BUTTING IN TAKES FRENCH CAPTAIN OUT ZIDANE USES HIS HEAD -- POORLY LEGACY COULD BE STAINED AFTER SHOCKING FOUL.

Byline: SCOTT FRENCH Staff Writer

BERLIN -- Marco Materazzi said something, but what it was is anybody's guess. Zinedine Zidane isn't speaking, and Materazzi has nothing to say.

Something pushed Zidane over the edge Sunday, and the French playmaker's long walk along the line separating genius and madness came to a shameful end, his legendary career closing with one last act of violence and a red card in overtime of the World Cup final.

Zidane, unquestionably the finest player of his generation, has a history of outbursts, but nothing like this was thought possible: his final game, the world's biggest stage, France and Italy in a tense 1-1 draw, 10 minutes until penalty kicks would determine the champion, a fairy-tale ending ready to be written.

Materazzi and Zidane had posted up in the Italian box on a French foray, and when the ball was cleared, they walked upfield together, jabbering all the way -- the situation didn't appear heated. Then Zidane, three or four yards ahead, turned and bowed his head, ramming it viciously into Materazzi's chest.

Argentine referee Horacio Elizondo missed it, but he talked with his linesmen (and, apparently, other officials), and out came the red card, the record 28th of this World Cup. Off Zidane went, head bowed as he slinked off the field, past the World Cup trophy -- the same he held aloft eight years earlier -- and to the locker room. Retirement arrived in disgrace.

``It's sad, very sad, for him to end his career like this ...'' France coach Raymond Domenech said. ``When one has to put up with what he had to for 80 minutes, and the referee doesn't do anything, one understands. You can't excuse it, but you can understand.''

Zidane, the French captain, had given France an early lead on a penalty kick, his third goal of the tournament and 31st in 108 games for Les Bleus, and he nearly gave them the lead from a Willy Sagnol cross 14 minutes into overtime. But he was far from effective, nothing like the brilliance against Spain or Brazil, increasingly frustrated by the dogged defense of, especially, Gennaro Gattuso, Andrea Pirlo and Gianluca Zambrotta.

But this looked like something else. One minute, Zidane and Materazzi are walking, talking. The next, Zidane is brutally attacking him.

When he was a very young player, Zidane -- an Algerian, a Berber, from Marseille -- would go after opponents who insulted his heritage, threw a slur or two his way.

His early coaching was largely about keeping emotions in check, and he learned the lessons well. A phenomenal ballhandler and passer, Zidane rarely displays emotion on the field or in public. Joy when scoring, especially the two goals in the 1998 World Cup title-game triumph over Brazil, but little else.

Except, on occasion, he explodes: the World Cup stamping in '98, the UEFA Champions League head-butt in 2000.

``I don't know what Materazzi said to Zidane,'' said Domenech, who hadn't seen video of the incident. ``But it's a shame. It's sad. (Materazzi) did a lot of acting, and for such a big (6-foot-4) man, a gust of wind made him fall over.''

Such assessment pales with the evidence, but Domenech and Italy coach Marcello Lippi agreed that neither Elizondo nor linesman Dario Garcia saw the attack. Instead, the fourth and fifth officials -- primarily administrators, stationed on the sidelines, apparently saw a replay and informed Elizondo that a red card was warranted. Trouble is, FIFA rules don't permit the use of replay in officiating.

``I don't know what happened, not exactly,'' said France forward Thierry Henry, who had exited the game three minutes earlier. ``But I don't think it is right to use video evidence that way. If they want to use it for one thing, they should use it for everything -- and that includes Materazzi.''

French fans, also unaware of what occurred, jeered Elizondo and Materazzi and especially goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, who ran toward Garcia as soon as Zidane struck. After Cristiano Ronaldo's antics in the Wayne Rooney red card, tattletales aren't highly thought of in these parts.

That's all mechanics, virtually meaningless. It happened, and Zidane wasn't around when his team most needed him. As Italy paraded the trophy, he was still in the locker room, refusing to accept his second-place medal.

``I would have preferred to take him out five minutes earlier,'' Domenech said. ``That way the fans could have applauded him."

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CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo:

(1) Zinedine Zidane reacts after committing a foul on Italian defender Marco Materazzi (on the pitch). Zidane was given a red card and ejected, and France never was the same in its loss.

STF/AFP/Getty Images

(2) Zinedine Zidane of France is given a red card by referee Horacio Elizondo after a vicious head-butt.

Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Box:

SEEING RED