Ex-France Coach Raymond Domenech released a book, mentioning Zinedine Zidane’s headbutt on Marco Materazzi.

Ex-France Coach Raymond Domenech released a book, mentioning Zinedine Zidane’s headbutt on Marco Materazzi.

The infamous incident was the last moment of Zidane’s playing career and saw him sent off for head-butting Materazzi in the chest during the 2006 World Cup Final.

In the autobiography, Domenech – who stood on the touchline and sarcastically applauded the referee after the red card – looked back over the headbutt.

“Maintaining the admiration for his career, eight years later I get the impression I was on the end of that famous headbutt.”

He compared Zidane’s headbutt to Thierry Henry’s handling offence in a World Cup play-off against the Republic of Ireland.

Henry “sacrificed his image for the benefit of the France team,” whereas Zidane “sacrificed the team’s chances for the benefit of his pride.”

Fabio Cannavaro won the Ballon d’Or and FIFA World Player of the Year in 2006, but Domenech felt Italy teammate Gigi Buffon should’ve had the trophy instead.

The Coach was also critical of Jose Mourinho. “That’s the problem with translators, there comes a time when they convince themselves they wrote the text themselves.”

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