PARIS – Deep into extra time in the 2006 World Cup final, France star Zinedine Zidane planted a firm headbutt into the chest of Italy defender Marco Materazzi. The force sent Materazzi flying backward and Zidane's stellar career ended with a red card.
Zidane faces Italy again on Friday, this time in a suit as France's coach. The Nations League game at Stade de France will be his first at home since taking charge of Les Bleus.
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Although 20 years have passed, the headbutt incident remains one of soccer's most iconic and talked-about moments.
“The images always remind me of it, they’re shown over and over again,” Zidane said Thursday at a pre-match news conference. “But luckily that’s not all I ever did and there are other (images) that are nicer.”
Zidane still does not regret what he did.
“They're not regrets. It’s part of my career. I’m not proud of what happened, but you can’t always do just good things," he said. “We’re all on a journey in life, where (sometimes) you do things that aren’t the best. But now it’s about what comes next.”
Zidane never played again after the 2006 final and, at the time, thought it was the last thing he would be remembered for with France.
“Yes, because I didn’t know I was going to become coach. So for me it was the end, and I can say things were very, very difficult," Zidane recalled. “I’m ready to come back and coach the France team, I want to give everything I have."
He has not spoken with Materazzi since.
“No,” Zidane said firmly. “Not at all.”
Why was Zidane sent off?
After the two briefly exchanged words, Zidane jogged forward to join the play. He suddenly stopped, turned around and stooped his head to push it into Materazzi.
As the Italian players reacted angrily, Zidane adjusted his captain's armband before speaking to Argentine referee Horacio Elizondo, who brandished a red card high in the air in front of a stunned crowd in Berlin.
In July, Elizondo told Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport that neither he nor his two assistants had seen the incident. Elizondo was only alerted to it by the fourth official, long before video reviews existed in soccer.
As the images were replayed on French television, the late soccer commentator Thierry Gilardi expressed the disbelief of millions watching the drama unfold back home.
“Oh Zinedine, not that. Not that, Zinedine. Oh no, not that," Gilardi pleaded. "Not today, not after everything you’ve achieved.”
Head bowed, Zinedine walked solemnly past the Jules Rimet World Cup trophy he had raised eight years earlier when France won the World Cup. With Zidane gone, Italy won the ensuing penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw.
Zidane vs. Materazzi
They were the main protagonists of that tense final.
Materazzi's early foul on winger Florent Malouda led to Zidane scoring with an audacious Panenka-style penalty.
As he stepped up, Zidane avoided eye contact with Gianluigi Buffon, the world’s best goalkeeper at the time, thus negating Buffon's options to read what he would do. Buffon went the wrong way on Zidane's brilliantly disguised scuffed shot, with the ball hitting the underside of the crossbar and bouncing over the line.
Zidane almost scored again but his injury-time header was superbly tipped over by Buffon. Soon after, Zidane was in the dressing room taking in what happened.
Speculation abounded as to what made ZZ blow his top.
“He triggered something by mentioning my sister Lila," Zidane told sports daily L’Equipe in 2022. “Sometimes it’s in moments like those that you might do something wrong.”
Materazzi gave his version of events.
“I held (Zidane) by the shirt a little in order so he couldn’t jump. I said sorry twice. Then he said, ‘If you want my shirt I’ll give it to you later,’ and I said something to him," Materazzi explained. "But nothing worse then what we used to say as kids playing on the beach in Bari.”
A legend returns
Zidane’s two goals in the 1998 World Cup final win over Brazil made him an overnight superstar. A Ballon d’Or award followed and, two years later, his inspired performances led Les Bleus to glory at the European Championship.
Hundreds of fans cheered him outside the French soccer federation's headquarters when he was appointed France coach after the World Cup, replacing Didier Deschamps.
Zidane has won his first two games in charge away from home, 1-0 against Turkey and Belgium. Italy's rebuilding under returning coach Roberto Mancini began with a 2-0 home loss to Belgium, but there is optimism following a 4-1 win at Turkey.
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AP Sports Writer Andrew Dampf in Rome contributed ___