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FIFA wants Zidane and Materazzi to meet

Soccer fans worldwide need to wait four years between World Cups. They were asked to wait an additional month this summer, throughout a mediocre tournament, until the 2006 Cup supplied a memorable moment. Even then it had little to do with the sport of soccer. Italy won the Cup, which featured 2.30 goals per match average and a record number of cards, after beating France in penalty kicks. In the game, Frenchman Zinedine Zidane infamously head-butted Italian defender Marco Materazzi in an act caught on TV cameras.

Last week saw new developments on the Italy-France and Materazzi-Zidane fronts. Materazzi has finally revealed what prompted the incident. He said a comment involving Zidane`s sister incited the Frenchman, who then plunged his head into the Italian`s chest. Zidane has retired after the game, and Materazzi received a two game suspension for the incident.

Neither player participated in the match between their national teams in the Euro 2008 qualifiers last week, which ended with a 3:1 French victory. If a meeting on the field is no longer possible, soccer`s governing body FIFA wants the two players to meet off the field instead and make peace. "We are working on bringing together Zidane and Materazzi and to bring to end this story," FIFA president Sepp Blatter said Monday.