The week leading up to the final match of the season was a strange, beautiful, and slightly terrifying limbo.
The Coppa Italia trophy was gleaming in the club's display case, a testament to their fighting spirit. The four-point lead in the league was a testament to their season-long brilliance.
But it wasn't over.
One final, brutal war remained: an away match against a Lazio team that would love nothing more than to play the ultimate spoiler.
"Okay, so," Julián Álvarez began, addressing a stretching Alessandro Bastoni, "the Lazio eagle is their mascot, right? So if I score, and I celebrate by flapping my arms like a bigger, better eagle, is that a sign of respect, or is it a declaration of aerial warfare?"
Bastoni, who was trying to touch his toes, just groaned.
"Julián," he said, his voice muffled. "Just score the goal. Please, for my blood pressure, do not declare war on their mascot."
