In November 1981, Antognoni fractured his skull in two places and went into a coma for two days following an accidental collision with Genoa's goalkeeper Silvano Martina, which saw the latter's knee come into heavy contact with Antognoni's head; according to "FIFA.com", the playmaker went into cardiac arrest for 30 seconds, which led Genoa's captain, Claudio Onofri, to exclaim "he’s dead, he’s dead!" However, Genoa's team doctor – Pierluigi Gatto – was able to act quickly and revive Antognoni's pulse by untwisting his tongue and giving him CPR through chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.