#TBT: Zidane head-butts Materazzi in 2006 World Cup final
"I am a man before anything else. And some words are worse, I'd rather have been punched in the face than hear these things. And I reacted."
In one of the most controversial moments in World Cup history, exactly nine years ago on Thursday, Zinedine Zidane head-butted Italian defender Marco Materazzi in the 2006 World Cup final match between France and Italy. The French great would be sent off with a red card, and France would lose in a penalty shootout to the Italians.
And what exactly did Materazzi say? Well, in an ESPN interview, Materazzi gave his side of the events that unfolded the head-butt:
"I was close enough to Zidane to stop him jumping. I put my arm around him and gave him a little tug, with my body on him. Pretty standard stuff: It happens hundreds of times a game.
"I quickly apologized, but he kept saying, over and over again, that if I wanted his shirt so badly, I could have it after the game. He wouldn't stop. So I said that, instead of his shirt, I'd rather have his sister. That was it. That's all it was."
That was it? Really, Materazzi? What do you expect someone to do after you insult their sister? You can surely expect this:
The always composed (minus the head-butt), and articulate Zidane gave his version of the event in a television interview for Canal Plus:
"Yes, he is pulling my shirt. And I'm telling him to stop pulling it, and that if he wants it, ill give it to him after the game. That is what I told him. Then he starts saying very hard words, which he repeats several times, words that can hurt more than acts. It something that happened very quickly anyway, like I said, these are words that hurt me deep inside. It's much to serious to say it.
"These are very personal things, about my mom, my sister, and these were very strong words. You hear it once, you want to get away, and that is what I initially did. You hear it twice and a third time, and you just snap."
However, being the class act that Zidane is, he apologized for his actions:
"Of course, what I did is not a gesture you should do. And this I must say strongly especially when there were 2 or 3 billion people watching on television.
"And for the millions of kids who saw this. I apologize to them, I'll say it strongly, and also to the people in education whose job is to educate them and to show them the difference between right and wrong. I apologize to them."
A gentleman and a scholar.
Many wonder what would have happened if Zidane would not have reacted. If Zidane would have stayed on the pitch, would France have lifted the World Cup? Whatever the case, French Algerian artist Adel Abdessemed immortalized the moment by making a giant statue titled "Coup de Tete" for the world to see:
