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 officiating in 2002 in Serie C, eventually rising up to the top flight in 2006. Since then, he has overseen hundreds of Serie A matches, becoming an experienced and respected official.
In an interview with Corriere del Veneto, Orsato first discussed his on-pitch personality. “On the pitch I am serious and even gruff, but 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. On the first day, I put on my blue jacket 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 Rosetti, the UEFA Chief Referee Officer. He asked me a question: are you ready to referee another match? But at that time the only game left to be play was the Champions League 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 that appointment was an even bigger emotion than refereeing the match.”
Finally, Orsato commented on his long career and the upcoming World Cup in Qatar. “I am the oldest referee in the run for the World Cup. I am continuing my preparation for the selection at the end of May. Let’s say that my goal was to referee at last year’s Euro and I have achieved it, so I consider myself very satisfied. Today I am 46 years old and I am the oldest referee candidate for the World Cup, even if I have no problems with technical and fitness tests. I have to add that the friendship with the new Italian designator, Gianluca Rocchi, has been important because after the Champions League final and the Euro I could have had a drop in motivation, 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 several important finals throughout his career, with highlights being the 2020 UEFA Champions League final, the 2013 Coppa Italia final between Lazio and Roma and the 2015 Coppa Italia final between Juventus and Lazio. The 46-year-old Italian was named world’s best referee in 2020 by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics.
Source: Football Italia
