For the supporters, he is the "wolf angel", loyal and sensual interpretation of the iron man's tenderness; for the haters, he is the "green devil", rude words and deeds release the twisted soul; for the onlookers, he is more like the epitome of all sentient beings, because the angels fall, the demons are redeemed, all for the world; this issue of "Football People" brings you the contradictory combination of "angels and demons": Marco Materazzi.
Marco Materazzi
Player profiles
Name: Marco Materazzi
English: Marco Materazzi
Birthday/Age: August 19, 1973 (age 49)
Nationality: Italian
Place of Birth: Lecce (Italy)
Position: Centre-back
Height: 193 cm
Weight: 92kg
Nickname: Malaysia
Youth team: Messina
First national team selection: 25 April 2001, Italy 1-0 South Africa
Decommissioned: January 2016
Relationships: Lippi (national team manager), Trapattoni (national team manager), Cooper (club manager), Mancini (club manager), Mourinho (club manager), Cannavaro (national team teammate), Nesta (national team teammate), Buffon (national team teammate), Ronaldo (club teammate), Zanetti (club teammate), Diego Milito (club teammate)
Career trajectory: Messina (Serie B), Masala (Serie B), Trapani (Serie A), Perugia (Serie B), Everton (Premier League), Perugia (Serie A), Inter Milan (Serie A), Chennaiyin FC (Indian Super League)
Main honours: 1 World Cup, 1 Champions League, 1 Club World Cup, 5 Serie A titles, 4 Coppa Italia, 4 Italian Super Cups
Technical features
Materazzi FM property diagram
As can be seen through the FM attribute chart, the excellent height and strong body ensure that Materazzi has the hegemonic advantage of the high-altitude ball at both ends of the attack and defense, coupled with the super long-range shooting and free kick skills, Materazzi can be called one of the originators of the "knife center back" in international football since the 21st century, in addition, the spiritual attributes that are close to the explosion often make Materazzi the focus of the spotlight; next, we will enter the football world of Materazzi together.
Will be the door tiger
On August 19, 1973, in the ancient city of Lecce in the southern Italian region of Puglia, a football boss who later helped the "Blue Army" raise the Hercules Cup for the fourth time was born, and he was the protagonist of this article: Marco Materazzi.
Growing up in a sports family, his father Giuseppe Materazzi was a well-known football coach in Italy, who coached Pisa, Messina, Lazio, Cagliari, Bari, Padua, Brescia, Piacenza and Sporting Lisbon.
Marco Materazzi's father: Giuseppe Materazzi
Compared with the rich and prosperous northern region, the Italians in the southern region are more enthusiastic, and Materazzi's hometown club Lecce is known as the "little pepper", football is an indispensable part of the daily life of the local residents, and the childhood Materazzi is also in such a rich atmosphere.
Regrettably, in 1988, Materazzi's mother died unexpectedly, which was a thunderbolt for a 15-year-old teenager, due to the special status of his father's professional coach, the old Materazzi, who had been traveling all year round, had no time to take care of the family, and could only "banish" his son to live a "wandering life".
Materazzi inherited his father's excellent sports genes from an early age, coupled with the tall and tall figure, in terms of football, the little Materazzi soon stood out among children of the same age, but the father who came from a professional coach knew in his heart that if his son wanted to get ahead in the future, the necessary training was indispensable, so the old Materazzi chose to continue to "banish" his son to run freely.
Born into a football family
Since the 1980s, Materazzi has been running for "livelihood" in the dusty amateur leagues of Sicily, and it is the tempering of this period that has allowed Materazzi to develop a gritty quality and belligerent personality, and in 1990, Materazzi signed with the messina club coached by his father and began his professional football journey.
stray
After his debut, Materazzi continued his wandering career, and the continuous running of Messina, Masala, Trapani, Perugia and Kalpi made "Malaysia" live a difficult life of "passer-by", which is also a universal true portrayal of the second-rate players in the football world who have long been mixed in the sub-league.
In the summer window of 1998, the new Coach Walter Smith of Everton in the Premier League took a look at the physically conditioned Materazzi, so the 25-year-old Italian centre-back went abroad and landed directly in the Premier League from Serie B.
Briefly landed in the Premier League
However, Materazzi's trip to England was not satisfactory, in the 29 games representing the "Toffee", "Malaysia" won a total of 7 yellow cards and 3 red cards, the fiery temper made it difficult for him to adapt to the intensity of the Premier League's confrontation, in 1999, the controversial Materazzi left Everton and returned to his old club Perugia.
Of course, this Premier League experience is not useless, after learning the intensity of the confrontation in the top leagues in Europe, Materazzi, who has "seen the world", appears to be at ease in Italy, and in the following two years, Materazzi has gradually become the backbone of Perugia's defense, and his outstanding performance has ensured the steady survival of the team in Serie A.
The "knife attribute" is another of Materazzi's major features, aerial bombing and violent free kicks are his best work, especially in the 00/01 season, where centre-back Materazzi scored a staggering 12 goals in 30 games for Perugia, breaking Daniel Passarella's single-season goal record for a Serie A defender.
Materazzi recalls Ma Mingyu
It is worth mentioning that during Materazzi's performance for Perugia, he also worked as a teammate with Chinese player Ma Mingyu, and in the months of "Ma'er" running into Serie A, Ma Mingyu, who was steady, optimistic and humble, won the high praise of many teammates, including Materazzi and Rivalta.
"Maxima" runs to the "Blue and Black World"
Back to the point, with the amazing performance of the 00/01 season, Materazzi has been favored by many giant clubs, Juventus, Lazio, Inter Milan and other clubs have thrown olive branches to "Malaysia", of which the "Nerazzurri" Inter Milan is particularly active, "Father Mo" continues his fierce negotiation style, 10.5 million euros, 27-year-old Materazzi finally entered the top European giants.
Of course, the protagonist of the 2001 summer transfer window is not Inter Milan, the club president Massimo Moratti spent a lot of money to recreate the grand scene of his father's "big international era", and Argentine coach Cooper and Francesco Tordo, Christian Zanetti and Sergio Concessan and other powerful players have rushed to the "Nerazzurri".
Perfect blend with Inter
Newcomer Materazzi has also worked seamlessly with Inter Milan, with a rock-solid combination of high-speed centre-backs with Colombian "short-footed tiger" Ivan Cordoba, and the Nerazzurri has maintained the league lead until the final round with the absence of "alien" Ronaldo for most of the season.
However, God seems to have made a big joke to Materazzi and his teammates, the last game of the league against the desperate Lazio, Inter Milan was bloodthirsty overturned by the "Blue Eagles" after taking the lead twice, and watched the "Bianconeri" Juventus complete the Serie A reversal in the last minute to win the title.
Inter milan lost serie A title in seconds
The blow of losing the title in the second made world footballer Ronaldo break the defense instantly, and the picture of hiding his face and crying became his farewell moment with the "Nerazzurri", facing the ridicule of the "star black hole", Inter Milan became the target of everyone for a while, but the "prodigal son" Materazzi at this moment chose to stick to it.
In the days of accompanying the "Nerazzurri" through the long nights, Materazzi painted his faith with blue-black marks, "Milan Derby" and Rui Costa watched the fireworks show side by side, "National Derby" and Stankovic holding iron rods to find Moji, 06 season of the earth-shattering oolong hanging door and other anecdotes, so that Materazzi tall and powerful and slightly funny image is firmly engraved in Nerazuri's heart.
Milan Derby watched the fireworks show side by side with Rui Costa
In the summer of 2006, the outbreak of the "telephone gate incident" made the "Small World Cup" turn from prosperity to decline, the protagonist of the event Juventus was ordered to be relegated to Serie B, AC Milan, Fiorentina, Lazio and other giants were severely punished, and Inter Milan, who was alone, welcomed back the long-lost Serie A championship, and thus opened the glorious period of "Big International Era II.".
From 2005 to 2010, "Malaysia" led Inter Milan to win 5 Serie A titles, 3 Italian Cups, and 4 Italian Super Cups, and with the "madman" Mourinho driving to Meazza, the 37-year-old Materazzi successfully lifted the St. Bolryd Cup and stood tall over Europa.
The Inter period was shocking
After 2010, Mourinho left the Bernabeu, coupled with Morati's praise for the champion and Benitez's arbitrariness, the "five champions" Inter Milan fell quickly; after following the team to win the 10/11 Coppa Italia, Materazzi left the Indian league and announced his retirement in 2016, ending his 26-year professional football journey.
A contradictory combination of "devil" and "angel."
Mention the name "Materazzi", the word "controversy" has always run through his entire career, fans who love him regard him as a hero, and those who hate him hate him to the bone, and the combination of the contradictions between "devil" and "angel" has bred Materazzi's two-sided personality and made his career full of legend.
Two-sided personality
Materazzi on the "devil's" side, obedient, fierce, and willful:
The protagonist of the 2006 World Cup final is not Materazzi, who replaced Nesta not only used his good header to help the "Blue Army" come back to life in the game, but also verbally provoked Zidane in extra time, causing the core emotions of the French boss to lose control, flipping Materazzi on his head and being sent off with a red card, and finally Italy killed France and lifted the Hercules Cup as desired.
Zidane's head was above Materazzi
In the 05/06 Italian national derby, Materazzi went up to the juventus rising star Ibrahimovic at the time and struck a broken leg, which eventually led to the "Swedish Tower" being injured; of course, with Ibrahimovic's "God character", this vendetta was not repaid, and in the 10/11 Milan derby, Ibrahimovic directly sent the elderly Materazzi to the hospital with a flying kick in the taekwondo competition.
Materazzi blasted Ibrahimovic
Ibrahimovic saluted Materazzi
In the penultimate round of Serie A in 07/08, Materazzi's impulse made Inter Milan's desire to crown the 16th Serie A title in advance at the Meazza Stadium fail; in the closing stages of the game, Inter won a penalty, the heroic Materazzi snatched the ball from the team's first free thrower Cruz, but the penalty shot by "Malaysia" was saved by Siena goalkeeper Manninger, and the manager Mancini on the sideline jumped like a thunderbolt, and finally Inter was forced to a 2-2 draw at home by Siena, and the lead was forced by Roma to 1 point.
On the contrary, Materazzi on the "angelic" side is calm, majestic, and sensual:
In the second leg of the 1/8 Champions League final in 2006/07, Valencia eliminated Inter Milan with an away goal advantage, and After the game, Bourdisso wrestled with Valencia player Marchena, and "Bat Legion" substitute Navarro rushed straight to the unsuspecting Bourdisso from the sidelines, and a heavy right hook punch directly hit the Argentine in the face.
Materazzi did not participate in the group fight
Materazzi did not participate in the group fight
Teammates Cruz and Cordoba broke out in an instant, chasing Navarro all over the field, the "good old man" Tordo single-handedly killed into the Valencia locker room to take revenge, and finally Navarro escaped under the cover of the stadium security personnel, the whole incident, known for his fiery temper, Materazzi appeared unusually calm, instead of participating in the group fight, but tried his best to avoid the escalation of the conflict.
In the 09/10 Champions League semi-finals Inter won 3-1 at home to Barca, the supernova Balotelli was out of control because he could not stand the boos of the fans at home in Meazza, angrily threw the blue and black jersey, and the team boss Materazzi, who witnessed the whole process, pulled him straight into the dressing room and sent an iron fist, directly crying the grown "Ba Shen".
"Education" Balotelli
Also in the 09/10 season, Inter Milan won the Champions League at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, just when the whole blue and black world was immersed in the joy of victory after the game, the naturally sensitive Materazzi could not find the figure of his mentor Mourinho, and the original "madman" had already taken the Real Madrid club's special car to start a new journey.
Mentorship and apprenticeship
Knowing this news, Materazzi broke away from the celebratory crowd and waited alone for Mourinho's motorcade on the side of the road, just as Mourinho's car passed by Materazzi, Mourinho, who was also a temperamental person, grabbed the car and hugged his lover tightly, and the picture of the two men "crying and crying" on the night of the championship also moved fans around the world.
epilogue
"I am neither a demon nor an angel, and I will cry because I have a fragile heart, a heart that will be hurt" – Materazzi.
Best wishes
Losing his mother at the age of 15, still wandering the world at the age of 25, lifting the Hercules Cup at the age of 33, standing on the top of Europe at the age of 37, looking at the trajectory of Materazzi's life, the precise definition of whether he is an evil man or a tough guy seems to have long been blurred, because from a dialectical point of view, the distance between "devil" and "angel" is often only in the end of the world.
(Lanling TCFB)