by The renowned International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) has put football fans to debate again, this time by bringing up a list of what, in their opinion, are the best referees in history. This entity, which took into account what was done by hundreds of referees between 1987 and 2022, allowed the historic Pierluigi Collina to take first place, while the Colombian Óscar Julián Ruiz slipped into the top 10.
The collegiate llanero, who was active between 1995 and 2011, knew how to be one of the cards with the best exposure in Colombia in this role. Among his most outstanding participations were three World Cups for Seniors, the same number of Copa Libertadores finals, added to one in the Copa Sudamericana that he also managed to direct and another large number of games in which he delivered justice in Colombian football.
- Pierluigi Collina (Italy), 191 points
- Markus Merk (Germany), 184 points
- Felix Brych (Germany), 161 points
- Kim Milton Nielsen (Denmark), 159 points
- Howard Webb (England), 156 points
- Björn Kuipers (Netherlands), 152 points
- Pedro Mikkelsen (Denmark), 142 points
- Cuneyt Cakir (Turkey), 140 points
- Óscar Julián Ruiz (Colombia), 132 points
- Nicola Rizzoli (Italy); 121 points
After knowing this recognition, the radio program Sports Blog from Blu Radio requested him on the afternoon of this same Thursday –March 8– to talk with him about what it had been like to know about this important news.
Surprisingly, in his first speech it was with the ‘tacks up’: “One Sunday I was the best referee and the next I was the worst. So I learned to deal with it. When they told me I was the worst, I didn’t underestimate myself, and when they told me I was the best, I didn’t fill myself with ego.. I managed the balance, because I know that for some I could be the best and for others the worst. What I did on the court I did with love and honesty. My father told me: mark what you see and that’s what I did; I was wrong thousands of times.”
After this response, he decided to talk about his new role in refereeing, to which he is still linked from another point of view: “In the last World Championship in 2022, in Qatar, I had the opportunity to give the talk to the Spanish National Team, and to Real Madrid I have dictated to him, on several occasions, in the different Club World Cups; also with Barcelona, the Brazilian Selection, Portugal, Ecuador”.
On the other hand, he recounted unprecedented talks that he has managed to give to football figures such as Cristiano Ronaldo: “Both at Real Madrid and in Portugal (he has given them talks); I also gave the talk to the Portuguese at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. I also had Portugal and Brazil for the 2018 World Cup in Russia″.
”They have a very good attitude, they ask about the rules. Cristiano Ronaldo is very particular in the sense that he is interested in talking about the rules, compare other plays and situations that he has experienced. He is a player who participates and inquires about the rules, ”he added about the reception of information by the footballers.
Finally, he also revealed an experience with the Colombian team during the last world championship that the Tricolor was part of: “In 2018, in Kazán, the city where Colombia was, I was there giving the talk to the Colombian team, and they are very receptiveYoung people are a little more wayward, but they are all very attentive. In all the world championships, both women’s and men’s, there is a talk prior to the start of the contest”.
