12 years earlier today Zinedine Zidane Headbutted Marco Materazzi

12 years ago today, Zinedine Zidane went from hero to zero while the French midfielder beat Marce Materazzi in World Cup finals and was expelled

Zinedine Zidane has had one of the most incredible careers of any player of his era, perhaps ever. The French may not have the "stats" that usually support how good a player is at this time, but in the late '90s and early' 00s, he was undeniable. final, at home, while France won the 1998 World Cup and scored the biggest goal of the Champions League final, unless you prefer Gareth Bale's efforts early in the year [19659005]. One day called him on his career, he was "just" 34 and still a first teammate at Real, but the tournament in Germany would be his last act as a player.

At the World Cup, he lit up the tournament. France only finished second in his group, but he played masterclasses in the second and quarterfinals against Spain and Brazil.

He was again brilliant in the semi-final against Portugal and scored the only goal of the match. winning them in the final against Italy.

In this final, he seemed destined to win everything for his tournament. Marco Materazzi blocked Florent Malouda and Zidane dismissed the penalty by sending him off the crossbar with Gianluigi Buffon unable to do anything.

Materazzi tied just 12 minutes later, coming from a corner, and it would be the Italian who would decide the fate of Zidane and the fate of the World Cup trophy.

Buffon rescued from a Zidane header in overtime and then, with just 10 minutes before the penalties, a debate between the midfielder and Materazzi led Zidane to place a head shot on the defender's chest. 19659007] The referee was unable to see the incident of the ball but the fourth official let him know what had happened in the middle of the claims that the off-field manager did not knew only from the incident after seeing a televised cover on the sidelines.

Zizou was shown a red card and had to sadly pass in front of the World Cup trophy as his last act as a footballer.

Materazzi scored in the shootout to the next goal: David Trezeguet was the only player to miss for either side and Italy was world champion.

After the match, the Golden Ball rewards the best player of the tournament

Strangely, he still has a three-game ban for the altercation, but considering that he is now 46, he is unlikely that he will ever have to sit down.