An act of sheer....

[Hitro]

d) people will now intentionally provoke people to react more often now

Nonsense, this happens every match on every level. And in more sports than just football.

it's funny how people that dive get slammed, whereas someone that headbutts gets excused for in great lengths. A bit scewed views here, isn't it? Whatever someone said during a game, Zidane has heard that so many times throughout his career.

Exactly.

 

[Rambuchan]

Sledging - as it is known on the cricket field - has gone on for years. And I've heard a lot worse than what is reported to have been said. The Aussies are the real masters.

Listen to the Today programme by any chance do we col?

Anyway, this is pretty much my view as well. Sledging is common in all high stakes, professional sports, where opponent interaction is common (things like tennis being exceptions). Trying to imagine a sporting atmosphere in which such a thing is banned leads to quite ridiculous scenarios. You will never stop it.

Zidane should have kept his cool. No matter what was said.

PS. I won't be using this new word "Zidanity". Snazzy as it is, I'll be remembering him for different reasons.

 

[col]

Favourite response overheard in a test match.

"Youre a fat bast**d"
"Yeah. Every time I sh*g your wife, she gives me a biscuit"

 

[MCdread]

Has a point...

Now that's the Materazzi I know. Don't know who was playing under his shirt and with that perfect face mask of his, but he was much better than Materazzi, scored goals, good positioning, played the ball on the grass, didn't do many vicious fouls, great penalty kick (though the real Materazzi used to kick penalties and free kicks when he was at Peruggia IIRC), etc.
Funny though that his dad, Giuseppe Materazzi, the coach, certainly full of paternal pride has said that his son is not a dirty player, on the contrary he's the target and victim of other players abuse.

Btw, I don't know if the title "Entradas de Materazzi" is in portuguese or spanish, because I don't recall if the spanish use the same word, but that word "Entrada", for tackle, is one of the best words we have in football jargon, literally "entrance". Just perfect for when a player enters all the way "through another player's legs", or in Materazzi's case, "through the whole body"...

 

[ThERat]

A player of uncommon skill and technical poise, Zidane's command of almost any ball, his vision and penchant for big-game goals has earned him comparisons to the greatest creative talents in soccer.

His temper has been another matter.

Playing for Juventus five years ago, Zidane butted Jochen Kientz of Hamburger SV in a Champions League match, also earning a red card.

Eight years ago, Zidane was red-carded for stomping on an opponent while playing Saudi Arabia. At this World Cup he collected two yellow cards and was suspended for France's third group match against Togo.

found that on one webpage, there must be something about his temper...

 

[MCdread]

found that on one webpage, there must be something about his temper...

Acording to L'Équipe, Zidane was shown the red card 14 times during his professional career. Quite a number, even if it was a defender (though i bet Materazzi has more )

 

[Panda]

Favourite response overheard in a test match.

"Youre a fat bast**d"
"Yeah. Every time I sh*g your wife, she gives me a biscuit"

That's awesome! I have to remember that one, having developed bit of a belly

 

[willemvanoranje]

Responses like that are the best haha!

And taking cheap racial shots? Insulting their mother? If you are going to sledge, make it relevant to the game for crying out loud.

Really, he's got a north-african background, he should've heard racial insults all his life. And I never understood people's obsession with insulting mothers, both from the ones doing the insult as the ones taking it so harsh. The one that insults you doesn't even know your mother so it's clear he's full of ****. It gets ugly when for example your mom died of cancer and someone will say something ugly about that..

He's not a madman, he just plays the way he knows to play(often, dirty).

He's a madman.

 

[Rambuchan]

It gets ugly when for example your mom died of cancer and someone will say something ugly about that.

I do believe that Zidane's mother was taken into hospital on the morning of the match. It was a pretty serious need to visit I remember reading, but didn't catch the details of her ailment.


Speaking of cricket matches and sledging:

We used to, and still do, use all the sledging tactics in the book. It's fun, it works and most guys are up for a laugh in these amateur games anyway.

There's one technique that I pioneered while at school and have taken on to the dizzy heights of village cricket. That's writing messages for the wicket keeper and slip fielders on the rear shoulder of your bat. This message is always visible to those fielders as you face the bowler. Further, it is very discrete and it means you don't have to sledge them verbally.

It started out with me jokingly signing a friend's bat, pretending to be a famous player. We found that wicket keepers would always ask him about it when he went out to bat. So then we started adding offensive messages for these rear guard fielders. You just need to keep looking back at them now and then and say things like "Read it", "read it again", "don't read it when the ball is being delivered now", "you know it's true" etc etc. Dropped catches and byes aplenty

 

[willemvanoranje]

I do believe that Zidane's mother was taken into hospital on the morning of the match. It was a pretty serious need to visit I remember reading, but didn't catch the details of her ailment.

I still think Materazzi must've said something about that or something similar to it. Otherwise I cannot comprehend such an act at that point of time (well, it's also the refusal to kick Zidane of his pedestle)

 

[allhailIndia]

@Ram

Definitely trying that in the next intra-university tournament...though our Sports Committee may not be so tolerant of the defacing of some brand new cricket bats

Coming back to the topic, I think very few sports these days are entirely free of some form of verbal provocation of the other side's players. It is the mark of the professional that he or she can keep his or her head down in these moments and concentrate on winning the game rather than retaliating...

 

[GenghisK]

Yeah, according to you, he is not human, has no right to loose temper, he must be perfect. So if I just start right now saying bs to you and saying you just a f** b** (which of course I'll never do), I suppose you'll just stay cool eh? At any time you'll keep cool, even after a hard day work after hours of traffic jam etc.. You never lost temper never over reacted all your life, you must be too perfect to understand a tired player who bore 110mins of an exhausting game, with childish players. No, you can't understand he's only a human.
My main point is, if Zidane was like John Mc Enroe or Jimmy Connors, swearing and over reacting for anything I would think differently. Now I don't know if you ever heard any of Zidane's interview. Did he ever brag even once? He's always been humble, even at the 1998 victory he stayed cool and never dispised Brazilians. I don't say what he did was righteous, I say I can understand him and even though he did this I wouldn't exagerate to the point inventing a new word to explain this. Just think about it, what if people would say allhailindianity each time people talking nonsense?
Bah, after all, I don't see the point arguing more, grateful people will remember all his career, the other ones will just remember this unfortunate detail and criticize him everyday

 

[MCdread]

Yeah, according to you, he is not human, has no right to loose temper, he must be perfect. So if I just start right now saying bs to you and saying you just a f** b** (which of course I'll never do), I suppose you'll just stay cool eh? At any time you'll keep cool, even after a hard day work after hours of traffic jam etc.. You never lost temper never over reacted all your life, you must be too perfect to understand a tired player who bore 110mins of an exhausting game, with childish players. No, you can't understand he's only a human.
My main point is, if Zidane was like John Mc Enroe or Jimmy Connors, swearing and over reacting for anything I would think differently. Now I don't know if you ever heard any of Zidane's interview. Did he ever brag even once? He's always been humble, even at the 1998 victory he stayed cool and never dispised Brazilians. I don't say what he did was righteous, I say I can understand him and even though he did this I wouldn't exagerate to the point inventing a new word to explain this. Just think about it, what if people would say allhailindianity each time people talking nonsense?
Bah, after all, I don't see the point arguing more, grateful people will remember all his career, the other ones will just remember this unfortunate detail and criticize him everyday

I think everyone aknowledges that he's human. That's precesily the point. He made a mistake, humans make mistakes. And as the fans are humans too, they'll remember the headbutt, because we, humans, are much more prone to point and remember the bad things about other people.
But I think the good things of his career, far more than the bad ones, will take the better in the books, once the dust settles on this WC.

 

[willemvanoranje]

The whole thing of naming this zidanism or whatever is an overreaction in itself. IT is a bit characteristic, but it rarely happens. Very rarely, and probably not more often than with 80% of the football players. To name this zidanism is really crazy, especially since there are many many other players out there that do make it a weekly thing..

 

[volta]

it's funny how people that dive get slammed, whereas someone that headbutts gets excused for in great lengths. A bit scewed views here, isn't it? Whatever someone said during a game, Zidane has heard that so many times throughout his career.
Also, he isn't exactly known as a peace loving person. Do you guys remember him hitting the back of a player in '02 and gettig sent off for that.
Also, the Spiegel magazine wrote that when he was young, he had a real bad temper and got many a red card. I don't know whether that is true though.

I think people don't like diving because when someone dives they are cheating intentionally in a way that they will get away with. There was no question Zidane was going to get a red card, but divers rarely get a yellow like they should. I'm not trying to justify what Zidane did (I think it was completely stupid) but I think it would have been worse if he waited and elbowed Materazzi on a header, slid with his cleats up, or something like that in a way he could hurt Materazzi without automatically getting red-carded.

Yesterday wiki had what a lip-reader thought Materazzi said. It's down now but I think it was something like "wait that's not for a n***** like you," "we all know you are the son of a terrorist whore," then right before the headbutt "so just f*** off."

If thats what he said I think he is lucky he only got a headbutt to the chest.

 

[jonatas]

The whole thing of naming this zidanism or whatever is an overreaction in itself. IT is a bit characteristic, but it rarely happens. Very rarely, and probably not more often than with 80% of the football players. To name this zidanism is really crazy, especially since there are many many other players out there that do make it a weekly thing..

It was just a joke. Sheesh But I agree that Materazzi deserves his own entry in the dictionary too.

 

[kryszcztov]

Also, I hate how some people say it will forever show his dark side, etc... Zidane is the new Darth Vader... Zidane didn't sin. People who think he did are just idiots or religious nuts.

 

[willemvanoranje]

Well, it's not the right thing to do of course.. but this religion type of guy I've heard of, who I think was something important, once said: "He who is without sins, throw the first stone." or something of the like. I think he was from the Middle-East and if I remember correctly they said that there's a book about him and his thoughts out there where you might actually find the quote. Don't you just love discovery channel?

Anyway, to get to the point of the idiocy in this post so far: what zidane did was obviously wrong, but **** happens you know. I don't think I know anyone that hasn't ever been involved in a fight or something in some way..

 

[RameNoodle]

Jeez, it would be Vinceanity to make a play on words of the word "insanity."

 

[kryszcztov]

Zidane has just spoken on French TV, and I saw most of it. He mainly spoke about his WC, etc... About the headbutt incident, he didn't pronounced Materazzi's words, but said it was about her mother and her sister, repeated several times. It seems he didn't lost his mind, and rather did it coldly, because it was about honour. He said that he told Materazzi to leave his shirt at first, and that he could have it after the final if he wanted. Apparently the Italian guy replied to him something completely different than that... Zidane is perfectly ready to answer questions from the FIFA. It doesn't seem that Materazzi annoyed him throughout the match or before, but maybe he just ignored your basic insults when he said that.

Summary : We don't know the exact words, but it is along what everybody said. Maybe the exact words will be known later (FIFA). He fully apologizes to everybody, especially the kids and the educators : this is not something to reproduce. But he couldn't help it, and he perfectly knew what he was doing. He also said that such behaviour as the one from Materazzi should be punished, and that he advises people to not let someone "stomp on your feet".