The football association in France has chosen the legendary referee Pierluigi Collina 64 years as the best referee of all time in the history of football
Currently the elder Colinna is the Chairman of the board of referees at the world football federation FIFA
Collina was born in Bologna and studied at the University of Bologna, graduating with a degree in economics in 1984
In his younger years, he played as a central defender in a local team, but was persuaded in 1977 to take a refereeing course, where it was discovered that he had a certain aptitude for the job
Within three years he was managing the region's highest level matches, while also completing his mandatory military service
In 1988, he progressed faster than usual to the third national division, Serie C1 and Serie C2
After three seasons, he was promoted to Serie B and Serie A match manager
Around this time, Collina developed a severe form of alopecia, causing the permanent loss of all of his facial hair, giving him his distinctive bald appearance and earning him the nickname Kojak
