Twenty years later, the silence remains deafening. Marco Materazzi confirms he hasn’t exchanged a single word with Zinedine Zidane since that infamous 2006 World Cup headbutt.

What was once the sport’s most explosive moment has frozen into a permanent, icy standoff. While Zidane’s legendary legacy remains untouched, this bitter, unresolved tension proves that some football scars simply never fade away.

What was once the sport’s most explosive moment has frozen into a permanent, icy standoff. While Zidane’s legendary legacy remains untouched, this bitter, unresolved tension proves that some football scars simply never fade away.