Alex woke before the sky had even begun to change color, long before the soft blue of morning touched the horizon. The darkness clung to the windows, and for a few seconds, he just lay there, staring at the ceiling. His heart was already beating too fast. Not from fear, not from dread, but from the kind of anticipation that churns deep in the gut, reminding you that today isn't just any day.
It was the day before one of Lecce's biggest matches of the season, a Coppa Italia knockout clash against giants AC Milan.
There were no snowflakes outside, no heavy fog, just the crisp air of December, pressing softly against the town. Lecce still held that festive charm, twinkling lights on the streets, and garlands decorating store windows, but inside Alex's world, there was no time for holiday magic. Inside the training ground, inside his mind, it was all business. All focus.