with markers for specific patterns they’d drilled during video analysis the previous afternoon.
The system activated before Demien stepped onto the pitch.
「MISSION: TACTICAL PREP」
「Session: Wolves patterns」
「Complete session」
«Win 3+ duels»
«2+ progressive actions»
«+10 TP base»
«+5 TP if no corrections»
Demien was again placed mostly with the second unit acting as opposition while testing different roles depending on what the drill required—sometimes deeper beside Eriksen, sometimes higher between lines, sometimes right-sided when they needed to replicate Wolves’ shape.
He won his duels using strength that had improved since Atalanta plus positioning that came from reading the game faster, and he carried the ball through pressure twice when the simulated Wolves midfield overcommitted leaving space behind their pressing line.
During one sequence he used Pirlo’s vision to spot a weak-side runner before the pass was obvious to anyone else, so the ball threaded into space with perfect weight forcing the starting defense to shift while scrambling.
「LEGENDARY SKILL ACTIVATED」
Andrea Pirlo — Deep-Lying Playmaker
Ten Hag watched without comment though his eyes followed the ball’s path before returning to Demien for two seconds then moving on.
But during one defensive transition Demien stepped half a second too high leaving space behind him that a Wolves attacker would have exploited, so the assistant coach corrected immediately with his voice sharp yet direct.
"Inside lane first before you press," the coach said while pointing at the space Demien had vacated. "Don’t give them that space."
The correction was right so Demien accepted it without reply because in Serie A Atalanta’s structure gave him certain freedoms, yet at United one wrong movement exposed Casemiro or the backline which meant learning that difference mattered more than protecting his ego.
The bonus objective failed the moment the correction came.
Training ended before the system completed the mission while Demien walked toward the dressing room.
「TRAINING COMPLETE」
«Duels won: 4»
«Progressive actions: 3»
«Correction received: Yes»
«+10 TP»
«Bonus failed»
«Balance: 490 TP | 24 SP | 503 MP»
The failed bonus mattered more than the points gained because it proved he still had details to learn, which meant that reality mattered more than anything the system could measure or reward.