Team Hotel
Lobby
5:00 PM
At five the squad gathers in the hotel lobby and players arrive in small groups wearing casual clothes with bags slung over shoulders, and the atmosphere is quieter than morning because the hours between breakfast and departure have been spent in rooms resting or watching television or trying to distract minds that keep returning to kickoff.
Demien stands near the entrance with his headphones around his neck and his bag containing his iPad and charger resting against his leg, and through the glass doors the team bus idles at the curb while exhaust drifts faintly in the afternoon heat.
Security holds back a small group of Atalanta supporters who somehow discovered the hotel's location and now stand behind barriers waving scarves and holding phones to record the squad's departure, and when the first players emerge the volume increases immediately with voices calling names and encouragement.
