14 DAY TRIAL // Zidane headbutted Materazzi in the 110th minute of the World Cup. And that's all there is to it! Any further discussions are totally useless. We shouldn't even be discussing what Materazzi told the French midfielder. Why is that so important? I mean, does it really matter if the Italian insulted Zidane, as long as swearing and insults are a part of the game for about 100 years? How many times did you hear the players talking dirty to each other and insulting each other's family in the pitch? Still, did you hear about headbutting, punches in the face and spitting?
The only thing why we're talking about this right now is because Zidane is involved. And we have to admit that it hurt us pretty much seeing him walk out the world of football like that. But that's no reason to crucifying Materazzi. In a tensed match like the World Cup final, everybody should be able to resist to these kinds of insults. And it's not like Zizou or the other players didn't do the same. Maybe in not so harsh words, but everybody swears and f..ks off on the field.
"You're Son of a Terrorist Whore!", "Your family will die in great pain", "I'll take the shirt off you're wife". And i could continue even more. That's only a few alleged insults that Materazzi used to provoke Zidane. Those are just word to fill out tabloids and sports newspapers. In this past week, how many articles focused on Zidane's gesture have you red? Let's make a short recap: none. All of them were focused on the reasons, not on the headbutt's consequences.
I agree that Zidane was a great footballer. I hate seeing him go out like this. But he certainly deserved it. On one hand, he was a true leader of his national team and managed to drag it all the way into the World Cup final. On the other hand, a true champion and a great leader should know better how to act in this sort of moments. A genius of football - like most of the sports newspapers called him - is not only about knowing how to dribble and pass, but also about knowing how to psychologically dominate your opponent. When insulted, Zidane's best answer was supposed to be ignorance. His revenge was supposed to be scoring a goal or to ridicule Materazzi on the field.
The K1 fight that took place in that 110th minute will not be remembered as Zidane's worst moment in football. He had plenty. Actually, that's the whole idea. This isn't the only such gesture that Zidane has made on the football field. He received 13 red cards in his entire career, almost all of them because he hit somebody. And that has to tell you something about his character as a man. Why wasn't this whole matter discussed when he hit a Saudi Arabia player in the FIFA 1998 World Cup group stage? Or when he a Hamburg defender while playing for Juventus in the Champions League? Just because this is his retirement game should not mean that Italy was not supposed to fight for the World Cup title in any way.
After all, Italy was trying to get amnesty in the match-fixing scandal. They were also fighting for Pessotto. So they were ready to do all that was possible to win, no matter the way they choose to do it. It was a hell of a game, that shouldn't have to end that. Italy versus France was not Zidane's retiring game. It was the World Cup final. And lifting the trophy at the end means more than just a stupid insult or gesture in the football field. And that's where Materazzi proved to be more of a man than Zidane. The Italian managed to recover the lack of football skills and used his own weapons to dribble and ridicule Zidane. What happened next was just talking...