It was one of the most notorious moments in soccer history. Legendary French midfielder Zinedine Zidane shocked the world in 2006 when he leveled Italian centre-back Marco Materazzi with a headbutt in extra-time of the World Cup Final. Zidane was shown a red card for his actions and sent off as the Italians would go on to win the Cup. The incident made headlines around the world and, it being his final professional match, proved to be a sour ending to an illustrious career for Zidane.
Now on the tenth anniversary of the episode, Materazzi, who was widely rumored to have spoken ill about Zidane’s mother, has finally come clean about what he actually said to Zidane to spark the headbutt.
“What I said was stupid, but it didn’t deserve that reaction,” Materazzi told French newspaper L’Equipe via Marca. “You would hear stronger words said on the streets of Naples, or Milan, or Paris, much more serious things.
“My mother died when I was 15, [so] I would never have insulted his,” Materazzi continued. “I spoke about his sister.”
Materazzi, 42, now serves as the manager for Chennaiyin FC of the Indian Super League. Meanwhile, Zidane, 44, has also ascended to a managerial position with Spanish powerhouse Real Madrid, the same club where he spent many memorable years as a player. Though the two men have gone on to bigger and better things in the ten years since, both may forever be associated with the infamous incident that took place on the pitch in Berlin on that fateful day in 2006.
Image via User Steindy- Wikimedia Commons
H/T For The Win
