Luigi Colombo, the legendary football broadcaster who pioneered two-voice commentary, has died aged 79. Throughout his distinguished career, he covered four World Cups, three European Championships and more than 500 international matches.
Early Career and Rise to Prominence
His journey in broadcasting began in 1977 at TWM 66, where he worked alongside the Calindri brothers and Tiziana Ferrario. He soon moved to Telemilano 58, the station that would eventually become Canale 5, appearing on the sports programme Milan-Inter Club alongside Mike Bongiorno, Gianni Rivera and Bruno Longhi.
Historic Commentary Innovation
The pivotal moment arrived in 1981 when Colombo joined Telemontecarlo, where he spent 15 years as head of sports and lead commentator for major football events broadcast by the Monegasque station, which was affiliated with the EBU, enabling it to air matches of considerable international prestige.
On 14 March 1981, during the Liverpool-West Ham United English League Cup final, Colombo introduced two-voice commentary to Italian audiences for the very first time, alongside José Altafini. This groundbreaking format would go on to be adopted by every Italian television network, with Colombo refining it further in subsequent years with technical expertise provided by Fabio Capello and Giacomo Bulgarelli.
Major Events and Tragedy
His voice became synonymous with every European Cup and Cup Winners' Cup final between 1981 and 1991. In 1985, he provided commentary, working alongside Bruno Pizzul, on the devastating Juventus-Liverpool final at the Heysel Stadium, where 39 supporters, 35 of them Italian, tragically died.
Later Career and Legacy
Following his time at Telemontecarlo, Colombo covered international fixtures for Stream TV and Swiss TV, before commentating on the 2003 Confederations Cup matches for Antenna 3. He went on to become one of the principal commentators for the Gioco Calcio platform, where he was reunited with Bulgarelli.
In 2007, during the Groningen-Fiorentina UEFA Cup tie, he delivered the inaugural commentary transmitted on the digital platform ContoTV. Beyond commentary duties, Colombo also created and presented a variety of sports programmes.
