From his hospital bed he smiles and reassures his family and many acquaintances: "Considering what happened, I was very lucky. Yes, I was a miracle. Now I hope that the gentleman who was driving the other car can also recover." Marco Tidu, a 28-year-old from Cagliari, was driving his Clio on the night between Wednesday and Thursday: he was driving along the Asse mediano when an 84-year-old's Megane, going the wrong way, hit him head-on. Tidu, a well-known face in Sardinian five-a-side football (he plays for Leonardo and is also the coach of the under-19 team of the same club), ended up at the Policlinico and was then transferred to Brotzu for some head injuries. The elderly man, from Villaspeciosa, was also admitted to the same hospital in Cagliari: he is in a pharmacological coma.

What do you remember about the accident?

"Nothing. I have an emptiness. The last image I have of that evening is in a pizzeria right around here, near Brotzu. Then darkness, until Thursday morning when I realized I was in a hospital bed. They told me what had happened. And I understood that I was alive by a miracle."

Was he coming home?

«Yes. On Wednesday, after a friendly match against Jasnagora, I went to Monastir to follow, as a coach, the under 23 team engaged in the match of the round of 32 of the Coppa Italia division. We won and, I add, fielded many young under 19s. We returned to Cagliari and stopped together with some managers and players to eat a pizza in the Su Planu area. I remember that I joked and laughed. Then the void. Of course I had planned to accompany two players back to their homes: so I did. Then, as the others told me, I had the accident while I was returning home».

Do you really not remember getting into your car and driving along the Asse Mediano?

"I have a gap of several hours. Only confused images come to mind, as if I were dreaming: a moment of illness in an ambulance, a flash in the hospital, perhaps at the Policlinico. It was the others who told me that I handed over the cell phone to the police to call my father, of my impatient screams because I didn't remember anything and other moments of that night."

What did you think when you were told the dynamics of the accident?

"That I was very lucky. In fact, a miracle. I have bruises on my head: the doctors and staff of the Neurosurgery department of Brotzu, whom I thank, are keeping everything under control. For the rest, just some pain. No fractures or other traumas. In short, I would say that I was very lucky."

Would you like to say something to the driver of the other car, who is in a medically induced coma in the same hospital as you?

"I know he's in a bad way. I hope he can recover. They told me he was traveling the wrong way for almost ten kilometers. He certainly made a mistake without obviously wanting to. But that doesn't matter: it's happened now and I hope he can get better very soon."

Were many people scared and worried about her even when they saw the photos of the destroyed cars after the terrible head-on collision?

"I have received so many messages. And many more are still arriving. I truly thank everyone for their closeness and affection. I am pleased. And I want to reassure everyone: I am recovering and I have hope."

Which?

«Get back on the pitch as soon as possible. And I would like to be there on January 22nd when the Under 23s will face Roma 1927 at the PalaConi in the round of 16 of the Cup».

Matthew Vercelli

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