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Italy icon Marco Materazzi revealed the conversation that got Zidane sent off in the 2006 World Cup final
Italian World Cup winner Marco Materazzi has revealed what he told French midfielder, Zinedine Zidane in the 2006 final, which caused one of the most memorable moments in FIFA World Cup history.
Materazzi and Zidane squared up in the final of the World Cup
Materazzi’s Italy and Zidane’s France had been playing out a 1-1 draw in the final of the 2006 World Cup when an incident caused the game to be halted in extra time and ended with the 1998 Ballon d’Or getting sent off.
After both players had scored for their countries in the final, the match was drawn into extra time and with 10 minutes until the game went to penalties, Materazzi went down in the middle of the pitch, clutching his chest, with Zidane walking away from him.
Replays showed that Materazzi had gone down after being headbutted by Zidane following a short conversation with the midfielder, and the France international was promptly sent off in what turned out to be his final match as a professional footballer.
Materazzi reveals secret conversation that got Zidane sent off.
The details of the conversation that took place between the pair has been a source of debate for years since the incident, but Materazzi has finally clarified what he said to get a seasoned professional like Zidane to lose his cool in one of the biggest matches of his career.
Materazzi told Italian Football TV exactly what he said, saying that his trash-talking to Zidane was no different from what currently occurs in the NBA.
He said, “You know the NBA? Trashtalking? My trashtalking was nothing. He offered me his shirt [at the end of the game]. I said ‘no, I’d prefer your sister'”.
Hearing this, Zidane lost his cool and headbutted the defender, forever changing the course of the 2006 World Cup title.
France went on to lose on penalties to Italy after David Trexeguet was burdened with the only miss of the shootout, while Fabio Grosso’s conversion helped Italy to their fourth World Cup title.
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