Marco Materazzi has revealed what he told Zinedine Zidane to cause one of the most scandalous incidents in World Cup history.
The 2006 World Cup in Germany is remembered for many things:
the amount of stars on display is ridiculous, with Ronaldo Nazario breaking the scoring record in World Cup finals, Cristiano Ronaldo's wink and England losing another penalty shootout...
But the moment everyone remembers happened in the last 10 minutes of the game - the headbutt.
As the final between France and Italy dragged into extra time with a 1-1 draw, one of the greatest players of all time, Zinedine Zidane, had all the cards in hand.
Zizou had a stellar tournament, and after scoring a daring goal from Panenka's penalty earlier in the game, the Frenchman would be confident ahead of the penalty shootout. In his last professional football match, Zidane looks set to lift the world championship trophy for the second time.
However, by the 110th minute, everything changed. Italian defender Materazzi talked to Zidane throughout the game, and he ended up teasing the Frenchman.
Zidane's infamous header received a direct red card, and the image of the French captain walking through the tunnel, past the trophy, head bowed, has become iconic.
Now, in an interview with IFTV, Materazzi has revealed exactly what he told Zidane. "My trash talk is nothing [compared to what is said in the NBA]," the Italian explained.
"He gave me his jersey. I said 'no, I prefer your sister'."
When asked if he was shocked that a player of Zidane's caliber was expelled, Materazzi replied:
"No, I never thought 'oh' because the game [isn't over yet]. But when he did, I was on the floor. If you look at me, I'll never get up. Without a red card, I never got up!"
What many fans didn't realize was that the Olympiastadion referee that night, Horacio Elizondo, didn't see the drop.
"At one point I saw Materazzi lying on the ground, about 30 or 40 meters away, so I stopped the match," the Argentinian referee told AS 2018.
“Immediately, through our intercom, I asked my assistants what had happened. To my surprise, both answered me: 'we see absolutely nothing'.
Fortunately for the officials, the fourth official, Luis Medina Cantelejo, saw it all.
"It was horrible, Zidane's header on Materazzi was horrible... Damn it! Zidane headbutts Materazzi. When you watch the video, you won't believe me," said Cantelejo, an account that led to Zidane's dismissal.
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