Kerala Blasters fans have always turned out in large numbers in a sea of yellow at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi. A section of their fans have decided to turn up wearing the mask of French football legend Zinedine Zidane when their team faces Marco Materazzi’s side Chennaiyin FC on Saturday in the Indian Super League.
It is learnt that about 35,000 fans will be wearing Zidane face masks in Kochi to take a dig at Materazzi, who was head-butted by the current Real Madrid coach and French football legend in the 2006 World Cup final.
Zidane was subsequently given a red card for the offence while Materazzi went on to lift the World Cup with Italy, even scoring in the penalty shootout. The incident went on to gain iconic status. A statue of Zidane headbutting Materazzi was erected in Qatar in 2013, but it was taken down later.
Materazzi was embroiled in a touchline scuffle the last time the two sides met and was suspended for a game. The former Inter Milan defender saw the lighter side of the tongue-in-cheek taunt, “Did they spend lots of money for it? I would use that money for food instead,” Materazzi was quoted as saying by PTI.
Chennayin and the Blasters, the two southern sides in the ISL, have kicked up a bit of a rivalry between them. The two sides faced off in the semi-finals of the first edition, with Blasters beating Chennaiyin to progress to the final.
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