Chapter 22: Vs Monza (2)
The whistle blew, sharp and piercing, and from the very first second, it was clear Lecce had come to play.
Alex Walker stood near the edge of his technical area, arms folded, eyes locked onto the pitch. Around him, the atmosphere was electric. The crowd roared like a living, breathing organism, flags waved like wild flames, and the pounding of the ultras’ drums created a relentless beat that echoed across the entire stadium. But in Alex’s mind, it was quiet. Deathly quiet. That was how it always was for him in these moments. A strange silence that cut through the chaos and narrowed his focus to just one thing- his team.
He wasn’t listening to the chants or feeling the tremble of the concrete beneath his boots. He was watching movement. The way his players shifted across the field, the speed of their press, the tightness of their lines. It was everything he had preached in training. Now, it was real.
Lecce came out like wolves hunting in packs.
Their 3-4-3 formation stretched Monza’s backline from touchline to touchline. At the back, the trio of Marin Pongracic, Federico Baschirotto, and Ahmed Touba held a high line, squeezing Monza’s space until it felt suffocating. In the middle, Ylber Ramadani and Medon Berisha played like men possessed, snapping into tackles, recycling the ball at lightning speed, always keeping it moving. The wingbacks, Antonino Gallo and Roberto Sala, roamed up and down the flanks with relentless energy, creating width and options. And up front, Nikola Krstovic served as the spearhead, with Lameck Banda on the left and, in a bold twist, Patrick Dorgu out on the right.
It was a system that demanded bravery, and for the first few minutes, Lecce delivered exactly that.
In the sixth minute, the first real chance came. Gallo, sharp and purposeful, surged down the left, played a neat one-two with Banda, then whipped in a beautiful curling cross. Krstovic rose like a tower and powered his header toward goal. It had the keeper beaten, but it skimmed just wide of the far post.
The crowd groaned, hands flying to heads in unison.
"Good run! Keep it going!" Alex shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth.