Marco Materazzi made crude sister jibe to Zinedine Zidane before World Cup headbutt

Marco Materazzi has revealed exactly what he told Zinedine Zidane during the 2006 World Cup final that led the former France captain to headbutt the Italian defender

14:38, 11 Apr 2023

Zinedine Zidane looks on after head-butting Marco Materazzi during the 2006 World Cup Final(Image: AFP)

Former Italy international Marco Materazzi has revealed he made a joke about Zinedine Zidane's sister moments before the France captain headbutted him during the 2006 World Cup final.

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In what is arguably one of the most shocking moments in football of all time, Zidane was sent off for head-butting Materazzi in the final, which Italy went on to win on penalties thanks to Fabio Grosso.

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The landmark final also proved to be the last game of the Frenchman's storied career, with Zidane retiring following the end of the 2005/06 season.

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It was Zidane who opened the scoring for France in the first half of the final with a penalty on seven minutes. Then 12 minutes later, Materazzi replied for Italy to level proceedings.

But it wasn't until extra-time that Zidane unleashed his headbutt upon the Italian, which left France without their captain for the final 10 minutes of the additional period.

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The shocking headbutt that stunned the footballing world(Image: AFP)

Materazzi was speaking on the Italian Football TV podcast(Image: @IFTVofficial/Twitter)

And now speaking on the Italian Football TV podcast, Materazzi revealed the reason Zidane headbutted him was because of a jibe he made about his sister.

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"You live in America," he said to the podcast hosts.

Do you think Zinedine Zidane was right to headbutt Marco Materazzi? Let us know in the comments section below.

Zidane retired after the World Cup Final(Image: AFP)

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Materazzi was at the forefront of the 2006 World Cup Final, scoring a goal, getting Zidane sent off and scoring a penalty in the shootout(Image: AFP)

"You know the NBA, there's talkings [trash talk]. My trash talking was nothing. He offered me his jersey, I said 'no, I prefer your sister.'"

The shocking headbutt was made all the more stunning when the shots of Zidane walking off the pitch at the Olympiastadion in Berlin were captured which showed the legendary midfielder disappointedly passing the World Cup.

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However, when he was later asked if he was shocked that he got Zidane sent off, the Italian replied: "I never thought 'wow' because the game was the end game but when he did it, I was on the floor, if you look at me, I never get up. No red card, I never get up!"

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