I Love Zinedine Zidane! (Retitled)

Hello again. It's been a few days and i'm a little unfocused so you'll just have to put up with what's flashing across my mind at this moment by way of a blog entry. Marco Materazzi, having taken the full force of 'Raging Bull' Zidanes wrath in the World Cup Final the other night is busy trying to get his story right ahead of what will inevitably become something of a shitstorm. The claim being made is that Materazzi said, in French, something to the effect that Zidane was 'A Filthy Terrorist'. Zidanes parents are Algerian. If those were indeed the words uttered by Materazzi, I think he can count himself lucky to only have had the wind knocked out of him. Materazzi claims he had no idea the words he said were so inflamatory. What Bollocks. Why say it if you have no idea what it means? Nobody's that gullible. Much as there was no option but to send off Zidane, I now kind of understand why the French as a nation have failed to castigate him. First of all, there was something strangely heroic about his assault. Head down, barrelling into Materazzi and sending the tattooed Italian bean pole sprawling, fighting for breath and wishing he'd kept his gob shut. Ignore all the hand wringers and the "Beautiful Game Ruined" merchants, a line was crossed by the Italian player and he got roughly what he expected by way of response. I'm sure he would have been slightly disappointed if Zizou hadn't clobbered him............ Secondly, the French realised that a moment of 'red mist' at the end of his last international could never overshadow the brilliance of a career that has seen him guide the French to the World Cup, European Championships and reach the final of a further World Cup final with a team that really ought to have been knocked out in the group stages. They won't see his like again. I don't grudge Italy their win at all, either team would have made suitable victors, but neither do I think France nor Zinedine Zidane have anything to feel ashamed of.