Rafael Delgado.
Professor Natalie Martinez.
ENG 101.
5 May 2012.

Head butting nationalism.

Analysis:
I’m sure that many of you have gone through a situation in which your emotions take over the situation and it is because we are all human beings and as such, besides having ethics and moral, we also have something called ego. The ego forms part of our natural instinct and it is a feeling that many may not control. In many situations our ego is a determinant factor, since it may take over diplomacy and consciousness, causing irremediable effects. This happens assuming that our reaction system works as a scale between ego and diplomacy, and depending on the side its leans on, we get different outcomes that could be good or bad .
Everything started in the 2006 Fifa World Cup Final in a match disputed between Italy and France at the Berlin Olympic Stadium , both teams scored within the first 20 minutes of the match (1 -1 ) , with a goal of Zidane for France and Materazzi for Italy . That night the Olympic Stadium was packed with over 69000 people (Wikipedia), everyone was singing and crowding in favor of the team they were hoping to see in the podium. The match was filled of tension, anxiety and nostalgia. The players were exhausted but at the same time willing to do anything to win and from far away you could almost feel the desire and hunger that these players had for the big prize.
The game ended up in a tie so they went to extra time. During the last minutes of extra time you could see Zidane and Materrazi discussing near the penalty area of the Italian team , the tension and hatred between both was evident , and it was predictable that something big was about to happen, until bam ! It happened. Zidane Head butted Materazzi in the upper part of the chest causing such to collapse and fall to the floor. Even though Zidane tried to justify his action it still was not tolerated so he was admonished with a red card and penalized by the FIFA ( International Federation of soccer Associations).
This reaction by Zidane did not only cause a red card, but it also affected the French team in a vital moment since the squad ended up with 10 player instead of 11 during the last 15 minutes of the match .When the extra time finally culminated, the two teams ended up in a penalty shootout, were unfortunately the French team lost. Up until now there is still controversy about the case since many people blame Zidane of the loss of the World cup , and a lot of them still question the real motives that led the former French captain to react in a such a savage way, even though it was clear that Materazzi toggled and instigated Zidane before the physical altercation.
Zidane is now committed to apologize in public through a press conference at the FIFA headquarters, mainly to his fans, teammates and the FIFA, however Zidane refuses to apologize to Materazzi because saying sorry to him would be clarifying that what the Italian did, was right. The apology is related to the Mbaye book The Pragmatics of Public Apologies , since its driven by remorse and redemption, because Zidane feels ashamed of what he did as he defrauded his nation, teammates and the FIFA ”remorse” and besides that he has an objective of restoring his image in the sport environment ”redemption” (Abdoulaye). The apology is affected by the social climate and the location taking in account that Zidane he is apologizing in the headquarters of the biggest soccer association in the world ”FIFA” and because he has to set an example in front of the public .

Apology:

The past 9th of July of 2006 during the FIFA World Cup final, I was involved in serious issue with the Italian player Materazzi, In which I physically attacked him with a head butt in his chest causing such to collapse directly to the floor . I admit it was a selfish reaction , because even though I knew about the consequences I still took actions toward Materazzi during that critical moment of