TOP 10

Legends who lost it

Sports greats whose brain cramps and blown fuses made headlines

by Tony Care, Chris Harris & Dan Tavares

July 14, 2006

The head-butt heard round the world

The image of French soccer star Zinedine Zidane losing his temper during the 2006 World Cup final against Italy remains a shocking piece of footage for millions of soccer fans and casual observers.

France and Italy were locked in 1-1 tie on July 9th when Zidane unleashed a head-butt into Italian defender Marco Materazzi in the 110th minute of extra time.

The red-card-worthy indiscretion cost France its best scorer as the countries headed into penalty kicks to decide the match.

Italy would go on to win its fourth World Cup title with a 5-3 shootout win, leaving Zidane, who announced his retirement before the tournament, dejected and his teammates wondering how it all fell apart.

The play looked harmless enough with television replays showing Zidane and Materazzi exchanging words as Italy broke up a French attack.

Moments later the 34-year-old veteran turned around, lowered his head and slammed Materazzi in the chest, knocking the Italian player to the ground.

Zidane's actions were clearly intentional. After a brief consultation with an official who witnessed the incident, Argentine referee Horacio Elizondo showed the Frenchman the red card that effectively ended his brilliant career.

Reports surfaced the following day that Materazzi called the French soccer hero a "terrorist." While the Italian admitted to insulting Zidane, he denied calling him a terrorist.

Zidane, who was awarded the Golden Ball as the World Cup's most valuable player, finally broke his silence three days after the infamous head-butt, claming the insults were directed toward his sister and mother.

Though Zidane did apologize to children who watched the final and said his actions were inexcusable, he said he doesn't regret doing it. "I would rather have taken a punch in the jaw than have heard that," he said.