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Tribute to a Legend – Pierluigi Collina (Part 1)

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Tribute to a Legend – Pierluigi Collina (Part 1)
Football is a game where players take all the plaudits. Even amongst the players, forwards have a higher chance of landing a Ballon d’Or award. The defenders and especially the goalkeepers are usually ignored. It is sad indeed that players like Gianluigi
Buffon and Peter Bolesław Schmeichel never won a World Player of the Year or a Ballon d’Or award. It is only recently that coaches have taken some of the media attention away from the players. Coaches like Jose Mourinho and Sir Alex Ferguson have
proven to be irresistible to the media.
However, the true unsung heroes of the beautiful game have to be the referees. These men go about their business without any complaints. Where the players get substituted whenever they are exhausted, a referee can’t complain. Whether a match lasts for 90
minutes or in excess of the 120 minute mark, the referees are always there till the end.
A good game from a referee will almost always go unnoticed but a single error on his part will see him roasted by the media for the entire next week. In such an era, for a referee to be universally adored and respected is a fantastic achievement. Bettor.com
writes this article as a tribute to legendary Italian Referee Pier Luigi Collina.
Born on 13th February, 1960, Pierluigi Collina is wildly regarded by fans and pundits alike as the best football referee of all time.
Collina was raised up in the city of Bologna and attended the local university from where he graduated with a degree in economics. A young Collina would play as a central defender for a local club until he was persuaded by a friend to take a refereeing course.
Collina discovered that he had a knack for the profession. His talent did not go unnoticed as Collina was officiating the highest level of regional matches in just three years time. Collina completed his compulsory military service along with his refereeing
duties.
Collina progressed more rapidly than other, no surprises there, and by 1988, he was already officiating in Serie C1 and C2 matches. At just 31 years of age, Collina was already officiating in Serie A and Serie B matches. Italian Serie A was a competition
on a completely next level in that era and for a referee to be appearing in the Premier Italian League at such a young age was a fantastic achievement.
It was about that time when Collina contracted a severe form of Alopecia. The disease resulted in permanent loss of all the facial hair and left Collina with his distinctive bald look. His trademark appearance also got him the nickname of ‘Kojak’; a fictional
character in a Hollywood movie.
By 1995, the referee had already racked up 43 Serie A matches and Collina was duly placed on the FIFA referees list. Collina officiated in 1996 Olympic Games including the Nigeria-Argentina final. Pierluigi Collina also officiated in the UEFA Champions League
Final of 1999 that was played between Bayern Munich and Manchester United. Collina later described the fixture as his ‘most memorable game’ partly because of the outstanding crowd at the Camp Nou.
Collina reached the pinnacle of any referee’s career in 2002 when he was given the momentous task of officiating in the 2002 FIFA World Cup final. Prior to the match, Oliver Kahn described Collina as world class player when he said, "Collina is indeed world-class
but he doesn’t bring luck, now does he?” – Sadly for the legendary goalkeeper, his team had lost in the two high profile matches that Collina had officiated in.

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