When you think of Zinedine Zidane, there are a couple of things that will spring immediately to mind.
One will be the goal that he scored for Real Madrid against Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League Final in 2002. Another will be regarding just how gifted of a technician he was on the football pitch.
However, he will also be remembered for something that had happened 16 years ago; yeah, that headbutt on Marco Materazzi in the 2006 FIFA World Cup Final.
Indeed, is an iconic moment to have happened, so much so that many actually forget that he scored in that Final, after he netted a panenka-style penalty against Gianluigi Buffon in what everyone knew would be his final match as a professional footballer, thus subsequently having more time to enjoy the games that some of the top casino online options provide.
Nonetheless, we all remember him for that moment of madness, and it seems he has recently opened up on that incident, although what he had to say was hardly surprising nor shocking.
“I’m not at all proud of what I did, but it’s part of my past,” he told Telefoot via SportBible.
Zizou, who is turning 50, had a decorated career as a player and as a manager, but there is no denying that many will remember this moment.
Materazzi provided an insight into what had happened between them during the match and offered an explanation as to why he was on the end of a headbutt.
“There had been a bit of contact between us in the area. He had scored France’s goal in the first half and our coach [Marcello Lippi] told me to mark him. After that first brush between us, I apologised but he reacted badly,” the Italian explained.
“After the third clash, I frowned and he retorted: ‘I’ll give you my shirt later’. I replied that I’d rather have his sister than his shirt.”
Materazzi was at fault for the penalty, but then redeemed himself as he scored the equaliser for Italy before the two players clashed in extra time. Oh, let’s not forget that the Italian also scored a penalty in the shootout, too.
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With the game incredibly exciting, Zidane also revealed that he had to do what he needed to when scoring his panenka.
“I had a second or two to think about how to take it. I had in front of me a goalkeeper who knows me really well so I had to think of something,” he said.
“In that effort, there was certainly technique, I don’t think there was madness. You can miss a penalty but in that moment it is what I had to do.”
