So why did he do it? What possessed one of the best footballers of all time to completely disgrace himself and his French national team, Les Bleus, by headbutting his shining dome into Italian footballer Marco Materazzi’s sternum? Some people say that Materazzi had uttered a racial slur (Zidane is of Algerian descent), enraging the French captain.

So, in other words, trash talk? Get over it.

The official end of Zidane’s career was just ten minutes and ten penalty kicks away–he had made known in April his intention to retire after the World Cup. This was the final game, tied 1-1 in the 110th minute (that’s twenty minutes into the 30-minute overtime). France had the edge–Italy was not known for their skill in penalty kicks. France’s proudest son, Zidane, looked poised to end his illustrious run by possibly holding up the 11-pound golden FIFA World Cup trophy surrounded by a cheering, victorious team.

Instead, he did this.

What an astonishing example of bad sportsmanship in what probably was the most watched game in all human history. What a disgraceful way to end your career. And in front of billions of people?

Then journalists journalists award Zidane the MVP award. What the heck? You don’t reward bad sportmanship! Materazzi could have been killed with some freak heart palpitations resulting from the headbutt.

I propose a new nickname for Zidane. Butt-Head.

Well. So much for the French. I was cheering for them right up until Zidane’s fool move. Way to go, Italy! It was my first time watching the World Cup final. I’m hooked on it now and can’t wait until the next World Cup in 2010. Thank God we’ve got the 2008 Beijing Olympics to quench our appetite for great international sporting competition until then.

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VOLA ITALIA VOLA!