SENT TO URI. The scent of the party has not yet been released through the streets of the town, but there is something sparkling in the air that smells of expectation. On the outdoor veranda of the La Sosta bar, a large group of customers talk about roads to travel, coaches to hire, talk about Bosa. There are no tourist trips planned, however: in Uri, a tiny town 15 kilometers from Sassari and less than 20 from Alghero, you are preparing to face a trip that can be historic for the entire local community. A reality of less than 3,000 inhabitants, on the Coros hills, ready to take off towards interregional football.
The great expectation. Samuele Salis, 25, the owner of the bar, serves a round of beer in 0.66 bottles and watches the patrons with the eyes of impatience. «One victory is missing, only one victory. We have to support our boys ». The boys are the Giallorossi of Mr. Massimiliano Paba: three days from the end of the championship of Excellence, Atletico Uri is first in the standings with 6 points ahead of Ossese. Tomorrow at 16 he plays in Bosa, on Sunday he will host Guspini, for what could be the big party. «One single victory of ours, or one single misstep of theirs, and it’s done. I hardly believe it »says Samuele with the transport of someone who is about to touch the sky with a finger. The night before games he never sleeps with his wife. «I’m too agitated – he says -, I turn around, kick. Then I’ll go to another room. I have followed Atletico since I was a child, together with my brother I went through the underworld, the Third category, total anonymity. My grandfather, Primo Podda, was the first president of the team. Promotion to D would be our Champions League ».
A homemade captain. As in any self-respecting sports fairytale, here too there is the zero kilometer hero. Fabio Mura, a 25-year-old forward who grew up in the sweet milk nursery, has been back at the base for 7 seasons now. Classical studies at Canopoleno, fresh winner of a public competition, the young bomber massages his dislocated shoulder during the race won on Sunday with the San Marco and speaks like a veteran. «The higher the level – he says – the more difficult it is for such a small company to have a local element in the team. I am proud to represent my country but even more to be part of an extraordinary group. This has been our real strength up to now ». While sipping a coffee outside the El Borrachero bar, Mura collects one after another the compliments of two patrons, an ecological operator at work and the joyful honking of at least three passing motorists. «The project comes from afar – he continues -, the company does not make us lack anything and in exchange it asks only for commitment and seriousness. Never an unpleasant situation, never a misplaced word to put pressure on us. We are good together, we have been the same for a long time and we have not stopped training even when the championships have stopped. We are missing one last step. But let’s get to this appointment without pressure, we have won 16 games out of 18, we are calm and happy to enjoy it. Here I have lost 5 playoffs in 6 years, it’s time to close the accounts and go to D ».
I want grass. At the entrance to the town, more or less at the point where the person in charge of toponymy earned immortality by giving the streets the names of Lev Tolstoj and Fausto Coppi, the bright green of the “Campu nou”, named after Ninetto Martinez, appears . The fund in modern synthetic grass has not yet turned two years old and is one of the pride of the municipal administration. The incredible number of advertising banners that surround the pitch at 360 degrees speaks volumes about how the management of Atletico Uri has managed to expand its base. In the changing rooms, Giuseppe Paddeu, full-time warehouse keeper and caretaker, gives a last swipe to the floor and sentences. «In Bosa we must not trust, we must not take anything for granted. We have to play and the party will eventually arrive in due time ». Maybe Sunday, when Guspini arrives. “I’d be happy to do extra cleaning after a promotion party,” he smiles.
Community cohesion. The mayor Lucia Cirroni, a lawyer, is about to expire her mandate, she will not come back but she is keen not to leave things unfinished. Together with the councilor for Sport, Andrea Russo, from the desk inside his office he leafs through documents, spreads out data and above all certainties. The first: if everything goes as it should go, Atletico will not have to emigrate to play in Serie D. “The regional funding of 150 thousand euros for the adaptation of the plant is already available, the works will start as soon as the technical issues related to the regulation are evaluated”. The second: «The 600,000 euro investment made two years ago to transform the dirt road into a synthetic grass field had the effect of a magnet on young people. And now, with the exit – hopefully – from the pandemic, modern and efficient structures will make the difference to bring them closer to sports ». Also because between the sports hall (with parquet floor) that runs alongside the “Martinez” field and the multipurpose tensile structure with an adjacent soccer field, there is no shortage of alternatives, as explained by the councilor Russo. “There are a weightlifting company, a basketball company, two karate companies, a second football team that was recently born, Sporting, and the volleyball team is about to be reborn, which until a decade ago was a historic local reality “. «We are a very small company but we have many things – adds Lucia Cirroni -. There is a lot of volunteering, there are cultural associations, two ballet groups, three choirs, the nursery, the elementary school, the playroom, the library, the Avis, the free summer center, the civil protection, the barracelli, let’s do part of circuits related to wine, oil, gastronomy and soon a wellness program will be set up in the park of Sant’Antonio. And then, yes, having a winning football team is really nice ».
The last effort. Meanwhile, on the veranda of the La Sosta bar, Samuele serves another round of beer to customers who begin to fantasize about the names of the possible opponents of the Peninsula. Then he goes back to the counter with shining eyes and shows his wife the smile of someone who has only one certainty, or rather two: tomorrow can be the big day. Tonight he will sleep in the other room as well.
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