View Full Version : World Class Head Butt
Bill Harsey
07-10-2006, 08:42
Did anyone see the head butt the Frenchman Zidane put on the Italian at the end of the World Cup Soccer Championship last night?
It was a good example of a high focus explosive move carried out within a fairly short distance. There is some media controversy about if the Italian soccer player was faking when he went down but I tend to think the head butt was pretty good.
rubberneck
07-10-2006, 08:48
Not only was he not faking it but the blow was close enough to the heart that it could have done some very serious if not fatal damage. Making matters worse for the Italian is the fact that the frenchman apparently has rocks for brains and the probably made it worse than it normally would have been.
Oh, if you saw it you'd see that it was no dive... that was one hell of a strike, straight to the sternum.
Best thing is that none of the refs saw it, it took something like 7 minutes before anyone reacted... The real controversy is over whether an assistant ref saw the headbutting or if FIFA just reviewed footage (which did capture the headbutting) and called down to an assistant ref to tell him to book Zidane... The latter would be controversial because video replay-reviews are not allowed!
Freakin' sweet headbutt, though. You can be sure that the Italian said something racist, either against Zidane (Algerian) or one of his many black teammates... The reason that this is likely is because Italian soccer teams are massively racist, to the point that they throw flares at black players, even if they are playing for the team that the fans are supporting... Madness!
Solid
rubberneck
07-10-2006, 08:59
Freakin' sweet headbutt, though. You can be sure that the Italian said something racist, either against Zidane (Algerian) or one of his many black teammates... The reason that this is likely is because Italian soccer teams are massively racist, to the point that they throw flares at black players, even if they are playing for the team that the fans are supporting... Madness!
You are making the assumption that the Italian defender knew how to insult Zidane in French or that Zidane knew Italian. Also it is unfair to say that Italian soccer teams are massievly racist. The fact of the matter is that racism is a very large problem everywhere in Europe. Neo-Nazi's control entire sections of stadiums on game day in Germany, France, Italy and England. Black players routienly have banana's thrown at them or serenaded with the sounds of an ape. It is commonly referred to as the monkey chant.
To think the Europeans love to call us racist when such acts very rarely happen anymore here in the states while they happen in every single club match involving an player of african descent over there.
x SF med
07-10-2006, 10:37
Being Algerian explains why Zidane didn't surrender and apologize to the Italians - the Algerians even kept the LEdF at bay for a great number of years.
Racism in Europe is rampant and uncontrolled, but unpublicized and ignored - unless it happens in the US.
mumbleypeg
07-10-2006, 12:17
The Zidane head-butt was unbelievable. Marco Materazzi played a tough match and was obviously provocative through out. Regardless, Zidane fell for the provocation and was ejected.It could be argued that it cost them the match.
My favorite head-butt was Luis Figo laying into a Dutch player. That one went undetected until later and was only awarded a yellow. That match was out of control, very physical, it set a record for cards issued.
MSNBC.com
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Materazzi denies calling Zidane 'terrorist'
Italian defender head-butted by French star during World Cup finale
The Associated Press
Updated: 2:44 p.m. ET July 10, 2006
BERLIN - Was it something he said?
With France and Italy tied in extra time of Sunday’s World Cup final, Zinedine Zidane head-butted Marco Materazzi in the chest and was ejected. France went on to lose on penalty kicks.
The day after, still no one knew what the Italian defender might have said to the French star.
“The Italians did everything they could do to provoke Zidane,” France defender William Gallas said.
Seconds before, Materazzi had grabbed a handful of Zidane’s jersey just as a French attack on goal passed harmlessly by. The two exchanged words as they walked back up the field, well behind the play. Then, without warning, Zidane spun around, lowered his head and rammed Materazzi, knocking him to the ground.
The Paris-based anti-racism advocacy group SOS-Racism issued a statement Monday quoting “several very well informed sources from the world of football” as saying Materazzi called Zidane a “dirty terrorist.” It demanded that FIFA, soccer’s world governing body, investigate and take any appropriate action.
FIFA, which reviews all red cards at the World Cup, would not comment on the specifics.
“This is a disciplinary matter now. I can’t give any statements now,” FIFA spokesman Markus Siegler said.
Materazzi, meanwhile, was quoted as denying the terrorist comment
“It is absolutely not true, I didn’t call him a terrorist, I don’t know anything about that,” the Italian news agency ANSA quoted Materazzi as saying when he arrived with his team at an Italian military airfield.
“What happened is what all the world saw live on TV,” the Italian player said, referring to the head-butting.
Zidane’s agent, Alain Migliaccio, was quoted by the BBC as saying the France captain told him the Italian “said something very serious to him, but he wouldn’t tell me what.”
Whatever it was, it was enough to infuriate Zidane.
“Zizou is someone who reacts to things,” said Aime Jacquet, Zidane’s coach at the 1998 World Cup. “Unfortunately he could not control himself. It’s terrible to see him leave this way.”
Even with the ejection, Zidane still won the Golden Ball as the World Cup’s best player.
Zidane, who came out of retirement to help France qualify for the World Cup and said he would quit soccer completely after the tournament, got 2,012 points in the vote by journalists covering the tournament. The three-time player of the year beat Fabio Cannavaro (1,977) and Andrea Pirlo (715), both of Italy.
Zidane’s red card was anything but unusual. He was sent off 14 times in his career at the club and international level.
At the 1998 World Cup, he stomped on a Saudi Arabian opponent. Sitting out a two-match ban, he came back to score two goals against Brazil in the final.
Five years ago with Juventus, he head-butted an opponent in a Champions League match against Hamburger SV after being tackled from behind.
The reaction to Sunday’s outburst was mixed in France. President Jacques Chirac called Zidane “a genius of world football,” and former Sports Minister Marie-George Buffet said Zidane’s aggressive act was unforgivable for its effect on children watching the game.
“This morning, Zinedine, what do we tell our children, and all those for whom you were the living role model for all times?” French sports daily L’Equipe wrote.
Zidane, whose parents emigrated to France from Algeria, became a proud symbol of a multicultural France and is adored in Algeria.
In the mountains where Zidane’s parents grew up, Atmanne Chelouah carried off a life-size cardboard cutout of the player at “Cafe Zizou” after the red card.
“We are very disappointed,” Chelouah said. “He should have kept his cool.”
But lashing out is nothing new to Zidane, who grew up playing on concrete in an impoverished immigrant neighborhood of Marseille, where fouls and insults are met with instant retribution.
Perhaps he could never shake off that you-or-me mentality.
“You can take the man out of the rough neighborhood, but you can’t take the rough neighborhood out of the man,” striker Thierry Henry said Sunday.
At this year’s World Cup, where Zidane sat out one match for getting two yellow cards in the first round, he sent a message to his teammates. In a rare television interview, he said, “We die together.”
They were ready to go as far as they could for him, yet he punished them.
“He’ll carry that weight for a long time,” France coach Raymond Domenech said of Zidane’s latest red card.
Zidane nearly won the match with a late header after giving France an early lead with a penalty, taking two steps forward to slowly chip the ball into the air while goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon dived to his right.
It was his third goal of the tournament and sixth in the last 10 major tournament matches. He scored three at the 2004 European Championship.
Zidane’s teammates had all wanted to help him to one last trophy. Failing that, they refused to kick him when he was down.
“For all that Zidane has done for the national team, you have to say ’Thank you and well done,”’ said striker David Trezeguet, the only player to miss his penalty kick in the shootout.
© 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13804403/from/ET/
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© 2006 MSNBC.com
Airbornelawyer
07-10-2006, 14:10
You are making the assumption that the Italian defender knew how to insult Zidane in French or that Zidane knew Italian.Zidane played in Italy for Juventus for five seasons.
Being Algerian explains why Zidane didn't surrender and apologize to the Italians - the Algerians even kept the LEdF at bay for a great number of years.Zidane was born in Marseille, France. His parents were Algerians. Unlike many Algerians and other North African and black African immigrants and their children, who remain unassimilated, he is pretty much a fully assimilated Frenchman.
Franco-Algerians do have their martial qualities, though. The 3e division d'infanterie algérienne (3rd Algerian Infantry Division) relieved the 45th "Thunderbird" Infantry Division on the Rapido River in January 1944 so the 45th ID could be landed at Anzio. The division then fought as part of the French Expeditionary Corps in the breaching of the Winter Line around Monte Cassino and in 5th US Army's drive on Rome. The division captured Siena in July 1944, and was then pulled from the line to prepare for the invasion of Southern France. In August 1944, landing after Truscott's VI Corps, it participated in the capture of Toulon and Marseille by French forces. It then participated in 7th US Army's drive up the Rhone river valley to the Vosges, where the French and American forces linked up with Patton's 3rd US Army (on Patton's side, by the way, Leclerc's 2nd French Armored Division effected the linkup). When LTG Devers' 6th Army Group was stood up, most of the French forces were pulled from 7th US Army and formed into Jen de Lattre de Tassigny's 1st French Army. The Algerians then participated in the Vosges and Alsace campaigns and the reduction of the Colmar pocket. In March 1945, under 7th Army again, they attacked from Strasbourg and breached the West Wall. Back under French 1st Army, they crossed the Rhine at Speyer and drove on Stuttgart, where they ended the war.
News reports in the London Times (ah, that font of wisdom) reports that what was said by Materazzi is that Zidane's mother (who was hospitalized that night with a chance of death) was “the son of a terrorist whore” before adding “so just f*** off"...
Yes, Zidane lost his temper, but yes, I would probably have head-butted the guy too.
Furthermore, on the issue of racism in Europe:
As some of you may know, I have spent all but two years of my life in Europe, and have encountered racism here first hand. In terms of soccer fans, Italians- not Germans, Brits, or most French- are by FAR the worst. Germans fans are not racist whatsoever (They cheer Odonker, who is black), and France cheers a team with at least five African or South-Asian players. The same goes for the Brits.
The Italians are the only ones to have ever threatened force against black players, especially those on their OWN teams.
Now, having said that: when it comes to hooliganism the Brits aren't racist per se... they just hate everyone who isn't British. When I was born, for example, white hooligans attacked other white hooligans for supporting the wrong team.
In Italy, on the other hand, non-white players have death-threats issued on a regular basis, and I remember times at which these threats were almost carried through.
Not to come across as too much of a Europhile, but with my experience in NC I would strongly argue that at least compared to London, which is, truth be told, becoming MORE racist, NC and the US South is still a far more racially charged environment than anything I have experienced in London.
But that's going off on a tangent.
JMO,
Solid
Slantwire
07-11-2006, 07:22
Did anyone see the head butt the Frenchman Zidane put on the Italian at the end of the World Cup Soccer Championship last night?
It was a good example of a high focus explosive move carried out within a fairly short distance. There is some media controversy about if the Italian soccer player was faking when he went down but I tend to think the head butt was pretty good.
I guess all the practice striking fast-moving soccer balls in-air came through. I wouldn't have wanted to be on the receiving end.
As for the language barrier, it's not like France and Italy are very far apart, geographically or linguistically. And the guy presumably knew going in that he'd spend a lot of time marking Zidane - it's not like NFL players are the only ones who spend time preparing trash-talk during the week prior.
i just got this via email, a parody on Mortal Kombat. (you need to click on it)
Hoepoe
Airbornelawyer
07-11-2006, 08:56
As for the language barrier, it's not like France and Italy are very far apart, geographically or linguistically. And the guy presumably knew going in that he'd spend a lot of time marking Zidane - it's not like NFL players are the only ones who spend time preparing trash-talk during the week prior.
French and Italian are far from mutually intelligible. However, as I noted previously, Zidane spent 5 seasons with Italy's top club, so he likely knows some Italian, and certainly the "bad" words. Thierry Henry, another French player (and victim of earlier racist remarks by a former Spanish national team coach), is captain of Britain's Arsenal club, and speaks excellent English.
Roguish Lawyer
07-11-2006, 09:10
Nice psyop by Materazzi. Sun Tzu would approve, I think. "If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him."
rubberneck
07-11-2006, 10:23
Nice psyop by Materazzi.
According to Materazzi's father Zidane instigated the whole affair by making a lewd comments about Materazzi's deceased mother. If true it seems like one player was able to keep his emotions in check while the other wasn't.
Smokin Joe
07-11-2006, 17:46
http://www.videosift.com/story.php?id=5176
That was most definitely a good example of: 1. A head butt 2. A heart punch (close anyway). Oscar de la Hoya similarly went down hard to a liver punch and was unable to recover to continue the fight. Both nice examples of the effectiveness of body shots, as well as, serious set-ups for stomping.
Imagine that head but with a Kevlar helmet.
Arwr