WTF?
After a month of excitement in Germany, a veritable golden shower of yellow cards and a slew of unpredictable results, the World Cup ended yesterday in a most unsatisfactory manner with the anti-climax of penalty kicks and the ignominious exit of the world’s finest player.
And so, while the Italians bask in their less-than-inspiring victory, the world wonders only one thing – what on earth prompted Zidane to headbutt Marco Materazzi to the pitch in the second overtime of the World Cup Final? France's best man on penalties, the glue that holds the side together, gone for a senseless moment of fury. What happened? What the fucking fuck?
No definitive explanation is yet forthcoming. But Nicole and I went through the European media today looking for answers and here is what we found:
-A BBC article in which Zidane’s agent asserts that the headbutt was a response to a “very serious” comment (yeah, we, uh, gathered that) and that the full explanation will come out in the week ahead.
-Another article from the BBC in which French coach Raymond Domenech offers some excuses for Zidane, saying "When one has to put up with what Zidane had to and the referee doesn't do anything, one understands.” Domenech continues to complain that a video replay helped the referee decide to give Zidane the red card, a complaint that, given the blatant violence of the infraction, seems destined to fall on deaf ears.
-A damning treatment on L’Equipe which takes Zidane to task and also gets the viewpoints of Zizou’s teammates, none of whom seem to know shit about shit.
-A piece from Channel Newsasia that covers the general theories out there as to what Materazzi said to provoke Zidane, including the opinion of the august lip-readers of Brazilian television channel Globo, who maintain that Materazzi twice called Zidane’s sister a prostitute (here’s the link to the Globo site, where there’s apparently a narrated video of the incident – we couldn’t get it to work)
-A solid media round-up on liberation.fr that directs you to various European links, including The Guardian, which is the agreed-upon source right now for the theory that Materazzi insulted Zidane’s Algerian heritage and called him a “terrorist.”
-A good blog post from the BBC’s Phil McNulty about what a useless bitch Materazzi has always been dating back to his days at Everton.
-And if Phil’s words don’t tell the story, here’s a three-minute video on Youtube documenting Materazzi’s legacy as a cheap-shot artist.
Finally, just let me just offer you my Dad's take on the matter. He thinks he saw Materazzi tweak Zidane's nipple. In which case, cheers to Zidane. A nipple-tweaking is not to be taken lying down, damn the circumstances.
(posted by Large with much help from Nicole Asquith)
And so, while the Italians bask in their less-than-inspiring victory, the world wonders only one thing – what on earth prompted Zidane to headbutt Marco Materazzi to the pitch in the second overtime of the World Cup Final? France's best man on penalties, the glue that holds the side together, gone for a senseless moment of fury. What happened? What the fucking fuck?
No definitive explanation is yet forthcoming. But Nicole and I went through the European media today looking for answers and here is what we found:
-A BBC article in which Zidane’s agent asserts that the headbutt was a response to a “very serious” comment (yeah, we, uh, gathered that) and that the full explanation will come out in the week ahead.
-Another article from the BBC in which French coach Raymond Domenech offers some excuses for Zidane, saying "When one has to put up with what Zidane had to and the referee doesn't do anything, one understands.” Domenech continues to complain that a video replay helped the referee decide to give Zidane the red card, a complaint that, given the blatant violence of the infraction, seems destined to fall on deaf ears.-A damning treatment on L’Equipe which takes Zidane to task and also gets the viewpoints of Zizou’s teammates, none of whom seem to know shit about shit.
-A piece from Channel Newsasia that covers the general theories out there as to what Materazzi said to provoke Zidane, including the opinion of the august lip-readers of Brazilian television channel Globo, who maintain that Materazzi twice called Zidane’s sister a prostitute (here’s the link to the Globo site, where there’s apparently a narrated video of the incident – we couldn’t get it to work)
-A solid media round-up on liberation.fr that directs you to various European links, including The Guardian, which is the agreed-upon source right now for the theory that Materazzi insulted Zidane’s Algerian heritage and called him a “terrorist.”
-A good blog post from the BBC’s Phil McNulty about what a useless bitch Materazzi has always been dating back to his days at Everton.
-And if Phil’s words don’t tell the story, here’s a three-minute video on Youtube documenting Materazzi’s legacy as a cheap-shot artist.
Finally, just let me just offer you my Dad's take on the matter. He thinks he saw Materazzi tweak Zidane's nipple. In which case, cheers to Zidane. A nipple-tweaking is not to be taken lying down, damn the circumstances.
(posted by Large with much help from Nicole Asquith)
8 Comments:
Damn that you video was crazy...where is ron artest when you need him...headbutts are the new sucker punch
The guy called him the "son of a terrorist whore" and his mother just got transfered to the hospital that afternoon in a very serious condition.
I understand the guy.
I will continue to wear my Zidane jersey with pride, and if any one says anything I'm going to head-butt the shit out of them.
word.
I feel you man. Zidane is righteous.
i'm pretty sure only two people know what was said; lip readers just trying to make a buck are grasping. but one thing is for sure, it was a tourney full of diving and cheap shots, and it was only fitting that the best artists won it all. my take is zidane may have been angered by nipple pinching and name calling, but he's used to that kind of thing. i wouldn't be surprised if he flew off the handle just because of the deterioration of the sport.
There's an excellent column in support of Zidane by my far left leaning homepretzel Dave Zirin, pinko athletico numero uno. Check out:
Edge of Sports
I dont care what he said or why Zidane did what he did.
We need to understand a few things about Soccer. Its a dirty/physical sport. Players are kicked/slapped/punched/squeezed in every game that they play. This isn't anything new.
What Zidane did isn't anything new either.
I personally respect the man to do what he did.
Almost every player dreams of doing the most outlandish things possible in their final game and Zidane was able to do 2.
First to chipshot one of the best keepers in the game during a penalty shot in the finals of the World Cup, takes the biggest set of balls.
Then to headbutt another player, after two of your best teammates walked off the biggest stage of their life, cause they were tired.
Takes another set of balls.
I saw hooray Zidane, for doing what every soccer player dreams but doesnt have the balls to do.
Thank You Zidane Thank You
That Materazzi is a little bitch
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