The ECHO’s Chris Beesley continues his daily series of articles on Everton and the World Cup running throughout the tournament in Qatar.
Marco Materazzi is the only player to have turned out for Everton to score in a World Cup final but incredibly it’s another infamous incident from that same game that most remember from his rather busy night in 2006 which displayed several aspects of his character.
Materazzi – who spent a single season at Everton following a £2.8million transfer from Perugia in 1998 and was last season in a royal blue jersey crying on the touchline after suffering his third sending off of the campaign against Coventry City – also had an eventful tournament in Germany leading up to the final.
READ MORE: Anthony Gordon makes honest Everton form admission and reveals Frank Lampard demand
READ MORE: Everton get major return boost and four other things spotted in training at Finch Farm
Left on the bench for Italy’s first two games (a 2-0 win over Ghana and 1-1 draw with the USA), he got his big chance when he replaced the injured Alessandro Nesta just 17 minutes into their final group match against the Czech Republic in Hamburg sand opened the scoring in a 2-0 victory with a header nine minutes later. However, after being handed his first start in the second round tie with Australia in Kaiserslautern, Materazzi was harshly sent off on 51 minutes for a challenge on Mark Bresciano, leaving his team-mates to edge through 1-0 in stoppage time.
He was therefore suspended for the 3-0 quarter-final romp against Ukraine but having returned for the 2-0 success after extra time over the host nation in Dortmund, Materazzi retained his place for the final. Playing against France in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium, Materazzi gave away the penalty for a foul on Florent Malouda, enabling Zinedine Zidane to fire their opponents ahead after just seven minutes.
The former Everton man soon redeemed himself though as with 19 minutes on the clock, nodding in the equaliser from an Andrea Pirlo corner-kick. With both teams having scored in a World Cup final for the first time in 20 years, the match remained deadlocked and went into extra time and 10 minutes before the penalty shoot-out, came the major flashpoint as Zidane – who had already been voted as winner of the Golden Ball as player of the tournament – was sent off for headbutting his fellow goalscorer Materazzi.
Materazzi subsequently kept his cool to slot home the second of five perfect penalties for Italy in the shoot-out as without their talisman – who had of course netted from 12 yards out in the first half – the French were beaten with David Trezeguet, their ‘Golden Goal’ match-winner against the same opponents in the 2000 European Championship – hitting the crossbar with their second kick. Speculation over just what had gone on between Materazzi and Zidane continued for many years afterwards but finally the centre-back explained exactly what he’d done to his opponent to leave him so wound up.
The Everton old boy won a libel case in 2009 to clear his name after suggestions he had made a comment about Zidane’s mother but in 2020 he told AS: “Zidane's headbutt? I wasn't expecting it in that moment.
“I was lucky enough that the whole episode took me by surprise because if I had expected something like that to happen and had been ready for it, I'm sure both of us would have ended up being sent off.
“There had been a bit of contact between us in the area. He had scored France's goal in the first half and our coach (Marcello Lippi) told me to mark him. After that first brush between us, I apologised but he reacted badly.
“After the third clash, I frowned and he retorted: 'I'll give you my shirt later'. I replied that I'd rather have his sister than his shirt.
“My words were stupid but did not deserve that reaction. In any neighbourhood of Rome, Naples, Turin, Milan, Paris, I hear much more serious things.
“I talked about his sister not his mother, like I have read in some newspapers. My mother died while I was a teenager, I would never insult his.”
READ MORE FROM OUR EVERTON WORLD CUP SERIES:
Everton defender wanted to 'attack' Howard Webb after joining Zinedine Zidane in infamous club
Fans snubbed the biggest ever game at Everton as Scousers fumed over 'England fix' in World Cup
World Cup star and Elton John's neighbour but Everton preferred Carl Tiler for relegation showdown
Gary Lineker was 'tapped up' about Everton exit on his way to winning World Cup Golden Boot
