Le superbe but de Marco Materazzi contre Messina

"The death of Jesús De Miguel made me thank God that nothing happened to me. That goalkeeper is facing manslaughter charges over an in-game challenge: what if that had happened to me?" he stated in an interview published this Thursday by 'La Gazzetta dello Sport'.

Marco Materazzi was reflecting on the tragic passing of the 30-year-old Club Deportivo Tenerife forward, which occurred on 3 November following a heavy collision with Andorra goalkeeper Jesús Owono during a LaLiga Hypermotion (Spanish second division) fixture played the previous day.

The tragedy evoked memories of the infamous headbutt he sustained from Zinedine Zidane twenty years ago, during extra time in the 2006 World Cup final in Germany between France and Italy.

In his interview with 'La Gazzetta', the former defender maintained that he never had an issue making peace with the current France manager, who recently confessed he took no pride in the incident.

The pair had previously crossed paths to clear the air back in November 2010, on the eve of a clash between Milan and Real Madrid in Milan.

"The opportunity was there, as everyone knows. November 2010, Hotel Melia in Milan, the night before Milan-Real: I left the hotel after saying goodbye to Mourinho, and he was parking his car at the back. When he saw me he hesitated, he even turned as if to walk away, but I went up to him and shook his hand: 'I am glad we are meeting here, where nobody can see us'," he recalled.

He added: "He replied: 'Don't worry: things happen, it's in the past'. It's just a shame he later denied everything, claiming he thought I was a fan."