A premise: this has nothing, or very very little to do with Zidane... (Perhaps a bit overdue, but here we go.) Before the World Cup, Materazzi was considered THE weak link of the whole azzurri squad. He got bashed by everyone including me. Fans on both sides of the Atlantic questioned Lippi's sanity for including him on the team. THEN... 1.He steps in for Nesta in the final game of the group phase and SCORES the game-winner on a majestic header. 2.He got a very questionable red card vs. Australia, a red so dubious that it might have served as a tiny unconcious motivation for the ref to give us an equally dubious PENALTY to win the game. 3.In the final, the freaking World Cup final, Materazzi was the absolute protagonist of the game. First he gets called on yet another dubious foul, penalty for France. Then he SCORES on a towering header, beating Vieira off the ball. Then he procures Zidane's expulsion. Then he hits a perfect shot during the penalty shoot-out. Everything of importance that happened in the World Cup Final revolved around Marco freaking Materazzi. After the final, all the attention went towards the "Zidane incident" but rewatching the game itself you realize that a little praise is due!
He's a dirty player; simple as that. On your team you love his heart, otherwise he's the next coming of Diego Simeone. Case in point: the sneaky way he clipped Toni during the first half of Sunday's match.
Lippi disagrees: http://www.goal.com/en-us/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=216621 But last week he trashed Inter and said Imbra and Viera were the difference.
What Materazzi did at the World Cup was essential. The year he is having for Inter is one of his best. But please don't ask me to forget the many years of hacking I have seen from him since he first came to Serie A. I always knew he was a good player, or he wouldn't have been able to make a career of it. That is the shame of a player like Materazzi, that he could have been known for the level of his play his entire career, instead of being known as a leg breaking jackass.
I've always known that Materazzi was capable of being a class defender. I remember watching him as a young emerging defender captaining Perugia like a veteran. And then he went to Inter, where he became Il Macellaio. I don't what Lippi said to him before the World Cup, but he brought Perugia Materazzi back! Good Riddance Inter Materazzi!
Yup--d'accordo. At Perugia he got the record for most goals by a defender. He took PKs for them. Lippi didn't forget.
if materazzi was born 20 years earlier, everyone would say hes a tough and good defender.... but these days his form of defence is too 'rough' for the modern game..... his 'hacking' would once be considered 'tackeling' ..... such is the way our game is going