5 farewell matches of iconic sportspersons gone horribly wrong

#3 Zinedine Zidane

Zizou walks past the trophy after being sent off

Zidane, fondly known as Zizou, is considered to be one of the greatest footballers ever in the modern era as well as of all-time. A World Cup winner with France in 1998, he was leading the Les Bleus at the 2006 World Cup and with some incredible displays on the pitch, he took them to the final against Italy.

A World Cup to end a glittering and trophy-laden career would have been the perfect story but what transpired in the final was poles apart. Zizou gave the French side the lead from the spot, but Italy equalized later and the game headed on to extra time.

With 10 minutes to go to penalties, Zidane, out of the blue, headbutted Italy's Marco Materazzi, for which he was duly sent off. France would go on to lose the final in penalties and who knows what could have happened if not for Zidane's heated moment.

It was a sad end to the career of one of the greatest players ever and goes down as one of the most iconic moments in the history of football.