Lubos Michel, street dress (WIKIPEDIA).
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We keep talking about famous international referees and this week we are going to remember Lubos Michel.
Who was?: A Slovak referee from the 90s and 2000s.
Why are you reminded ?: For his extensive experience as a referee and for having whistled the 2008 Champions League final.
What became of him ?: He hung up the whistle that same 2008. He has worked for teams such as Shakhtar Donetsk and has been a deputy in his country. Right now he is a football advisor in the Greek PAOK of Thessaloniki, a team of which he was president. He also has an organization that supports young players from his country.
Did you know…?: He made his international debut at just 25 years old.
– Their first big game was the 2003 UEFA final between Porto and Celtic, in Seville.
– The following year he whistled three games in the Portuguese European Championship.
– In 2008 came his consecration when he was appointed to whistle the Champions League final, between Chelsea and Manchester United in Moscow.
– That day he sent off the Ivorian Drogba, thus becoming the second referee to send off a player in a Champions League final.
– That summer he said goodbye to international refereeing at Euro 2008 in Austria and Switzerland, where he called three games.
– He was at the 2002 and 2006 World Cups. By making his debut in the first, he became the first Slovak referee to do so. Actually, it was the fourth, but its predecessors still belonged to Czechoslovakia.
– Before he was a star referee, he worked in a tire factory and was a teacher.
– An injury to the Achilles tendon caused its withdrawal.
– It measures 1.78 meters.
Biography, honors, statistics: Lubos Michel was born on May 16, 1968 in Stropkov, Slovakia. He made his debut in 1993 and retired in 2008. He was twice elected third best referee in the world and once second best.
See you tomorrow.
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