Twenty years after his infamous World Cup final headbutt, Zidane faces Italy again as France coach

PARIS (AP) — Deep into extra time in the 2006 World Cup final, France star Zinedine Zidane planted a firm headbutt right into the chest of Italy defender Marco Materazzi. The force sent Materazzi flying backward and Zidane's stellar career ended with a red card.

Zidane faces Italy again on Friday, this time in a suit as France's coach. The Nations League game at Stade de France will be his first at home since taking charge of Les Bleus.

Although 20 years have passed, the headbutt incident remains one of soccer's most iconic and talked-about moments.

After the two briefly exchanged words, Zidane jogged forward to join the play. He suddenly stopped, turned around and stooped his head to push it into Materazzi.

As the Italian players reacted angrily, Zidane adjusted his captain's armband before speaking to Argentine referee Horacio Elizondo, who brandished a red card high in the air in front of a stunned crowd in Berlin.

In July, Elizondo told Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport that neither he nor his two assistants had seen the incident. Elizondo was only alerted to it by the fourth official, long before video reviews existed in soccer.

As the images were replayed on French television, the late soccer commentator Thierry Gilardi expressed the disbelief of millions watching the drama unfold back home.

“Oh Zinedine, not that. Not that, Zinedine. Oh no, not that," Gilardi pleaded. "Not today, not after everything you’ve achieved.”

Head bowed, Zinedine walked solemnly past the Jules Rimet World Cup trophy he had raised eight years earlier when France won the World Cup. With Zidane gone, Italy won the ensuing penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw.

They were the main protagonists of that tense final.

Materazzi's early foul on winger Florent Malouda led to Zidane scoring with an audacious Panenka-style penalty.

As he stepped up, Zidane avoided eye contact with Gianluigi Buffon, the world’s best goalkeeper at the time, thus negating Buffon's options to read what he would do. He sent Buffon the wrong way with a brilliantly-disguised scuffed shot, with the ball hitting the underside of the crossbar and bouncing over the line.

Zidane almost scored again but his injury-time header was superbly tipped over by Buffon. Soon after, Zidane was in the dressing room as the last game of his career ended in shame.

Speculation abounded as to what made ZZ blow his top.

“He triggered something by mentioning my sister Lila," Zidane told sports daily L’Equipe in 2022. “Sometimes it’s in moments like those that you might do something wrong.”

Materazzi said teammate Gennaro Gattuso had scolded him for not marking Zidane on an earlier header.

“Shortly thereafter in a similar situation I held (Zidane) by the shirt a little in order so he couldn’t jump," Materazzi explained. "I said sorry twice. Then he said, ‘If you want my shirt I’ll give it to you later,’ and I said something to him. But nothing worse then what we used to say as kids playing on the beach in Bari.”

Zidane’s two goals in the 1998 World Cup final win against Brazil made him an overnight superstar, with his face famously beamed on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. A Ballon d’Or award followed and, two years later, his inspired performances led Les Bleus to glory at the European Championship.

Despite the red card, his popularity remains undiminished and hundreds of fans cheered him outside the French soccer federation's headquarters when he was appointed France coach after the World Cup, replacing Didier Deschamps.

France players Esteban Lepaul and Manu Koné have spoken with admiration about Zidane's training sessions.

Zidane has won his first two games in charge away from home, 1-0 against Turkey and Belgium. Italy's rebuilding under returning coach Roberto Mancini began with a 2-0 home loss to Belgium, but there is optimism following a 4-1 win at Turkey.

See AP’s full soccer coverage here

Italy head coach Roberto Mancini watches during the Nations League soccer match between Italy and Belgium in Rome, Friday, Sept. 25, 2026. (Alfredo Falcone/LaPresse via AP)

France's coach Zinedine Zidane stands before the UEFA Nations League soccer match between Belgium and France in Brussels, Belgium, Monday, Sept. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

FILE - France's Zinedine Zidane gets a red card from referee Horacio Elizondo of Argentina after head-butting Italy's Marco Materazzi in the chest during extra time in the final of the soccer World Cup between Italy and France in Berlin, July 9, 2006. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File)

FILE - France's Zinedine Zidane past the World Cup trophy as he walks of the pitch after receiving a red card for head-butting Italy defender Marco Materazzi in the final of the soccer World Cup between Italy and France in Berlin, on Sunday, July 9, 2006. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File) ** MOBILE/PDA USAGE OUT **

FILE - Referee Horacio Elizondo shows the red card to France's Zineidine Zidane during the final of the soccer World Cup between Italy and France in the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, on July 9, 2006. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File)

FRISCO, Texas (AP) — At some point during the long offseason for the Dallas Stars, captain Jamie Benn told his wife he felt as if it was time to get started on a new season.

There was still about a month to go.

“A lot of the guys felt the same way,” the 37-year-old Benn said. “But with that, we got some rest, more time to prepare for this year and get our bodies right. Three years before, had some good runs. Not good enough, so it was nice to get some rest and take advantage of that extra time.”

The season opener at home Friday night against St. Louis will end the Stars' longest gap in five years between the end of one season and the start of the next. It comes 155 days after being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.

Dallas reached the Western Conference Final three seasons in a row before that, playing 100 games combined each time until at least late May with no more than 136 days until the next season opener.

“I think you want to find the positive things you can, and I think this was a big break for the guys,” general manager Jim Nill said. “They’ve played a lot of hockey, a lot intense hockey, a lot wear and tear, and this (was) a break physically and a break mentally. ... Look forward to seeing the results now on the ice."

At the start of the condensed training camp two weeks ago, before an expanded 84-game regular season, Nill said some players had been skating and working out at the team's facility since July.

When the Stars lost Game 6 at Minnesota on April 30, it was the first time since 2018 they were done playing before the start of May. They missed the playoffs then and had 180 days until the 2018-19 season opener.

“Everyone can use that extra time,” forward Jason Robertson said. “I’d rather have taken less time, obviously. But it was a different summer ... Maybe more time to train, more time to reflect. I feel good. I’m sure everyone else feels good.”

The extra time was certainly good for Mikko Rantanen, top center Roope Hintz and 34-year-old Tyler Seguin.

Rantanen returned for the end of the regular season and playoffs after a torn MCL in the Olympics, but Hintz didn't make it back after tearing his left hamstring on March 6. Seguin, at the end of his $78.8 million, eight-year contract, had right ACL surgery in December and was limited to 47 games the past two seasons because of injuries.

"The players that were banged up, they’re healthy now,” Nill said.

There were also benefits for Benn and 35-year-old Matt Duchene, both going into their 18th NHL seasons. And even 23-year-old center Wyatt Johnston after playing in all 390 Stars regular-season and playoff games since his NHL debut four years ago.

“For a summer of that length that he hasn’t had probably since he’s 19 ... he looks bigger and stronger," second-year coach Glen Gulutzan said.

Gulutzan said Benn, the only player he also had in his first stint as Stars coach from 2011-13, is probably the skinniest that he’s ever seen him.

“He trained like crazy this summer. He is actually really lean,” Gulutzan said. “He did some things differently than he normally did. He’s always trained hard and all that stuff, but just the way he went out and skated and practiced, I know he put an emphasis on different areas.”

Benn said the game is getting faster and that he’s “just trying to keep up.”

Dallas will be among the last seven teams that play season openers Friday night. The NHL season began Tuesday, and 10 teams will already be multiple games into their schedule by then.

Still, that Oct. 2 opening date is the earliest for the Stars since Oct. 1, 1999, when they raised the banner for the Stanley Cup championship they won 3 1/2 months earlier.

The Stars last made the Stanley Cup Final in the Canadian bubble that ended in late September 2020, after a nearly five-month pause because of the pandemic. There was a 116-day gap before a reduced 56-game regular season opened the following January. They then missed the postseason and had 157 days before a normal October opener, and the first of their current five consecutive playoff seasons.

See AP’s full NHL coverage here

FILE - Dallas Stars defenseman Thomas Harley shoots during an NHL hockey game against the Seattle Kraken in Dallas, Feb. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)

FILE - Dallas Stars head coach Glen Gulutzan watches from the bench during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Boston Bruins, Jan. 20, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Jeffrey McWhorter, File)

FILE - Dallas Stars left wing Jamie Benn, left, is congratulated by center Tyler Seguin for a goal against the Colorado Avalanche during the third period of Game 6 of an NHL hockey playoff series, May 17, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)