AHAHAAHAHA! ZIDANE IS MY HERO! HIT THEM HARDER NEXT TIME. YOU OWND THAT GAME WE ARE ALL PROUD OF YOU. ITS UNFORTUNATE THAT YOU COULDN'T PUNCH HIM IN THE FACE BECAUSE OF YOUR SHOULDER BUT YOU ARE A TROOPER AND YOU KEPT ON PLAYING UNTIL YOU WERE CALLED OFF BECAUSE OF THE RACIST ITALIAN! I WANT TO SEE MATERAZZI DISCIPLNINED!

whooo heck yea!!!

well it looks like Italy won which is a good thing.They deserved it more anyways France isn`t that good anyways.There was no need for what Zidane did to Materazzi I mean Materazzi should of hit him back. but he didnt so they won and thats how it is. SO GO ITALY!!!!!

YOU TALK LIKE AN IDIOT. THAT IS THE "ANTIITALIANSOCCER" DUDE OR WHATEVER. ZIDANE PLAYED VERY GOOD THRU OUT THE WORLD CUP, BUT FRANCE HAS CHEATED OR GOTTEN LUCKY IN OTHER GAMES IN THE WORLD CUP. ZIDANE GOT THE APPROPIATE PUNISHMENT. NO MATTER HOW MANY WORDS MATERAZZI TOLD HIM HE SHOULD HAVE KEPT HIS COMPOSURE. NO ONE SHOULD GET AWAY WITH PHYSICAL ABUSE. HE WENT TO FAR AND GOT WHA HE DESERVED. CONGRATS ITALIA.

Everyone's a racists, it's human nature. It depends how far you want to take it to, and it's too bad it affected the game the way it did. Europe is light years behind the US when it comes to civil rights - Europe is due for such a movement!
But Italy was the better team, so GO ITALY!!!!

zidane sucks he is the worst player of the world.

zidane doesnt know how to play. he is the worst player of the world. ITALY IS THE BEST.

Zizou rox my world man.. he's the best player of the world. France Is a very good team. The same team has wonother championships. What Zidane did was tottally not fair play, during the final france started off pretty bad but they got better in second half. And Zidane has been my hero since I was a little kid and he'll remain that way. Italy deserved and there is no loser here. I mean france got all the way to the final.

man yall r dum whoever says that zidane suks is a stupid bc zidane is a good player and hes captain but he shouldnt do that he shouldve just say thank u bc if france wouldve beat them then zidane can do something to materazzi.Man guys yall r dum ive played 12 year of soccer and all of yall talking smak about zidane dont know nothing and yall dont know how to play soccer and u know whats not fair is that is the referee doesnt see it then he cant do anything to zidane so yall r dum and learn more soccer crackheads

That Materazzi is racits
Zidane should hit him harder I'm proud for Zidane
he is the best player, he won the Golden Ball
and Italians did everything they could just to make him angry but still that Materazzi got what he deserved
Go Zidane keep yopur head up like you always do don't let the racism to put you down

Zidane the one of the best player of the century,Players like him deserve respect and Italy Player must think something before negotiating with him unless headbutt.He forget what acting he was doing againt such a big Player.Shame on Materazzi.He deserve more than that....Zidane Player of the century.

Italy is the best! No doubt that they are better than France... Its a shame that people think France will win just because there are great players like Thierry Henry or Zidane...it still prove that having the best players don't actually guarantee a win as it may change without expected just like the final game and I rily pity Zidane for what happen... I guess its fated for Italy to win

France and Italy are both great teams. Italy had a better tournament,but were completely outplayed in the final. The red card was the stupidest thing ever. They said that the fourth official saw it and told the ref on the headset.That is bull.The ref only went over after Italy played the ball out because they saw somone hurt. When he did go over he asked the linesman if he saw anything which he didn't until they showed it on the large monitors. I think Materazzi had to say something absolutely horrible to make Zidane go that far but Zidane should have just kept giving him little hits that no one can see.

ITALY ARE WORLD CHAMPS.......ANY QUESTION?

I THINK THAT THE FIFA RULE THAT THEY CAN'T USE THE REPLAYS TO MAKE A DECISION IS THE WORST RULE IN ALL OF SOCCER. ZIDANE CAN THEN KILL SOMEONE ON THE FIELD AND IF THE REF DOESN'T SEE IT THEN THOUGH LUCK FOR THE VICTIM. I DON'T CARE HOW GOOD OR POPULAR A PLAYER IS IF YOU BREAK THE LAW YOU MUST PAY FOR IT AND THAT INCLUDES THE ITIALIANS AS WELL. ZIDANE GOT WHAT HE DESEREVED. YOU FRENCH FANS ARE A BUNCH OF RACISTS. BUT YET AGAIN YOU ARE FRENCH. HA HA HA.

All of these French fans are cry babies.
Viva Italia. stop crying you french babies.

zidane is cold he is a god in france and thats why he should'nt have done what he did he is a figure in soccer he should know how to keep his cool his been in the fields for a long time so he should know how the game is on the other hand italy what can i say they just deserved it well all i got to say is their world champs and that says it all

There really is no question that Zidane deserved a red card for the incident. I'm one of the biggest Zizou fans around and have been for several years, but there is no excuse for losing his cool to that extreme at a pivotal moment in the most important match in the world. I have no doubt that Materazzi did or said something extreme to provoke it, as I wouldn't say he is the classiest player, but you just have to be smarter than that on the pitch and anyone who saw it would agree that it is a red card offense.

It's the way in which it may have been determined that is objectionable. As much as I hated to see it happen, I have no problem with Zidane being shown red. However, if video was used to make the decision, it's a clear violation of FIFA's own guidelines. Replay is not allowed in any instance, and if it is going to be in the future, it must be applied uniformly.

Side Notes: Anyone that says Zidane is anything less than one of the top 10 players in the world over the past decade, just has not been watching or does not understand the game at all.

As for the match itself, France clearly played better on the field, Italy was better in the shootout. It was a fair and even game, and Italy came out on top, so I cannot say it is undeserved. It was also a pleasant surprise to see Italy play relatively fairly without faking fouls and diving as they had in previous matches. They won the final fairly.

I think France played a better offensively, but Italy showed how a soccer club should play defensivly. They were the winners defensivly and they played with inteligence.

Forze di Italia

There is no question that Zidane is a great player and probably the best in the last 15 years (with Baggio,Romario,Ronaldo,Maldini,Figo etc.)But keep in mind that he has had other red cards similar to the one in the final,when playing with Juventus he stepped on a player and he head butted another(in the champions leaugue)so he's a great player but also human. A great player needs to have a great mind too.The only question I have is why is FIFA releasing an investigation when in 2004 Totti was suspeneded for spitting on Polsen who tortured him all game??? In every sport there is trash talk,be a man and just play the game.

I love zidane he is the best and like you said below he is my hero, and I think that that racist italian should be beaten with a stick. and all italy deserves is a butt whippin next time. France would of won if that dirty italian hadnt cheated. Italy sucked throughout the whole match. and Materazzi is a BIG A HOLE!
for doing that, what poor sportsmanship.

For Mathew: the only poor sportsmanship was Zidane acting like a fifteen year old,he's done it before and if you claim you are his fan you should know, a great player has also needs great composure,and I played my whole life and was taunted the entire games especially when playing away,but I let my feet due the talking. and explain to me how Italy cheated when france got the gift on the penalty,Italy got the goal taken away and Buffon made 2 saves the whole game!! Zidane missed the last 8 minutes with or without him France was doomed.France's luck ran out,Italy may not have played the prettiest soccer but obviously the smartest.

I do not advocate violence in the beautiful game, but I will say this. Zidane will always be remembered as one of the most talented and skillfull players of all time. Now he is also one of the most rightous. If I were in his shoes, and someone had said something so personally offensive to me, I think I may have done exactly the same thing. So kudos to you Zidiane. You will be missed.

Zidane is a legend. It's a shame that he didn't leave in glory like he was destined. He is a world class player but every man has his breaking point. In the video you can see that he first grabbed him from behind and then tweaked his nipple. Then followed the speculative remarks which may have been racist and deragetory. It's easy for us to say that what Zidane did was wrong but in that situation you have to stand your ground. I don't know how much more warning he could've given Materazzi. He approached him from the front which was the right thing to do. It was obvious that Italy could not win without derailing the game as they were crumbling towards the end of extra time. Had France not been down a man, it is almost definite that the game would have ended before penalty kicks. Italy has won the world cup but today we still talk of Zizou...the legend.

Mathew you truly said it best. Italy is the true winner.

What can I say it was a great match. All though you people who say Zidane is not a great player obviously dont know much about football. Yeah he head butted Materazzi who cares he deserved it.

Zidane is a legend and he simply let his emotions get the best of him..think about all the emotions he must of been feeling. Although a headbutt might be a little over bored i agree with joe that he might have deserved it..i am truly sad to see zidanes career end this way and i hope youll join me to sympathize for him.

i think zidane is cute when hes mad

Poor poor zidane. I would go as far to say this could be the worst blunder in soccer history..Think about it this way if zidane could have kept his cool France could have one the most widely viewed events and the most prolific trophy in sports. No doubt Zidane was a fine football player and its a pity to see him leave this way. I only hope he doesnt inspire a poor innocent soccer player to take similar actions as he. I think its such a crying shame that Zidane could have possibly lost the world cup for the French and i cant imagine how Zidane must feel. One can only imagine the whirr of emotions that he was enveloped in when he executed that thoughtless act.

how could zidane do such a thing? i used to have the biggest crush on him! now i think he is a mean old jerk! he lost the world cup for france!

omg this zidane guy is crazy i saw that clip on some uhh tv and he is totally a weird guy i have like never seen a baseball player do such a weird thing! OMG

According to my calculations, the velocity of the head butt was not enough to cause the other play to land with such force. Therefore, i conclude that the player who was hit should have gotten a red card for diving. According to my other calculations that would have propelled France to win the world cup.

Zinadine Zidane (ZIZOU) Is is my idol as far as anything goes. But none the less, the headbutt is unexcusable. Thats why "FAIR PLAY" exist. I don't need to sound negative about anything. Look at
Diego Armando Maradona, "El Mano De Dios". It's all that he is know for, plus winning the World Cup :^) Zizou is know for other things. In other words. . . Learn others mistake, and prevent more from coming.

You hoodlums i think the same freaking person jsut left 13 comments in a row..i cant stand kids like that they must be really bored

i thought this was supposed to be about zidane?

Zinadine Zidane has ever been a great hero and will always be despite the way it ended in this world cup I'm very sure Materazzi must have said horrible things to him that made him reacted that way. It was obvious that Italy could not win without derailing the game as they were crumbling towards the end of extra time. Well congrats to Italie they are world champs now!

zidane is awesome!!!!!!! and the only way that italy won the penalty shoot out was because france made a mistake. so italy didnt block a pk to win, they just benefited from france. but then again, they made all of theirs. congrats italy.

france would not have won with or with out Zidane for those last 8/9 minutes,both teams were dead tired and keep in mind that france only scored on a penalty(if that is what you want to call it)with portugal & italy,neither teams in the final showed any real fire power,i gave italy the first half and france the second, and italy came out on top with the penalties(which was their previous nightmare being that they lost on pks in 90,94,98).Zidane will always be one of the best but that was not the first time he did a stupid act like that on the field,ciao.

The stupid 4th official say what Zidane did on the big screen in the stadium when they showed the replay. He did not see it for himself and that is against the Laws of the Game. I an A FIFA ref and I know that Horacio Elizondo is a idiot. Italy Sucks and they didn't shouldn't have won they suck. Also they are weak and dive whenever touched. That stupid Itlian guy should have gotten the red card for what ever he said to Zidane. And a special note to "adrian perez" Zidane won player of the Year 3 times and the best player in the world cup this year so does know how to play soccer you idiot.

One has to wonder how the outcome could have differed had zidane not been ejected. I think Trezeguet would have still taken a kick...Also remember that Thierry Henry was substituted out of the game in extra time so he was not allowed to shoot penalty kicks either. Perhaps if Henry were left in they could have won. Although im happy Italy won because i picked them to win from the beginning

France only got one score in and that was the penalty kick NOTHING AND I MEAN NOTHING ELSE got past Buffon. On the other hand Italy MADE THERE OWN GOAL. They didn't have to cry for it or fake a penalty for it. ITALY SHOWED THEY WERE THE BETTER TEAM. They persevered and constantly kept fighting. Unlike France which pays the Refs to make calls in there favor. Spit on Le bleus

Oh and why didn't FIFA pick you to ref this World cup. Yeah that's right cause you not a FIFA ref. Please like they have time to come on this site and post messages. YOU SUCH CHRIS S.D.

FORZA ITALIA FORZA ITALIA FORZA ITALIA ....

(edited by Admin. Eli, we welcome you support your team as much as you'd like, but please try to make your posts thoughtful, or atleast not distructive. Junk will be deleted. Thanks!)

Yes FORZA ITALIA :-)

ZIDANE.. what a legend.

For people who do not understand Football/"soccer" he is a great player. For those who do he is e genius.

youtube.com/watch?v=7HblsV-urHg

youtube.com/watch?v=j1i_l0OeeMc

for Chris S D ,if Italy sucks so bad how come they are undefeated inth past 2 years in 25 games to be exact, how come they won their qualifying round of the world cup,how come they won their WC group E one of the if not the hardest,HOW COME NO ONE CAN BEAT THEM< HOW COME TEHY ARE THE WORLD CHAMPS and no one can score on them,if anyone sucks its YOU.

i wish zidane was a victorias secret bikini model.

you ignorant young people. the call was not made after the official looked at the television screen. quit your whining.zidane is a donkey he does not deserve to be a legend! hail donkey kong

zidane #1 player ,italia #1 suck players

Ok, you guys are all retarded. None of you can spell, and none of you even know how to talk. Are any of you even old enough to be on the internet...?
Anyways, Zidane is retarded. He had an awesome career, but wrecked it. Now thats all he'll be remembered for.
Nice job!

Zidane was the best player of the world cup period.what he did was a human nature thing , in the heat of the moment bam

I think they should fine Materazzi. Give him a fine or something. He is a very negative and aggresive player

zidane did what mopst of us would have. he was born and raised in a ghetto of marseille and matzerri insulted him his mom and his sister. but screw everyone brazil is the best team and ronaldinho is the best player in the world

To yo: funny how Italy and not Brazil won the cup and its even funnier how Cannavaro lifted the cup and not Ronaldinho.So much for your statement>

Who knows maybe the Italian Football Federation had some kind of arrangement with the referee to give Zidane a red card after they provoke him. After all, isn't that what Italian clubs are known for? Influencing the officials? They are cheaters and always will be cheaters. Did anybody see the footage from the French coverage? You can hear the thump after Zidane makes contact. Materazzi got dropped!

If anybody wants to see what kind of player Materazzi is you can look at this video I found. He is the biggest disgrace to Inter!

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5142970568688502787

To FIFA

WHY don,T FIFA TO INVESTIGATION THE GIFT (PK)
THE REFEREE GIVE TO ITALY VS AUSTRALIA MATCH
ITALIAN KNOW HOW TO PAY REFEREE TO FIXING THE
GAME ,THE WINNER OF WORLD CUP IS NOT PROUD

To ht: Oh yea some gift the ref gave Italy against Australia, wasn't it the same ref that expelled an Italian player for a regular foul and he was not the last man ???, don't make me laugh italy played with 10 man fonr an hour! and still had the better chances,if you want to talk about investigations why don't they investigate the ref Moreno,4 years ago in Korea ,oh yeah that was a gift for the home team I forgot, you guys are a bunch of whining cry babies,prior to this cup Italy was only eliminated on penalties and 4 years ago Mr Moreno decided to wear a Korean jersey,and yes he did apologize to italy two weeks after on TV.I'm done with you bone heads,have nice days losers.

Zidane should be honored to be the first person to give Materazzi what he deserves after his years of dirty and cheap play. It had to be done and Zidane recognized that and took the initiative. Materazzi belongs in the zoo.

Just goes to show between Zidane and Cantona, don't mess with cheese eating surrending monkeys' families or flag, because you're going down, NO MATTER WHAT ( let it be a World Cup Final or whatever). Italians are used to insulting everyone without too much to fear , but don't come insulting like that in France, you'll last 10 minutes before a coffin is nailed

PLEASE, met's all "SAY NO TO RACISM". Also if Materazzi can be banned -all the merrier for the sport of soccer.

Zindane is a criminal guilty of assault.

Materazzi did NOT use violence, and whatever he did say, he did not say it in front of others so there is not even the issue of defamation or libel.

Zindane was very weak and assaulted another human being in a sneaky and premeditated fashion with the intent of serious harm. Zindane acted as if he was not bothered by the words so as to be able to more effectively catch Materazzi off guard and inflict pain and damage on Materazzi.

Materazzi did nothing wrong since he did not violate Zindane physically. Sticks and stones as they say. Of much greater concern are those who PHYSICALLY harm others intentionally in this game. Zindane is a punk it turns out, thin skinned and weak, and arrogant to boot. True colors came through. Materazzi knew his weakness and exploited it WITHOUT the use of physical violence, BRAVO. Any attempt to harm Materazzi financially is mean spirited and without merit and purely revenge against the far smarter, pivotal and effective player.

I'll be the last person to condone what Zizou did in the final, because I find it terribly disappointing as a big fan of his. However, let's be realistic ESW. A criminal...assault... serious harm... PLEASE.

If you ever watch football as this level, even remotely consistently, you know that this incident is far from being an anomoly. That's not at all to say it should happen, but the fact of the matter is that it does quite often. Though they may not have been as obvious and powerful, there were a couple of other headbutts in this world cup alone, and countless similar incidents in both international and professional play. This has been seized upon, because of the prominence of the match it occurred in, and the star caliber of the player responsible.

Serious harm? Come now. As bad as it may have looked in the 3000 replays, it does not hurt at all to be headbutted in the chest, no matter who is doing the butting. You could make that claim if any intent to go after Materazzi's head had been made. Fact of the matter is Zidane lost his cool, reacted and sent a harsh message, but Materazzi would never have been injured in any serious way by taking a head to the chest.

As for Materazzi, let's just admit it. He's a dirty player. He always has been. It in no way whatsoever excuses Zidane's actions, but Materazzi is more well known for being a dirty player (both physically and verbally) than he is for being a quality one. If you have watched him play over his career, you have seen him engage in several physical challenges that can only very loosely be described as "tackles" that appear to have no other intent than to take someone out of the play. No one should applaud him for that.

Fact of the matter is this can and should be summed up as: Materazzi, in typical fashion, provoked Zidane. Zidane inexplicably lost his temper and made a big mistake at a critical point in the World Cup Final. He was deservedly red carded. End of story.

Zidane wanted to give Materazzi a liitle nudge bud Materazzi flopped like a little girl that he is.

Zidane wanted to give Materazzi a liitle nudge but Materazzi flopped like a little girl that he is.

SHSHSHSHSHSHSH...4....TUTTI A CASA!!

I THINK THAT IT WAS WRONG ON BOTH PARTS,BUT IM GLAD THAT ITALY WON. IT WAS WRONG FOR HIM TO " TALK ABOUT HIS MOM AND SISTER" BUT IT WAS WRONG FOR HIM TO HIT HIM IN THE STOMACH. I WOULD HAVE DONE THE SAME THING IF IT WOULD HAVE BEEN ME. I ALSO THINK THAT THEY SHOULD DROP THE CHARGES FOR BOTH EXCEPT THE GAMES. EVERONE SHOULD JUST FORGET ABOUT IT TO BECAUSE ITS SO A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO. GERMANY IS BETTER THAN BOTH TEAMS!!!!!!

Video evidence was needed the referee saw the THUGGERY with his own eyes and meted out the only just punishment.

hahazidan ok!matterazzi KO<D

zidane my hero.

Italians are far superior to france when it comes to football. It wouldn't have mattered if Zidane was able to play the full game. They still would have lost. Forza Italia!

Stop talking about me!

that was not a final because real potential team was not there to compete i.e. INDIA. had india played in the tournament this incident would not have taken place