ROME -- Marco Materazzi has finally revealed what he said in the World Cup final that provoked Zinedine Zidane into head-butting him in the chest.
Materazzi says that after he held his opponent's shirt, Zidane said: "If you want, I'll give you the jersey later."
In Tuesday's interview with the Gazzetta dello Sport, Materazzi said, "I responded that I preferred his sister, it's true. It wasn't something nice, true. But luckily there have been dozens of players who have confirmed that a lot worse things are said on the field."
The Italy defender received a two-game ban for the July 9 incident and will miss Wednesday's rematch of the final, a 2008 European Championship qualifier.
Zidane received a three-match suspension, but the punishment was moot because he retired after the World Cup.
Materazzi said that the Italian federation, in the middle of the match-fixing scandal, told him not to complain during a FIFA hearing over the incident.
"If accepting (the ban) without raising my voice was the price to pay for having brought home the World Cup, I'm pretty happy to have paid it," Materazzi said.
Asked whether it would ever be possible for the pair to make peace, Materazzi said, "You sign a peace (agreement) after terrible wars, so why can't Zidane and I make peace?
"A peace among men, without a lot of publicity," Materazzi said. "The door to my house will always be open for that. And if Zidane wants, he knows where to find my address."
France captain Patrick Vieira thinks the apologies should go both ways.
"I think Zidane is waiting for Materazzi to apologize also for the insults he used," Vieira said in Clairefontaine, France.
Vieira, who is Materazzi's teammate at Inter Milan, said he chatted with the Italy defender before leaving to join the France squad.
"He told me he is disappointed not to be here," Vieira said. "He's a very cheerful guy, but he loves to wind people up. Sometimes you need to know when to stop."
