Marco Materazzi

Verified Timeline

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, where he narrowly missed a historic promotion to Serie B after losing a promotion playoff to Gualdo. 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, and scored twice, against Middlesbrough in the league and Huddersfield Town in the League Cup. He then 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 took squad number 23 and made his competitive debut for the club on 26 August in the opening championship match against Perugia. Materazzi's first goal for Inter came only in his second appearance, netting inside 10 minutes in a 2–2 draw at Parma. He also played eight times in the season's UEFA Cup, with his competition debut coming on 20 September in the 3–0 win versus Romania's Brașov. Materazzi played 23 matches in league, including the final decisive match versus Lazio which lost Inter the championship title; he was a protagonist in a controversial episode following the final whistle, as he was involved in a heated discussion with the opposition players which turned into a physical confrontation. He was caught by the cameras shouting at Lazio captain Alessandro Nesta, saying: 'I won you the title', in reference to Perugia's win over Juventus in 2000 which lead Lazio to the title. In the following season, Materazzi made 33 appearances across all competitions, including 13 in UEFA Champions League, where he played his first match on 14 August 2002 in a goalless draw against Sporting CP. Materazzi's 2003–04 season was blighted by injuries, including one he suffered on 25 November during the 5–1 home loss to Arsenal in UEFA Champions League group stage which kept him out of action for two months. He was at the center of a controversy again at the beginning of 2004 for aggression towards Siena player Bruno Cirillo. This ha

In Their Own Story

The 2010 UEFA Champions League Final against Bayern Munich in Madrid saw Materazzi come on as an injury-time substitute, replacing Diego Milito who scored both goals in the 2–0 victory. This completed the Treble for Inter, who also clinched the Scudetto for the fifth season in a row and the Coppa Italia. Earlier in the season, he underwent arthroscopic surgery in January 2010 to repair damage to the medial meniscus in his right knee, which kept him sidelined for one month. He made 20 appearances in all competitions during the 2009–10 season. The following season, he began by coming on in the last minutes of a 3–1 home win over Roma in the Supercoppa Italiana. His first league match of the season came in November where he started in the derby against Milan due to the absence of Walter Samuel; he conceded a penalty in the 4th minute for fouling Zlatan Ibrahimović and was later sent to hospital after receiving a kung-fu kick in the stomach by the Swede. Inter lost the match 1–0. In December, Materazzi was included in Inter's squad for the 2010 FIFA Club World Cup, remaining on the bench as Inter won their 5th title of the year.

Reader's Guide

Materazzi was known for his physical and aggressive defending, collecting numerous cards. He was a key player in Italy's 2006 World Cup win, scoring the equalizer in the final and converting a penalty in the shootout. At Inter, he won five consecutive Serie A titles, a Champions League, a Club World Cup, four Coppa Italia, and four Supercoppa Italiana. He was voted Serie A Defender of the Year in 2006–07.

Did You Know?

• Materazzi broke Daniel Passarella's Serie A record for most goals by a defender in a single season, scoring 12 goals in 2000–01.
• He was sent off three times during his 1998–99 season with Everton.
• Materazzi was suspended until 29 March 2004 for punching Siena player Bruno Cirillo in the face, fracturing his lip.
• He scored an overhead kick against Messina during the 2006–07 season.