Serie A has never been short of hard defenders, and Marco Materazzi was among the dirtiest of them. He is remembered for one moment above all. In the 2006 World Cup final he insulted Zinedine Zidane's mother and sister, and Zidane headbutted him. Materazzi went down, Zidane was sent off, and Italy won the World Cup.
How Materazzi's words changed the 2006 final
Zidane's red card changed the game. Italy went on to win on penalties, and Materazzi had a hand in almost everything. He scored the equaliser in the final, and then he scored a penalty in the shootout. Getting the other side's best player sent off with words alone, then lifting the biggest trophy in football, is villainy that pays.
Strikers in Italy already knew him as one of the hardest tacklers in Serie A. He once threw an opponent's shirt on the ground after swapping it and stamped on it.
The centre-back played from 1990 to 2011 for Perugia, Carpi, Everton and Inter Milan.
Dirty, provocative and nasty on the pitch. Was the 2006 final villain behaviour? Clearly. Did it work? Also clearly.
Tomorrow: villain number 11.
