Referee Daniele Orsato discussed his on-pitch personality, the 2020 Champions League final and the upcoming World Cup in Qatar.
The 46-year-old Italian referee started professional officiating in 2022 in Serie C, eventually rising up to the topflight in 2006. Since then he has overseen hundreds of Serie A matches, becoming an experienced and respected official.
Speaking in an interview with Corriere del Veneto, Orsato first discussed his on-pitch personality.
“On the pitch I am serious and even gruff, in everyday life I am different, much calmer and more cheerful. It’s the role I play for 90 minutes that makes me strict and sometimes even tough.”
He touched on what his childhood dream was.
“When I was a boy I was curious to know why the light turned on and my goal was to become an electrician. I studied at the vocational training centre in Trissino and then found a job.
“The first day I put on my blue overalls and held my toolbox in my hand, I left the house and waited on the road for my colleagues to pick me up. On that road, as I waited, I thought that I had achieved my dream.”
The 46-year-old spoke about how it felt to officiate the 2020 Champions League final.
“I was training in Recoaro when I got a video call from Rossetti, the UEFA designator. He asked me a question, are you ready to play another match? But at that time the only game to play was the cup final between Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich.
“I came home, sat on the bed and cried. When my children saw me with tears in my eyes, they knew immediately that I had been assigned the final and we hugged each other. I must say that the news of the designation was an even bigger emotion than the refereeing.”
Finally, Orsato commented on his long career and the upcoming World Cup in Qatar.
“I am the oldest referee in the world. I am continuing my preparation for the selection at the end of May. Let’s say that my goal was to play in the European Championship and I have achieved it and I consider myself very satisfied.
“Today I’m 46 years old and I’m the oldest referee in the world, even if I have no problems with technical and athletic tests.
“I have to add that the friendship with the new designator, Gianluca Rocchi, has been important because after the Champions League final and the European Championships I could have had a drop in stimuli but he pushed me to hold on and to think about the pitch because it is from here that great satisfactions always come.
“Let’s keep our fingers crossed that the next satisfaction of my career coincides with the World Cup in Qatar.”
Orsato has overseen a number of cup finals throughout his career, with highlights being the 2020 Champions League final, the 2013 Coppa Italia final between Lazio and Roma and the Coppa Italia final between Juventus and Lazio.
The 46-year-old Italian was named as the best referee of the 2020 calendar year by The International Federation of Football History & Statistics.
Orsato si racconta: "Da elettricista alla finale di Champions per cui piansi. Ora punto al Mondiale" https://t.co/GgKIOJzW8d
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