Leading Italian referee Nicola Rizzoli hopes to be able to carry on officiating for many years to come, despite being just two years short of the official retirement age.
FIFA regulations have previously forced match officials to leave its international list at the end of the year they turn 45, but the governing body recently announced that it was relaxing the rule and referees "shall be carefully evaluated" annually after reaching that age.
Rizzoli, who took charge of the World Cup final between Germany and Argentina in July as well as the 2013 Champions League final between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, said he would like to carry on refereeing while he still has the motivation to do so.
"FIFA intend to raise the age limit and I know that I'm not going to quit until the day comes when I no longer feel stimulated, but right now I've got that in abundance," the 43-year-old told Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport.
"I'm physically fine. In fact, I've even lost weight. My desire [to referee] is still great."
Rizzoli explained that being physically fit is only one of the requisites for refereeing at the top level. Being quick in the mind is equally important and, to help him keep up with the pace of the game, he says he does a lot of homework on the teams and players he will be refereeing.
"The hardest part is keeping your concentration," he said. "You've got to study continuously. I watch lots of games and I have a personal archive of the most significant incidents.
"I analyse the teams' tactics, their free kicks, including blocks. It's an indispensable wealth of information for when you take to the field. I wouldn't say I've got a list of players who dive, but if somebody fools me only once, I get really annoyed.
"The biggest danger for a referee is to think you are infallible. I've made lots of mistakes, but my strength has been to learn from them."
That has also enabled him to gain respect from players and managers, while he says psychology plays an important role too.
"I spent three days with a psychologist from UEFA when I was in Madrid once and it was a very informative experience," he said. "Over the years, I've discovered how important my behaviour is in relation to others and how important it is to learn and know about the personality of the players.
"Sometimes you can understand it from just one glance or a gesture. I think our relationship with players is improving, but we all need to work hard to bridge the gap which is cultural. The aim is to help each other to make fewer mistakes."