[Bulldog]

The story behind the World Cup final game was the nasty headbutt that Zinedine Zidane gave Italian defender Marco Materazzi. France's superstar was sent off the game on the 111th minute. He had scored the game's first goal by brilliantly shooting a PK on the 8th minute.

Nevertheless, his act of unsportsmanship will probably be the last thing that Zinedine Zidane will ever do (officially) on a soccer field. Will it tarnish his image?

No, not in my opinion. This is a guy who has won everything there is to win in soccer. He was World Champion in 98, European Champion in 2000 and won a couple of Champions Leagues, one with Juventus and one with Real Madrid.
This incident will definitely be remembered by soccer fans all over the world but the image of his skill and elegance in the field should prevail.

This morning, FIFA announced the winner of the Golden Ball award to the best player in the tournament. The winner: Zinedine Zidane.

We will miss you Zizou!!

[Tchocky]

His reputation is tarnished for viewers who are seeing him for the 1st time. He will go down as a thug. For fans who have been watching him for most of his career...I'm sure they'll find a way to forgive him. His actions have no defense.

[Bulldog]

This is the video of the headbutt.
Illusion posted it on the soccer section.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBV52...page=1&t=t&f=b

[Ortho]

This hasn't lowered my opinion of Zidane by even one notch. He's not Wayne Rooney--he's had a long and illustrious career and has demonstrated himself as a leader. If he was unable to stop himself hitting out at Materazzi, I believe he had a good reason, if it is possible to have a good reason in a situationl like that. He gets the benefit of the doubt from me; I was on his side immediately when he did it.

[Bulldog]

This is just hilarious guys.
Click on Zidane and headbutt away!!!

http://www.gazzetta.it/openxlink.sht...rg/zidane.html

[Mudcat]

This is just hilarious guys.
Click on Zidane and headbutt away!!!

http://www.gazzetta.it/openxlink.sht...rg/zidane.html

Didn't take long to come up with that.

[Mudcat]

I have two questions about the Zidane incident.

1) Was the headbutt in retaliation for something?

2) It didn't look like any of the officials saw the headbutt when it happened. Was the eventual red card the result of someone seeing an instant replay?

[Bulldog]

The two answers to the best of my knowledge Mud...

1) There's a video that shows Materazzi pinching Zidane's nipple. Some sources say that Zidane was pissed off cause Materazzi called him a "dirty terrorist". SOS organization agaist racism urged FIFA to investigate the incident. Meterazzi strongly denied it, Zidane has not given his side of the story yet.

2) It was either the 4th or the 5th referee (sitting in front on the TV monitor|) who saw what happened and informed referee Elizondo.

[totobernal]

I don't think it has to be with the pinching because those kind of encounters are usual in soccer, It must be something Materazzi said...
I saw somewhere that maybe he called her sister a whore or cursed her mother, but we don't know yet.

[Dark Horse]

Instant replay isn't part of soccer. So whether it is a card or a goal or anything else, the decision can't be based on video images. It's pretty clear that instant replay resulted in the red card, although FIFA is now trying to cover that up.

I don't understand why Zidane did this. The guy is some sort of Zen monk, a total genius on the field. Come to think of it, that's the second time in Italy's last two games that the movie Unforgiven comes to mind. First Italy's sudden devastation of Germany, with two goals in the final two minutes of OT, and then Zidane's unexpected return to his Marseilles street roots, with ten minutes left in an incredible career. Was it some sort of payback for all the unfairness he had experienced in an entire career?

Weird sh*t. But not without beauty.

[JoshW]

Guy has played for that long and he can't keep his cool. Players in other sports have their mothers insulted, called every racists thing under the book and don't respond. This guy has played for so long and he can't keep his cool? Pretty poor IMO, but certainly don't think it takes away from someones who career.

[isetcap]

The problem is that he did this on a stage where more people in this country (US) are watching than ever before. For many this is their first Zidane experience and in their eyes he is an absolute villain because of this action and from a visual standpoint it is so malicious that it's hard to make a case for him.

Anyway, the match should have never made it to overtime as France was gifted a goal they didn't deserve and Italy was stripped of a goal they did deserve.