Thread: World Cup 2006!

Originally posted by gameover
On ESPN radio this morning they said that the alleged reason Zidane did that was he recieved "a purple nurple" and was getting him back. Not my words. I believe it was Dan Patrick.

EDIT: I just watched the longer video again on youtube and it totally looked like the guy twisted his nipple. Then Zidane waited until the ball was out of play and struck back. They both should have been carded out. Zidane was not as wrong as I thought.

know what, I just heard that he called Zidane a dirty terrorist, and that's why he got pissed and pushed him

regardless, it's all speculation, and pushing the guy just to get him back only made it worse...I guess no one told him that revenge is a dish best served cold

Yeah I heard that one too. I think it was many things built up. Either way I'm sure he deserved it ,that Italian cheat.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zinedine_Zida...utting_incident

I'm actually not convinced any form of violent action like that is justified on many levels - first off:

Professionally: These guys are playing a sport which is popular all over the world and to some countries is a sacred pastime. The sport gets an enough bad rap as it is due to some of the idiot fans, the behavior shouldn't spill into players. Tripping and dirty tackling is one thing - all performed while playing the game. What the did was not at all part of the sport itself. If you're too much of a pussy to handle some verbal abuse (quite common on the field, I'm sure) then you turn around, play on, sink the ball into the oponents net and hand him the ball afterwards. That would have been class, and something Zidane was likely capable of doing.

Patriotism: As if being a substitute on a World Cup team should be honor enough - starting for your homeland team would be the greatest. Being regarded as one of the alltime greats is... well, I just couldn't imagine. Not only did he screw his own reputation up, but i'm sure this will spill right into the character of the French and how they're viewed for quite sometime (although I never liked them anyway, but whatever).

I was rooting basically for the lesser of the two evils - I mentioned before that due to heritage I was hoping Italy would win - but had they played some other hispanic team (even another european team like Spain) I would not have supported Italy. That game against the US really showed some of their character faults. Note: wasn't the US team the only team they couldn't beat?... hmmmm

One side note, I'm not a martial arts expert, but I think I've heard somewhere that if a person takes a serious blow in the chest like that it could stop your heart. Is that true? Or have I been watching Kill Bill much.

yeah, when I went to france they worshipped zidane like a god. I watched him play a few times and not only was he nasty but he didn't seem like a very rough player. So from the beginning I figured zidane had a reason for headbutting that guy. Even if he didn't, headbutts aren't the worst thing in the world to endure, better than being kicked in the nuts or getting a twisted nipple. Headbutting is, however, the most badass thing you could possibly do to someone, especially if you knock him down. So basically this whole thing made me like zidane more.

The reasons it's not a good idea are obvious. I'm sure I could make a top ten reasons not to headbutt another player. But he's human and he got pissed off. Who cares? He delivered a blow to a well known jackass. His career is hardly tarnished. People in ten years will not refer to Zidane as some asshole. They will remember that he was one of the greatest players of all time. Of course he shouldn't have done it but I'd say the players who frequently take dives, like Materazzi, have reason to be ashamed. Not Zidane.