This afternoon, in the stands at Fra Locci, before the Tortolì-Santa Teresa football match, the sound of football was less important than usual. The Rossoblu captain, Federico Serra, crossed the pitch with a bouquet of flowers in hand.

He walked over to a seat. Just one: number 66. The one that belonged to Paolo Sechi. He placed it there. Delicately. As if he were placing something that might break. Then a hand on the plastic kissed by the October sun, a gesture to the stands. Everyone stood. Everyone applauded. Paolo Sechi passed away last Wednesday at the age of 74.

Today at Fra Locci, time stood still for a moment. The bouquet of flowers on his seat wasn't just for a fan. It was for the man who announced everything. The processions, the departures, the returns, the joy of Is Festas de sartu. Then the match began. Tortolì and Santa Teresa ran, they fought.

But in the stands, for ninety minutes, there was one seat occupied by flowers. And every time the lightest breeze stirred the goal netting, someone thought they heard a distant thud. Paolo's last cuettu.

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