By Anna Italia
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FIFA announcing the match official for the World Cup Final game, Germany vs Argentina on Sunday 13 July 2014 at the Estadio do Maracana in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil at 16:00. It is Italian Referee Nicola Rizzoli to direct the game. Rizzoli, 42 years old, born in Bologna, Italy. Rizzoli will be assisted by his compatriots Renato Faverani and Andrea Stefani, who are both 44 years old while the fourth official will be Carlos Vera from Ecuador.
Nicola Rizzoli will be the third Italian referee in the history of the FIFA World Cup to officiate a final, following in the footsteps of Referee Sergio Gonella in 1978 and Referee Pierluigi Collina in 2002.
Background – Rizzoli
- Nicola Rizzoli has already refereed three matches at the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™, taking charge of Spain-Netherlands and Nigeria-Argentina in the group stages and the quarter-final between Argentina and Belgium.
- Rizzoli started his international career in 2007, going on to referee the final in each of the two main European club competitions. He was the man in the middle for Atletico Madrid-Fulham at the climax of the 2010 UEFA Europa League, followed by the all-German decider between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund in the 2013 UEFA Champions League.
- In 2011, Rizzoli was selected for the FIFA Club World Cup, where he presided over two games. In 2012, Rizzoli was tasked with handling Spain-France in the quarter-finals of UEFA EURO 2012 and two more matches during the same competition. Last year, he was in Turkey for the FIFA U-20 World Cup, where he took charge of two fixtures.
Photo fifa.com