196: Marco Materazzi, Everton, Merlin's Premier League 99 Official Sticker Collection

Although this week’s hideous heatwave served as a reminder for why it would have been a terrible idea to have hosted it in the summer it is undeniably strange to be waiting around for this year’s World Cup until the winter. At least we can be safe in the knowledge that Qatar, a country steeped in footballing history, will be putting on the global showcase and providing a warm welcome to people from all backgrounds on a par with the country’s admirable record for human rights. Perhaps it’s unfair to cast aspersions about a country I have never been to but in purely footballing terms I’m not holding out too much hope for a national team which has recently failed to win friendlies against Northern Irish club side Linfield and Slovenia who last qualified for a major international tournament twelve years ago.

The gaping chasm in this summer’s sporting schedule caused by FIFA’s entirely footballing decision to award the World Cup to a country which regularly experiences average summer temperatures in the forties has at least opened the door for Twitter to fill the gap with daily doses of nostalgia from past tournaments. There’s never a time when watching Toto Schillaci tear up Italia 90, Roger Milla defy his aching bones by the corner flag or Bebeto welcome his son into the world after scoring against the Netherlands will get boring even if the amount of time that has passed only hammers home the ageing process. Alongside the great goals there have also been the moments of madness such as David Beckham’s flick out at Diego Simeone, Wayne Rooney’s assault on Ricardo Carvalho’s testicles and Nigel De Jong’s attempts to marry the worlds of football and professional wrestling with his big boot on Xabi Alonso.

Although Placido Galindo picked up the tournament’s first ever red card back in 1930 It wasn’t until 1990 that someone was dismissed in a final when Argentine duo Pedro Monzon and Gustavo Dezotti were given their marching orders during their 1-0 defeat to West Germany. In 2006 the great Zinedine Zidane joined this notorious group during extra-time of his final professional match when he dropped the nut on Italian centre-half Marco Materazzi. Having had hold of Zidane’s shirt for large portions of the game the Frenchman told his opponent “if you want my shirt I will give it to you afterwards” to which the Italian decided to bring the playground to the biggest stage with a derogatory comment about Zidane’s sister. He quickly found out this wasn’t the smartest retort to throw but perhaps took solace from the fact his shithousery saw France’s totemic star sent from the field of play and aided Italy in securing the World Cup trophy on penalties.

 

Marco Materazzi began his career at Lazio but cut his first team teeth in Italy’s lower leagues with Messina, Tor di Quinto, Marsala and Trapani before hitting the dizzy heights of Serie A with Perugia in the 1996/97 season. His reward was to be sent back to Serie C on loan with the now defunct Carpi where he belied his centre-half billing with seven goals in his eighteen appearances. Back with Perugia he helped the side bounce back to the top flight via a play-off penalty shootout victory over Torino in the 1997/98 campaign which attracted the attention of Premier League side Everton. The Toffees’ leaky defence had nearly cost them their top-flight status and incoming manager Walter Smith splashed out nearly £10m on defensive grit in the form of Materazzi, Olivier Dacourt and the returning David Unsworth.

Materazzi only spent one season at Goodison Park but certainly made an impact. In thirty-three appearances he contributed two goals as Everton finished in a solid mid-table position but also managed to pick up an impressive ten bookings and three red cards. It was an odd season on Merseyside with much expected following two seasons of struggle but besides the Championship Manager inspired signing of Ibrahima Bakayoko and the emergence of Francis Jeffers there was little to write home about. Nevertheless Perugia had seen enough to believe Materazzi had added a further £500,000 to his value and brought him back to Serie A for the 1999/2000 season. In two solid mid-table campaigns Materazzi racked up over fifty appearances and broke Daniel Passarella’s longstanding Serie A record with his twelve goals from defence in 2000/01. Inter Milan swooped in the summer of 2001 with a €10m transfer following his international debut.

Over the next decade he picked up five Serie A winners’ medals, four Coppa Italias and the Champions League as Inter asserted their domestic dominance under both Roberto Mancini and Jose Mourinho. This is perhaps even more impressive when you consider that his first few seasons in Milan were marred by injuries and controversy as Materazzi got under the skin of opponents on and off the pitch. In February 2004 he verbally and physically assaulted Siena’s Bruno Cirillo in the San Siro changing rooms and was served with an eight-match ban which was quite an achievement for someone not included in the matchday squad for the game in question. He also put Inter’s Scudetto hopes in jeopardy during their penultimate game of the 2007/08 campaign when he channelled his inner Itzik Zohar and demanded the ball for a penalty which he subsequently missed much to the chagrin of usual spot kick taker Julio Ricardo Cruz. Nevertheless his time with I Nerazzurri was highly successful and saw him regarded as one of his country’s most gifted defenders.

This reputation was further enhanced by his performances for the national side where he ably deputised for an injured Alessandro Nesta at the 2006 World Cup. It is all too easy to remember him purely for his theatrical collapse following Zinedine Zidane’s final contribution to professional football but Materazzi had an extremely eventful tournament which showcased all of his attributes. There was the aerial prowess on display with his goals in the group stage win over the Czech Republic and his equaliser in the final – his only two strikes for his country. There was the composure under pressure demonstrated by the clean sheets in all but one game he featured in and his shootout spot kick. Of course there was the trademark shithousery not just in his clash with Zidane but also the two-footed lunge on Mark Bresciano in the second round against Australia which saw him sent off and left his side in debt to a dubious injury time penalty against Lucas Neill. Marco Materazzi will always be remembered for his role in one of World Cup folklore’s most famous moments but it’s clear to see there was a lot more to his story than just being dropped by one his generation’s greatest talents. Call him the Italian Gary Charles.