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"We were just seconds away from the end of the match, with the result clear, and I started thinking about how to make sure the ball didn't disappear. I had to get hold of it somehow! So I started getting close to the Brazilian player who was in possession at that moment, telling him in Spanish, since I have no Portuguese, to pass me the ball. Perhaps because of the excitement, he didn't understand and thus we began a strange sort of chase with time already over. Those who know a bit about refereeing will certainly have noticed it and then, thanks to a foul committed by a German player, I managed to get to the ball and, after
having picked it up, I blew the final whistle.
And throughout the post/match period,
including the prize-giving, it remained in my
hands because there was a real risk that
it might disappear". (Collina on his 'strategy'
to collect and keep the ball that
was used in the 2002 WC final)
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"Following two hours of deafening support, as incessant as the rain, from 40.000 excited Japanese supporters, there were ten seconds of absolute, total silence. Their (Japan) team had lost and their WC had come to an end. To me those ten seconds seemed like an eternity. I understood now what is meant by a 'deafening silence'. Then - resounding and moving - came a long applause. The dream of the Japanese national team had come to an end, but with that applause the crowd sought to emphasize its gratitude for a result that they thought was excellent nonetheless. It was a magic moment, something I'd rarely experienced before". (Collina comment on the atmospheres in the 2002 WC game Japan v Turkey)
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