Monday, August 26th, 2022
Nike European Headquarters, Milan
10:47 AM
Alessandro Moretti sat across from seven Nike executives in a conference room with floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked Milan's financial district, and a tablet on the table displayed a photo of Demien Walter in Atalanta's blue and black.
"We went to San Siro on Sunday to evaluate Walter," Alessandro began. "I'm recommending we move forward."
The senior executive—Giorgio Mancini, Nike Football's Southern Europe Director—leaned back in his chair. "Atalanta lost one-nil. What's the story here?"
"The story," Alessandro said, "is that an eighteen-year-old who Fiorentina released four months ago just played seventy-five minutes at San Siro against the defending champions and looked like he belonged. Not for a second did he shrink."
He swiped to a photo showing Demien exchanging shirts with Tonali after the match.
