Zidane has finally come out and spilled the beans as to what put him over the edge in Sunday’s match. Apparently, Materazzi made several derogatory comments about Zidane’s mother and sister. The exact comments were not disclosed and there is debate as to the specific content of them. Materazzi admitted to insulting Zidane but denied making comments about Zidane’s mother.
The question remains, does it matter what was said to Zidane? With the exception of satisfying curiosity, it matters not one iota. Zidane had absolutely no excuse for head-butting Materazzi. Soccer is a sport of finesse and grace, where sportsmanship is prized and fair-play is the rule, not the exception. Zidane knew better and should have kept himself under control.
Zidane was rightly ejected from the game and his golden ball award should be stripped. Still, in the midst of all this, Materazzi should be punished appropriately for his remarks as well. His insults, while all too common in sports, were unsportsmanlike and have no place on the field.
The game started out pretty exciting. It seemed like two titans were going to come together and play an amazing match. Italy with their energetic and highly skilled team. France with their older and more experienced team. Zidane had played so brilliantly against Brazil, he seemed like he was unstoppable.
But after Italy scored the equalizer, the game slowed considerably. Italy has a great defense and their goalie is second to none. Sometimes it seems that the rest of their team decides to take a nap and let the game go on without them. Earlier in the week, it seemed that way against Germany, and it seemed that way in the final. It reminded me a lot of the Italy vs. Brazil World Cup Final in 94, except that Italy lost in that game.
Zidane’s late red card really shocked me. I was really amazed that he would do such a thing in a World Cup Final, especially coming so close to the penalty shootout. Some argue that Zidane’s ejection did not change the outcome of the game. I’m not so sure. While Trezeguet would still have taken a shot on goal during the penalty shootout, Zidane was a very inspirational team member. Many of the other French players looked at him as their hero and as a legend. Zidane’s ejection was a huge psychologial blow to the team, killed France’s chance of having a late overtime goal to win it before penalties. Also, if Zidane hadn’t been ejected and had scored in the penalty shootout, Trezeguet could have been inspired to shoot better, with more control, and France may have taken it to sudden death penalties. Of course, France may still have lost, but the point is that we do not know for sure what impact Zidane’s ejection had on the game.
Zidane will be making a statement later in the week to explain why he head-butted Materazzi. Professional lip readers have already said that Materazzi had insulted Zidane’s sister twice.