'Arrivederci' Collina (6 Viewers)

Mr. Gol

Mr. Gol

Senior Member
#3
Sep 15, 2004
3,472
#3
The best referee I've ever seen. I was hoping they would change the rules so that he could go on until the WC2006, but unfortunately they didn't.
 
OP
bianconero

bianconero

✮✮✮
Thread Starter #10
Sep 1, 2002
12,745
  • Thread Starter
    • Thread Starter #10
    ++ [ originally posted by gray ] ++
    How can Juventini like Collina so much? :fero:
    Click to expand...
    It just shows that many of us are both gragracious and discerning in our ability to be critical, as well as at the same time being appreciative, of a man at the top of his craft.
     
    Chxta

    Chxta

    Onye kwe, Chi ya ekwe
    #12
    Nov 1, 2004
    12,088
    #12
    Yes he is.

    Here is a short biography:

    Pierluigi Collina (born 13 February 1960 in Bologna, Italy) is a financial advisor and is widely regarded as one of the world's best football referees.

    He attended the University of Bologna, graduating with a degree in Economics in 1984. During his teenage years he played as a central defender for a local team, but was persuaded in 1977 to take a referee's course where it was discovered that he had a particular aptitude for the job. Within three years he was officiating at the highest level of regional matches, while also completing his compulsory military service. In 1988 he progressed, more rapidly than normal, to the national third division, Serie C1 and Serie C2. After three seasons he was promoted to officiating Serie B and Serie A matches.

    About this time he contracted a severe form of alopecia, resulting in the permanent loss of all his facial hair, giving him his distinctive bald appearance and earning the nickname Kojak. In 1995, after he had officiated at 43 Serie A matches, he was placed on FIFA's Referees List. He refereed five matches at the 1996 Olympic Games, including the final between Nigeria and Argentina; and the 1999 UEFA Champions League final between Bayern Munich and Manchester United. In 2002, he reached the pinnacle of his career when he was chosen as the referee for the World Cup final. He was also the referee for the 2004 UEFA Cup final between Valencia and Olympique Marseille.

    Euro 2004 was his last major international tournament as a referee, as he reached the mandatory retirement age of 45 for international referees early in 2005. Recently, the FA Premier League has publicly discussed having foreign referees officiate selected high-profile matches, and has had talks with Collina about his possible availability to fill such a role. (In England, the mandatory retirement age for referees is 48.)

    Although Collina is closely identified with football, his favorite sports club plays basketball. He is a lifelong supporter of Fortitudo Bologna, one of Europe's leading basketball clubs.

     
    swag

    swag

    L'autista
    Administrator
    #15
    Sep 23, 2003
    84,799
    #15
    I am not a huge fan of Collina. But I am a huge fan of what he represents -- a person whom people can look to for quality and fair judgement as a ref.

    It's so easy to bash refs all the time, that personalities and accomplishments such as his keep the entire sport from going into the toilet ... and rabid, irrational fans from taking it down in there with them.
     
    ZhiXin

    ZhiXin

    Senior Member
    #19
    Oct 1, 2004
    10,321
    #19
    The standard of refereeing will decrease with the departure of Collina. I can't think of any referee that does the job as he does. And with Frisk + Meier retiring, I wonder who will live up to the expectations, maybe Markus Merk + Kim Milton Nielson?
     
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