"He would have been important that night" - Zidane says former France teammate was the only one who could've prevented infamous headbutt
Zinedine Zidane, the legendary France midfielder, revealed that his former teammate Bixente Lizarazu could have prevented his infamous headbutt in the FIFA 2006 World Cup final.
Italy emerged as the FIFA 2006 World Cup final winners after beating France 5-3 in a penalty shoot-out following a 1–1 draw. After the France captain opened the scoring from the spot in the 7th minute, Italy defender Marco Materazzi equalised from a corner kick in the 19th minute.
In the second half of extra-time, the former Real Madrid man initially engaged in a verbal altercation with Materazzi. Minutes later, he was sent off after headbutting the Italian on his chest.
🎙| Zidane: “Materazzi? I'm not proud of what I did, again, but it's part of my journey.” #rmalive https://t.co/GySKY39l4L
Speaking on the French football programme Telefoot, the 49-year-old said:
"I think Bixente [Lizarazu] is the only one who could have contained me. And yes, he would have been important that night, if he had been by my side, even if in any case we cannot redo the past."
Zidane and Lizarazu played together for four years at Ligue 1 side Bordeaux from 1992 to 1996. Later on, both featured in France's FIFA 1998 World Cup-winning and UEFA 2000 European Championship-winning squads.
Zinedine Zidane, Christophe Dugarry, Bixente Lizarazu and Lilian Thuram. https://t.co/bewh7TE0gR
He further added:
"I'm not proud of what I did, again, but it's part of my journey."
Meanwhile, a statue of the infamous headbutt is set to be put back on display by the authorities ahead of the start of the FIFA 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
The statue, created by Algerian-born French artist Adel Abdessemed, was originally unveiled in Doha in 2013. It was later removed after being criticised for encouraging violence.
Is Zidane set to return to coaching?
The 49-year-old is reportedly set to return to the dugout. According to RMC [via GFFN], Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain [PSG] are working on a deal to rope in the three-time UEFA Champions League-winning manager.
OGC Nice head coach Christophe Galiter is the preferred choice to succeed Mauricio Pochettino. Yet, PSG are in 'advanced negotiations' to acquire the services of the 1998 Ballon d'Or winner.
According to the report, the discussions to bring in the two-time La Liga-winning boss are taking place alongside the negotiations with Nice for Galtier.
On the other hand, Zidane has already rejected PSG's initial approach to appoint him as their new manager, according to journalist Romain Molina [via GFFN].