Five of the most outrageous acts committed by a captain on the football field

#1 Zinedine Zidane

It had to be #1, really. Despite being one of the most gifted players in football history – as well as one of the most successful in terms of trophy haul – Zinedine Zidane’s final act on a football pitch was probably the most outrageous act from a captain since the game began, and not in a good way. He’d actually retired from international football and given up the captaincy of France after Euro 2004, but was persuaded to come back for the 2006 World Cup, and was immediately handed the armband again.

The 2006 World Cup turned out to be perhaps Zidane’s finest tournament in a France shirt, even though he had already won both the World Cup and European Championship with his country. In those tournaments, France were a great, well-rounded side, but in 2006 Zidane largely carried the team on his back, a supreme performance against Brazil in the quarter-finals being his stand-out moment.

France ended up against Italy in the final and the stage was set for a starring role again – he’d already been awarded the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player, even.

Just seven minutes into the game Zidane made an impact, scoring a penalty to put France ahead, only for Italy to equalise just minutes later through a Marco Materazzi header. The game ended up going into extra-time, and it was during that period that the infamous incident occurred.

After a tussle that saw Materazzi grab Zidane’s jersey, he apparently said something seriously insulting to the French legend – who responded by headbutting him in the chest, dropping him to the ground right in front of the fourth official. The official informed the referee, and Zidane was sent off in disgrace, leaving the fans with the iconic image of him walking past the trophy with his head hung.

Regardless of what Materazzi said to provoke him, the reaction was completely outrageous, and the fact that France went on to lose the game just compounded the incident. Undoubtedly, it was the most shocking moment from any captain in the history of football.