2006 World Cup Memories: Zinedine Zidane's Headbutt On Marco Materazzi

Marco Materazzi fell after Zinedine Zidane headbutting him in the 2006 World Cup final in Germany which brought together France vs Italy. (fifa.com)

JAKARTA - France suffered a painful defeat in the 2006 World Cup final in Germany. The Olympic Stadium, in Berlin, is the witness. Patrick Vieira and his friends were forced to admit the superiority of Italy on penalties.

However, it was not France's defeat that the mass media highlighted. The action of France's all-time great player, Zinedine Zidane, was in the spotlight. His headbutt to Italy defender Marco Materazzi made him sent off. He was considered provoked by Materazzi's remarks.

The final match of the 2006 World Cup was greeted with great fanfare. The final brought together two strong European teams: France against Italy. Both have their own paths to advance to the final. Italy, for example. Gli Azzurri (The Blue) at that time had the status as the winner of Group E.

They then advanced steadily against Australia (16th), Ukraine (quarter-finals), and Germany (semi-finals). The French team, commonly nicknamed Le Coq Gaulois or Rooster, is different. They advanced with only the status of runner-up in Group G. After that, France pounced on Spain (16 big), Brazil (quarter-finals), to Portugal (semi-finals).

Argentine referee Horacio Elizondo was shown a red card for Zinedine Zidane after headbutting Marco Materazzi in Germany's 2006 World Cup final. (DPA/Bernd Weissbrod)

Both of them also visited in the final match at the Olympic Stadium, Berlin. Hot tension between the two teams has been presented since the first half. Zinedine Zidane broke the deadlock in the 7th minute via the penalty spot. Italy did not want to lose. Replying to the goal through Marco Materazzi's header.

The score lasted until halftime. A.k.a., the match will be decided from overtime. French star player Zidane gets a red card. The score doesn't change. As a result, the match continued with a penalty shootout. France is out of luck. They lost 3-5 on penalties. As a result, Italy won the 2006 World Cup.

“Italy then won a penalty kick 5-3 after the last kicker, David Trezeguet, hit the bar and fell out of the net. For the first time in the world cup, Italy scored in the first five penalties in the shootout through executioners Pirlo, Materazzi, De Rossi, Del Piero, and Grosso.

"Italy is the only team to have played in two World Cup finals that ended in penalties, namely in 1994 and 2006. They are also the only team to have ended the World Cup final with a win on penalties, 1994 and 2006," said Tony Hendroyono in the book FIFA World Cup 2010: Laga Akbar Tim Sepak Bola Dunia (2010).

Zidane's headbutt

After the 2006 World Cup final, the news circulating was not only related to the pain of defeat. In fact, the news regarding Zidane's headbutt to Materazzi is the talk everywhere. A headbutt to Materazzi occurred in the final moments of extra time.

Materazzi then tried to put his hand on Zidane's back. He tried to guide Zidane to get out of the way so the match could roll on. Zidane's reaction was the opposite. He turned around saying something while headbutting Materazzi's chest.

Zidane walked away leaving Materazzi lying on the field. Referee Horacio Elizondo took charge of the situation. Zidane's action according to him is a fatal violation. Zidane was also given a red card. A red card that is said to reduce the French mentality in the penalty shootout.

Zidane's anger towards Materazzi began to be guessed by the general public, then the mass media. The British media came to believe Zidane's anger because Materazzi called his mother a terrorist whore.

Materazzi was clearly furious. The British media were later charged and Materazzi won in court. According to Materazzi, he never once used Zidane's mother as an emotional inducement.

Zinedine Zidane stepped off the pitch after being sent off for a headbutt by Marco Materazzi, and France lost on penalties to Italy 3-5 in the 2006 World Cup final in Germany. (fifa.com)

Later Materazzi confirmed that his conversation with Zidane started from the heated tension between himself who was in charge of keeping Zidane from scoring goals. Zidane said he would give his jersey to Materazzi.

Materazzi's angry reaction then retorted. Instead of Jersey, Materazzi prefers to get Zidane's sister. Those words made Zidane angry and then headbutted Materazzi. That event is then remembered to this day when people mention the 2006 World Cup.

“After the third clash, I frowned and he replied: 'I'll give you my jersey later'. I replied that I would rather get his sister than the jersey. My words were stupid but didn't deserve that reaction."

“In any neighborhood in Rome, Napoli, Turin, Milan Paris, I hear things are much worse. I am talking about his sister not his mother, as I have read in some media. My mother died when I was a teenager, and I would never insult her," Materazzi explained in 2020, as quoted by The Guardian page, May 7, 2020.