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7 months ago
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Marco Materazzi has revealed he never saw Zinedine Zidane again after the Frenchman headbutted him during the 2006 World Cup final.
The French icon was dismissed in the final game of his career by arguing with the Italian defender and clashing into him with his head, before Materazzi's side went on to lift the trophy.
Materazzi, now 50, stays fit and continues to play occasional friendlies with his former Inter Milan team-mates - but he does not want his professional career to be remembered solely for that moment in the 2006 final.
Materazzi told The Times: 'I don’t like it, because it doesn’t do justice to what my career was.
'That episode should never have happened. In the tension of that final in Berlin, amidst the bickering and insults, Zidane offered me his shirt, and I said no, that I preferred his sister.
Marco Materazzi does not think his career should be defined by Zinedine Zidane's headbutt
The defender won the World Cup with Italy in 2006 and the Treble with Inter Milan in 2010
'Then he turned around and reacted as everyone remembers. I never saw Zinedine again.'
At Inter, Materazzi won the Treble under the management of Jose Mourinho in 2010, and he hails The Special One as the best boss he's ever worked for.
'He was, without a doubt [the best manager I ever had],' Materazzi said.
'And despite everything, it wasn’t easy to accept my initial situation. I was used to being important, to being the captain, but with Mourinho I started to lose prominence.
'However, he was honest with me from the very first moment, when he told me that I was going to be less involved. It was a pity we didn’t meet earlier.'
After claiming the Champions League trophy that year with victory over Bayern Munich, Materazzi and Mourinho shared a simple hug and cried, as the Portuguese boss was leaving Inter for Real Madrid.
When asked to decide whether he preferred the club Treble in 2010, or Italy's World Cup glory in 2006, the 50-year-old responded: 'Do you prefer mum or dad? I can’t choose one over the other. They were without doubt the two best nights of my career.'
He had 10 months with Premier League Everton in 1998 and 1999, but revealed: 'At that time the Premier League was different, nothing like it is now. Italy was much better.
Materazzi hailed Jose Mourinho as the best manager he'd ever worked with after 2010 success
He also revealed the Premier League was 'different' when he spent ten months with Everton
'Back then, if you played in another country, it was almost impossible to get a call-up from the national team coach. You almost didn’t exist.
'It happened to players like [Gianfranco] Zola or [Gianluca] Vialli. They went to England and lost their status.'
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