“November 18, 2018. The day I could have taken my life and someone else’s life.”
Czech Republic star Ales Mateju will never forget the wild night he spent partying with Mario Balotelli before getting drunk at the wheel and ending up in a horrific 120 mph car accident.
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Czech Republic star Ales Mateju once cheated death in a horror car accident after a wild night of drinkingCredit :.
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The full-back was at a nightclub with Mario Balotelli before the terrifying incident happened Credit: AP
The 25-year-old Brescia side Mateju is on the Czech squad for tonight’s clash with England, battling West Ham star Vladimir Coufal for a place in the starting eleven.
The Pribram-born ace has seen great success in the last 12 months, playing 27 matches in all competitions for the Italian team last season and making his debut for the national team.
And the cherry on top was undoubtedly the inclusion of the former Brighton player in his country’s last € 26 team.
But there were also some lows, as Brescia missed the Serie B play-offs by just one place and the first Eurocup games left him out of the Czech Republic’s call-up of the day for their matches against Scotland and Croatia.
However, none will compare to the winter night of 2018 that saw him cheat to death after a night of partying and shooting.
Mateju spent just one year in Brighton after joining from Viktoria Plzen in August 2017, initially joining Brescia on loan the following July.
And it was just four months after his stay with the Italian side that the petrifying night occurred.
Mateju and his Slovakian teammate Nikolas Spalek decided to go to a local disco during an international break.
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Mateju has four tapas in the Czech RepublicCredit: The Sun
Relating the night in an interview with Bez Frazi, Mateju said: “Špalek also lived in Italy, so we agreed to take a look at a nearby nightclub.
“I had only played for Brescia for about three months and still hadn’t. He had a girlfriend in the Czech Republic, but so what? Go”.
Mateju didn’t live far from the nightclub, but he didn’t feel like walking, and after deciding against the ‘superhuman’ task of getting an Italian taxi, the then 22-year-old decided to drive his Audi A7.
That was a decision that would come back to haunt the talented young footballer.
Mateju continued: “We drank more than enough that night, it’s not worth pretending we didn’t.
“There were a lot of people in the club, we didn’t do any other shit, but the shots and the drinks flew.
“There we also met Mario Balotelli, who later joined us. We take pictures together.
SUPER MARIO
Balotelli, a former Manchester City star, was playing for Nice in Ligue 1 at the time, but had traveled back to Brescia, the club he would sign for the following August.
But despite the forward’s ‘loose cannon’ reputation, he had made a prudent decision tonight.
After hanging out with Balo for much of the night, as home time approached around 4 am, Mateju recalled: “He had his driver, who took him.
‘ALMOST FATAL CONSEQUENCES’
“U.S [Mateju and Spalek] They looked at each other around four in the morning, now what?
“We are going home? And how? We tried to call a pickup [but no luck].
«I didn’t want to leave the car there because I didn’t want to [have to pick it up] the next day.
“Anyway [I thought], I’m good. I’ll take care of it. What could happen…”
After getting lost because he “didn’t know the way home,” the drunken Mateju admitted to “putting his foot on a long straight” and driving at 120 mph while listening to music with his teammate by his side.
But a ‘light’ ahead caused him to panic that had almost fatal consequences.
He continued: “I pulled the wheel, it threw us aside and there was nothing I could do with the car. We just fly.
“There was a 1 meter wall that stopped us, but we went through it and continued uncontrollably through a small parking lot before wrapping around a gas station.
I only remember the photos. Sparkles
“I’m going. Roundabout. I’m pulling the wheel … Dude. The lamp lights up. Second. Boom. Then nothing. Just the hiss in your ears. “
‘BUILT IN GASOLINE’
Mateju’s car was soaked in gasoline when he got out of the accident, although he was initially petrified because he couldn’t move.
He said: ‘I could not perceive anything for some time.
“Even though there was nothing left of the windshield, I could make out the rising smoke more and more clearly.
“I couldn’t do anything, move, although I was beginning to feel my legs, arms and neck.”
Mateju finally managed to get out of the rubble, but was immediately taken to the hospital in an ambulance.
He added: “They put a collar on me in case something happened to my spine and took me to the hospital.”
Fortunately, he escaped with a small cut on his elbow and no one else was injured.
And after a slap in the face from his father and a driving ban, Brescia decided to stay with him and paid Brighton £ 1.6 million to sign him permanently in June 2019 after he helped them seal promotion to Serie A.
Mateju’s career has gone from strength to strength since then and he could still have a successful international career ahead of him, possibly starting tonight with the big clash against England.
But you will never forget November 18, 2018.
Although it is a day that, ironically, he says it helped him in football terms.
Mateju will always know it as: “The day my career could be over.
A day when I could have lost everything. A day when I could have taken the life and the life of another person.
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