Slaughtered, Gutted, and Heartbroken

I've got the replay of yesterday's World Cup Final on, and I'm still aching over what transpired at the end of the game with the now infamous Zidane headbutting. France needed its leader on the field for the inevitable penalty shoot-out, but with a single stupid moment of madness, he took away any oomph left in the team.



And now, you can play the game.

One of the greatest, most inspiring football players of our time, now reduced to a black comedic punchline. Very sad indeed.

The question is what could Marco Materazzi have said to elicit such a reaction from Zizou? The AP notes the following:

The Paris-based anti-racism advocacy group SOS-Racism issued a statement Monday quoting "several very well informed sources from the world of football" as saying Materazzi called Zidane a "dirty terrorist." It demanded that FIFA, soccer's world governing body, investigate and take any appropriate action.

The Guardian has found an Italian lip reader with a different interpretation:

An Italian lip-reader last night claimed to have deciphered the words Marco Materazzi said to Zinédine Zidane that provoked the French captain into butting him in the chest during Sunday's World Cup final, the great midfielder's final act before a red card ended his career in top-level football.

According to the BBC, Materazzi said, "I wish an ugly death to you and all your family," and then told Zidane to "go fuck yourself".