40 Facts About Marco Materazzi

1.

Marco Materazzi is an Italian former professional footballer and manager.

2.

Early in his career, Materazzi played with various Italian teams in Serie B and Serie C, and with Everton in the Premier League.

3.

Marco Materazzi earned 41 caps for Italy from his debut in 2001 until 2008, playing in two World Cups and two European Championships.

4.

Marco Materazzi was one of the key players in the 2006 FIFA World Cup Final against France; he gave away an early penalty that led to France's first goal, scored Italy's equalising goal twelve minutes later and, in extra time, received a headbutt from Zinedine Zidane who was punished with a red card.

5.

Marco Materazzi began his footballing career with the Lazio and then the Messina Peloro youth teams from 1990 to 1991.

6.

Marco Materazzi spent his early career in the lower divisions of Italian football, with amateur side Tor di Quinto, Serie C2 team Marsala, and Serie C1 Trapani, where he narrowly missed a historic promotion to Serie B after losing a promotion playoff to Gualdo.

7.

Marco Materazzi played 23 matches in league, including the final decisive match versus Lazio which lost Inter the championship title; he was a protagonist in a controversial episode following the final whistle, as he was involved in a heated discussion with the opposition players which turned into a physical confrontation.

8.

Marco Materazzi was caught by the cameras shouting at Lazio captain Alessandro Nesta, saying: "I won you the title", in reference to Perugia's win over Juventus in 2000 which lead Lazio to the title.

9.

Marco Materazzi was at the center of a controversy again at the beginning of 2004 for aggression towards Siena player Bruno Cirillo.

10.

Marco Materazzi confronted Cirillo in the dressing rooms and begun spewing insults towards him.

11.

Marco Materazzi punched him in the face, fracturing his lip.

12.

Marco Materazzi later apologized for the incident, saying that he "behaved badly" and "reacted in a bad way", adding that he would not appeal the suspension.

13.

On 5 March 2006, Marco Materazzi scored an 89th-minute header at Roma to rescue his side a point and to break the hosts' record of 11 consecutive victories.

14.

Marco Materazzi signed a new contract in August 2006 which kept him at San Siro until June 2010.

15.

Marco Materazzi's performance was criticised by his teammates after the end of the match.

16.

Marco Materazzi concluded the season with 23 Serie A appearances, 4 Coppa Italia appearances, 1 Supercoppa Italiana appearance and 3 UEFA Champions League appearances for a total of 33 appearances.

17.

In June 2009, Marco Materazzi was handed a new deal by Inter until June 2012.

18.

In December, Marco Materazzi was included in Inter's squad for 2010 FIFA Club World Cup, remaining on the bench as Inter won their 5th title of the year.

19.

Marco Materazzi left the club in July 2011 after not being offered a new contract, having played around 270 games for the club and winning 15 trophies, and shortly after, announced his retirement from the sport.

20.

Marco Materazzi was later appointed in the role of ambassador to Inter.

21.

Later, Marco Materazzi accused manager Leonardo of "stabbing him in the back" and being the reason for his departure from Inter, and threw accusations to president Massimo Moratti of not having defended him against Leonardo.

22.

On 22 September 2014, Marco Materazzi was signed as the player-manager of Chennaiyin FC in the inaugural season of the Indian Super League.

23.

Marco Materazzi signed a two-season contract with Chennaiyin for $1 million every season.

24.

Chennaiyin finished the 14-game regular season in first place in the league, with Marco Materazzi having made 6 appearances.

25.

Marco Materazzi made two appearances in the qualifying campaign against Georgia and Hungary.

26.

Marco Materazzi was later criticised for his defending on both of Croatia's goals during the match.

27.

Marco Materazzi was included in the 23-man squad by manager Marcello Lippi for the 2006 FIFA World Cup which was his third major tournament.

28.

Marco Materazzi began the tournament as a reserve player, but after Alessandro Nesta suffered an injury in the group match against the Czech Republic, Materazzi came on as his replacement and made an impact by scoring a goal, and was named Man of the Match.

29.

Marco Materazzi made another impact by scoring a goal to tie the game, a header from a right sided corner by Andrea Pirlo.

30.

Additionally, Marco Materazzi claimed that after he had grabbed Zidane's jersey, Zidane sarcastically said to him "If you want my shirt, I will give to you afterwards".

31.

Marco Materazzi then revealed that he replied, "Preferisco la puttana di tua sorella", which resulted in the headbutt.

32.

Alongside striker Luca Toni, Marco Materazzi was Italy's top scorer throughout the tournament with two goals; he won 14 challenges throughout the competition.

33.

Under Roberto Donadoni, Marco Materazzi appeared consistently during the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign and became a starter after Alessandro Nesta's retirement.

34.

Later, after Lippi's return, Marco Materazzi was not called in the national team again.

35.

Marco Materazzi totaled 41 appearances and two goals for Italy.

36.

An aggressive, physical, and hard-tackling centre-back, who was known for his tight marking of opponents, Marco Materazzi was considered to be one of the best defenders of his generation, and was highly regarded by two of the world's most respected coaches, Marcello Lippi and Jose Mourinho, later becoming close friends with both managers.

37.

Marco Materazzi was lauded by his managers in particular for being a goal threat as a defender, due to his outstanding aerial ability, which made him dangerous during set pieces.

38.

Marco Materazzi was an accurate set piece and penalty kick taker, with a powerful shot from distance.

39.

Marco Materazzi was born in Lecce, where his father, Giuseppe, a professional footballer, was playing for US Lecce.

40.

On 23 June 1997, Materazzi married Daniela, with whom he has three children: Anna, Davide, and Gianmarco.