Contest: Unforgettable World Cup Match

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Hello, I'm glad to be part of this contest.
Being a Ghanaian, it should be normal to talk about the match between The Black Stars and Uruguay which brought about a great disappointment in the whole of the country and the African continent as a whole because we nearly sailed through.

But my focus isn't about that but the Cup Final between France and Italy in 2006 world cup.
This match is talked about not mainly because of the clash between the two great teams but a weird and rare incident which happened during the match.
You guessed right. The headbutt from Zinedine Zidane on
Marco Materazzi

Being the last international match for the great Frenchman, it was an utter disappointment to him, his teammates and fans as well eventhough he did well and even had a goal.
The cup final was played on 9th July, 2006 in Olympiastadion in Berlin. The match was officiated by Horacio Elizondo(from Argentina)
Since the match was a big one, with many different talents and the retiring Zidane on the pitch, the attendance was quite impressive on this day with a whopping number of 69,000 fans or spectators.
The match started with both teams trying to show their class and dexterity.
In the sixth minute, Florent Malouda seized a pass from Henry in the penalty box and a penalty was given by the referee for a minimal contact from the Italian Defender Marco Materazzi.
It seems like the match was actually centred on these two players from the start, Zidane and Materazzi. One gave away a penalty, one cost his team by getting sent off from a silly action. But they both scored.
Zidane seized the opportunity to convert the penalty into a classy but heart attacking goal. His panenka penalty hit the cross bar before crossing the goal line. Zidane's goal then, was the 5th fastest world cup final goal ever.

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Twelve minutes after France scored, their excitement was short lived. Marco Materazzi equalised the scores with a spectacular goal.

A 35th minute corner from Pirlo almost gave the lead to the Italian side but was denied by the post.
The match got tougher after the first half; Vieira got substituted for a hamstring injury and there was also a disallowed goal (offside)from Toni.

In the last 10mins, Zidane got injured after a collision with Cannavaro and even made a gesture to be substituted but after a little check up on him, he rescinded the substitution idea and decided to stay on for another 30mins.
In the first half of extra time, France almost took the lead if not for the exquisite save from Gianluigi Buffon; it was a header of Zidane from the cross of the right back Sagnol. Any other direction plus a little luck could've seen Les Bleus take a one goal lead after 104mins.
Zidane's bald head can be remembered for many great headers but not for the infamous header on the 108th minute in the cup final.
Now this is what everything is about. A retiring player who could've made history on his last game let his anger get the better of him. And it's true he has confirmed it himself that he has anger issues which has mostly contributed to his red cards.
Speaking with one media group(Esquire Magazine)sometime, he said;

*"If you look at the 14 red cards I had, 12 of them were a result of provocation. This isn’t justification, this isn’t an excuse, but my passion, temper and blood made me react."

He simply has anger issues and it really hit him the hardest on this 9th day of July.
There was a heated argument between the two players which later resulted in the headbutt on the 6'4 centre back.

The headbutt

What ensued between them can be read about here and
Here
So with this action and confirmation from the 4th official and an instant replay, Zidane was sent off without hesitation.

The redcard

This was a shock to the whole world to both opponents, teammates and fans alike. How could someone, and not just someone, a whole Zidane playing his last ever international game, do that?
If only it had happened earlier, Italy would've had a very great advantage because France's pivot was now gone but the match was closed soon for a penalty shootout
In short, France lost and Italy won by 5-3 penalty margin with Pirlo awarded as the man of the match and Zidane as golden boy of the competition.

CONCLUSION

So yeah, if I'm asked about a world cup match I would never forget, it's definitely and always going to be this match, only because of the silly and unexpected actions of one legend ,Zizou.He was a great player though, but you know things happen in football right?😉

Thanks for visiting the post.
To the attention of @njaywan.