On 22 November 1981, at the Comunale in Florence, Fiorentina hosted Genoa. It’s a fun match, like many others that season for the Viola, who lead 2-1 with a goal from Antognoni in the seventh of the second half. It is the fifty-fifth minute when, however, the unexpected happens. In a game clash the Genoa goalkeeper, Silvano Martina, overwhelms Antognoni himself who remains on the ground, with his tongue stuck in his throat and drooling at the mouth, his eyes rolled back. There are also those who believe he is dead, with Claudio Onofri – Grifone’s captain – running on the sidelines with his hands in his hair. Fiorentina’s number ten is seriously risking his life.
Frost falls on the stadium, no one speaks anymore. Doctor Gatto and masseur Raveggi try to find the key to avoid the drama. Cardiac massage and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, plus fixing the tongue. The heart stops but then starts pumping again after thirty seconds. Antognoni was loaded into an ambulance and taken to hospital, where he was declared out of danger twenty minutes later. The message is also broadcast from the speakers and a heartfelt applause arrives from the entire stadium.
Fiorentina wins 3-2, but nobody cares much. The words of Antognoni come from the neurosurgical department of Careggi that he will return to the field 14 games later: the Viola will come within just one point of Juventus at the end of the championship.