Materazzi forgives Zizou for head-butt

LISBON, Dec 9: Italy defender Marco Materazzi says he has forgiven French football legend Zinedine Zidane for giving him a head-butt in the chest in the dying moments of World Cup final in July.
"It was a less thoughful attitude but I have already forgiven him. I have nothing against him, as I have said various times. The door to my house is open to him," he said in an interview published on Saturday in Portuguese daily Correio da Manha.
"It's normal for a player to provoke his adversary. I did it but I didn't say anything with the intention to offend Zidane. He interpreted things otherwise and reacted badly," he added. "I want to forget this and I hope one day all of this will be forgotten. I just want to remember that I was world champion, nothing else."
Zidane set to visit Algeria for first time since 1986
Algiers: Zinedine Zidane will visit the birthplace of his parents for the first time in 20 years for charity work. The three-time FIFA World Player of the Year will stay four days in Algeria, government minister Djamal Ould Abbas said Saturday.
Zidane will visit the Mustapha Bacha hospital for children with cancer and another hospital for disabled children. Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika is also scheduled to meet Zidane.
The 34-year-old Zidane last visited Algeria in 1986. His parents were born in Aguemoun village in the Kabylie region.