What's happened to the 2006 World Cup principals? Zinedine Zidane and Marco Materazzi, protagonists in one of the worst incidents in World Cup history, have kept their reputations intact. Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo remain teammates at Manchester United. Italy coach Marcello Lippi revels in retirement. Nothing has changed for referee Horacio Elizondo, while Ronaldo and Lukas Podolski have struggled.
Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Zidane's World Cup ended in disgrace. After leading France to the final with some of his best performances in recent years, Zidane cracked late in the final game of his career. He attacked Italian defender Marco Materazzi with a vicious headbutt and was sent off.
Zinedine Zidane's reputation wasn't lost in a moment of fury. A month after the World Cup, a Journal du Dimanche survey named Zizou the most admired Frenchman.
A cottage industry developed around his attack on Marco Materazzi. The song ''Coup de boule'' (''Headbutt'') by the group Plage was an instant hit with 60,000 copies sold in its first nine days of distribution, and more than 115,000 ring tones of the song were purchased in a month.
Zidane is in great demand as a spokesman. He appears on TV network Canal Plus at major events, but he has begged off doing color commentary. ''I'm too shy,'' he says.
Zidane represents food giant Danone. In November, he attended the opening of a Danone food plant in Bangladesh. Adoring crowds greeted the French star, who was moved by the stories of Bangladesh villagers working their way out of poverty.
''I am touched to see them so happy,'' Zidane said. ''It's really a wonderful feeling for me be here. They have struggled so much.''
Marco Materazzi
Italian Marco Materazzi will go down as one of the great villains in World Cup history, the player who provoked Zinedine Zidane into head-butting him in the final and getting the Frenchman sent off.
Materazzi hasn't run from all the attention following the World Cup final.
In October, Materazzi came out and gave his version of the incident: Zidane, tired of Materazzi's constant shirt-pulling during the final, told the Italian if he wanted his shirt, he could have it after the game. To which Materazzi says he responded, ''I don't want your shirt, I want your sister.''
FIFA suspended Materazzi for September's France-Italy rematch — a 3-1 victory for the Blues in Euro 2008 qualifying — but he has since rejoined the Azzurri.
Materazzi — known to be friendly off the field but a terror on it — remains a hero in Italy. (It should be remembered that it was Materazzi who scored the tying goal for Italy, equalizing in the first half after Zidane put France ahead from the penalty spot.)
Inter Milan plastered billboards of Materazzi across Milan to sell season tickets: ''Io Sono Interista'' (''I am Interista.'')
Materazzi capitalized on the publicity about the incident to publish a book, ''What I really said to Zidane,'' 249 witty phrases on what he might have said.
Horacio Elizondo
Argentine Horacio Elizondo had the honor of refereeing the 2006 World Cup final between Italy and France. The game was played without serious incident until 10 minutes remained in overtime when French star Zinedine Zidane head-butted Italian Marco Materazzi.
Elizondo looks at the World Cup final as just one of five games he did during the World Cup.
He remains low key about his work in Germany. ''I just did my job,'' he says.
Elizondo has been very much in demand since the World Cup. He was honored by Argentine President Nestor Kirchner and gave him the red card he showed Zidane. He whistled the Buenos Aires clßsico — River Plate's 3-1 victory over Boca Juniors in October — and was invited to Qatar to ref league games in the local championship.
''Everything is the same,'' Elizondo told the Gulf Times. ''Nothing has changed for me. I still go out in the middle to do a job that I am best at. If things get nasty on the field, I do book them.''
Marcello Lippi
The architect of Italy's World Cup triumph was Marcello Lippi. The Azzurri coach kept his players focused in Germany, while one of the worst scandals in Italian soccer history brewed back home.
Within 48 hours of the final, Lippi quit as Italian national team coach, having led it to the 2006 World Cup title and a 25-game unbeaten streak.
Lippi chose to spent the fall resting and reflecting.
''I have certainly not left soccer,'' Lippi said in late October. ''My intention is to return when I am fully recharged.''
Lippi says the key to Italy's success at the World Cup was its versatility.
''You have to train your players to play in two or three different ways,'' he told a gathering of Italian coaches. ''That is what makes a team really capable of doing things.''
Lippi follows in a long line of famous Azzurri coaches, but he acknowledges that it is ''the quality of players that counts.''
Coaching in an era of millionaire players isn't easy . ''We are talking about players who have amazing contracts and who in a couple of years are made for life,'' says Lippi.
He says a coach must strike a delicate balance, imposing his own culture on his team but not squashing the personalities of his players.
Lukas Podolski
Lukas Podolski emerged as one of the bright stars of German soccer, winning the Best Young Player award handed out for the first time at the 2006 World Cup. Miroslav Klose and Podolski, both born in Poland, led the World Cup's highest-scoring attack (13 goals).
Podolski has struggled to live up to expectations since joining German champion Bayern Munich from FC Cologne after the World Cup.
He began the Bundesliga season coming off the bench but tried to put a positive spin on his slow start at Bayern.
''There's no reason for me to be in doubt,'' he told German magazine Kicker. ''I always knew that I would sometimes sit on the bench at Bayern, particularly after the short amount of time I've had to prepare after the World Cup.''
As Podolski struggled, so did the Bayern attack. Bayern coach Felix Magath criticized the frontline of Podolski and fellow striker Roy Makaay for its lack of commitment
''It needs to show more class and just simply score more goals,'' Magath said in an interview with Sport Bild.
After 46 goals in his three seasons at FC Cologne, Podolski had only one goal and assist — both in a 4-2 win over Hertha Berlin — in seven games before going down with an ankle injury in mid-November.
Wayne Rooney
Wayne Rooney began the World Cup on the sidelines with a broken foot but recovered to start for an underachieving England team, whose World Cup ended with a loss to Portugal in a shootout in the quarterfinals. For Rooney, his World Cup ended an hour earlier with a red card for a clash with Ricardo Carvalho.
Rooney has endured an up-and-down season with Manchester United. It began with a three-game suspension — his reputation went before him, and he was red-carded in a preseason tournament in Amsterdam. He went 10 games without scoring for United or England before scoring three goals against Bolton in late October — his first hat trick since his United debut in 2004. The second of his three goals against Bolton was named goal of the month.
Rooney authored a tell-all book ''My Story So Far'' — the first in a five-book series he signed with publisher HarperCollins for a reported $9 million plus royalties
Rooney said the book would put him in a new light.
''I'm just a normal young lad who plays football,'' he said.
But as his recent troubles suggest — he was being questioned following a complaint he assaulted a photographer outside a Manchester bar at 5 a.m. — Rooney is far from a normal lad.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo helped Portugal reach the semifinals of the World Cup — its best showing in 40 years. But Portugal's reviews weren't all positive. Charges of play-acting dogged the Portuguese, and Ronaldo in particular.
Cristiano Ronaldo was one of the best young players at the 2006 World Cup, but he is perhaps best remembered for gesturing at Argentine referee Horacio Elizondo to give his Manchester United teammate, Wayne Rooney, a red card in the Portugal-England game.
There was talk of Rooney wanting to ''split Cristiano Ronaldo in two'' and the 21-year-old Portuguese winger wanting to leave Old Trafford.
But Ronaldo said everything was fine.
''Between me and Rooney, there is absolutely no problem,'' he said. ''I reiterate, no problem.''
Six weeks later, tensions cooled, and Ronaldo received a warm reception from United fans for its opening game of the Premier League season.
Ronaldo won over any remaining detractors with some of the best soccer of his career, helping United take first place in the EPL.
''I know English football is very tribal and everyone wants their team to do well,'' said United manager Sir Alex Ferguson. ''But there's one common denominator — they are all passionate about the game and recognize a great player, which is what has happened with Ronaldo.''
Ronaldo
Ripped in the Brazilian media for being overweight, Ronaldo became the all-time leading scorer at the World Cup with three goals at the 2006 finals to give him 15 goals. But his return to form was short-lived as Brazil exited without scoring in the quarterfinals.
Ronaldo's stock has plummeted.
Star of Brazil's 2002 World Cup champion and winner of three World Players of the Year, Ronaldo played in only three of Real Madrid's first 10 league games and made just one start.
He was relegated to playing early-round King's Cup games against minor-league opponents, scoring his first goal for Real Madrid in seven months against Ecija in early November.
Weight issues have dogged Ronaldo in recent years. Injuries have also been a problem. He needed surgery on his left knee after the World Cup and reinjured it in the Ecija game.
But the fact is, Ronaldo is in Real Madrid coach Fabio Capello's doghouse, and he doesn't know how to get out.
''The worst thing about not playing is not having the confidence of the coach and not knowing how to win it back,'' Ronaldo admitted.
The 30-year-old Brazilian hoped to remain at Real Madrid until the end of his contract in 2008, but circumstances might speed up the timetable of a move to MLS.
(This article originally appeared in the December 2006 issue of Soccer America Magazine.)