Marco Materazzi

Controversial defender, World Cup hero, and Inter Milan legend.

Marco Materazzi (born 19 August 1973) is an Italian former professional football player and manager. A controversial and provocative figure in football, he was known for his very physical and aggressive style of defending, which saw him collect numerous cards throughout his career.

Quick Facts

Born: 19 August 1973
Birthplace: Lecce, Italy
Height: 1.93 m / 6 ft 4 in
Position: Centre back
Total caps: 383

Lore & Background

Materazzi began his footballing career with the Lazio and then the Messina Peloro youth teams from 1990 to 1991. He spent his early career in the lower divisions of Italian football, with amateur side Tor di Quinto, Serie C2 team Marsala, and Serie C1 Trapani. Serie B squad Perugia signed Materazzi for the first time in 1995, but he spent a part of the 1996–97 season in Serie C with Carpi. He then spent the 1998–99 season with Everton, where he was sent off three times in just 27 games. He returned to Perugia in 1999 and scored 12 goals, including seven from penalties in the 2000–01 season, breaking Daniel Passarella's Serie A record of most goals by a defender in one season. Materazzi was signed by Inter Milan in July 2001 for €10 million. He spent two periods with Perugia and signed for Inter Milan in 2001. At club level, he won a number of major honors with Inter, including five Serie A league titles in a row from 2006 to 2010, one UEFA Champions League, one FIFA Club World Cup, four Coppa Italia titles, and the Supercoppa Italiana four times. Having played around 270 games for Inter, he announced his retirement from playing shortly after leaving the club in 2011. Materazzi came out of retirement in 2014 when he was appointed player-manager of Chennaiyin in the Indian Super League. Materazzi earned 41 caps for Italy from his debut in 2001 until 2008, playing in two FIFA World Cups and two UEFA European Championships. He was one of the key players in the 2006 FIFA World Cup Final against France; he gave away an early penalty that led to France's first goal, scored Italy's equalising goal twelve minutes later and, in extra time, received a headbutt from Zinedine Zidane who was punished with a red card. Italy then went on to win the World Cup in a penalty shoot-out, during which Materazzi scored again.

Reader's Guide

Materazzi's playing style was very physical and aggressive, leading to numerous cards. He was a defender known for his aerial ability and penalty-taking, scoring 12 goals in the 2000–01 Serie A season for Perugia, a record for a defender. At Inter, he was part of the treble-winning 2009–10 season, though he was used sparingly. He was a controversial figure, involved in incidents such as a physical confrontation with Lazio players after a match in 2002, and an altercation with Siena's Bruno Cirillo in 2004 that led to an eight-match suspension. He also had a notable penalty miss against Siena in 2008.