Is Zinedine Zidane responsible for the greatest penalty in football history?
The legendary French midfielder’s spot-kick against Italy in the 2006 World Cup final is undoubtedly one of the most audacious penalties that we’ve ever witnessed.
France were awarded a seventh-minute penalty by referee Horacio Elizondo when Florent Malouda went down in the box under contact from Italian defender Marco Materazzi.
Contact appeared to be minimal but with VAR still years away from being introduced, the penalty was given.
Up stepped Zidane, playing his final match as a professional footballer at the end of a glittering 17-year career, against a prime Gianluigi Buffon.
The French maestro had enjoyed a magnificent tournament, playing a starring role as Les Bleus defeated Spain, Brazil and Portugal en route to the final.
Full of confidence, Zizou stunned the world by producing a remarkable Panenka penalty past Buffon, one of the greatest goalkeepers on the planet at the time.
The official stationed on the byline saw the ball crossed the line after bouncing down off the underside of the crossbar and the goal was given.
Even Zidane, the coolest person inside the Olympiastadion in Berlin, must have felt a huge sense of relief when Elizondo signalled to award the goal.
To even consider taking a Panenka penalty in a World Cup final (against Buffon!) in your final match as a professional would require absolute balls of steel.
To then execute it showed why Zidane is, in the opinion of many football fans, one of the greatest footballers of all time.
Watch Zidane’s extraordinary penalty here:
How did Zidane have the balls to do this in a World Cup final against prime Buffon… pic.twitter.com/oriHyEWHxf
— ali (@tcourtois1ii) March 26, 2022
The clip has gone viral on social media again in recent days, so let’s check out some of the best reaction:
Zidane’s penalty was overshadowed by his headbutt
Zidane’s penalty was, of course, completely overshadowed by his shocking red card in the second half of extra-time.
His headbutt on Materazzi, scorer of Italy’s equaliser, is one of the most infamous moments in football history.
Retweet if you watched this game as Zidane headbutted Materazzi in extra time of the 2006 World Cup Final. #WorldCupMemories pic.twitter.com/NDCFVdHRmc
— Kawowo Sports (@kawowosports) May 31, 2018
With Zidane off the pitch, Italy went on to win the final on penalties, registering a 5-3 victory on penalties.
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