World Cup winner Marco Materazzi will be among the football legends attending the grand opening of the Fifa Museum in Hong Kong next week, the South China Morning Post has learned.
Football insiders said a couple more current or retired players, pending Fifa’s confirmation, alongside key officials from the sport’s world governing body, will also be in the city when the 6,000 sq ft museum opens on the fourth floor of Times Square in Causeway Bay on May 28. They will also attend the closed-door gala dinner the day before.
Sources also told the SCMP that a few players attending the Soccer Sevens at the Hong Kong Football Club over the weekend were also expected to extend their stays and appear at the opening ceremony.
Former Italian centreback Materazzi, who won the World Cup in 2006 and scored one of his two international goals in the final, was famously on the receiving end of a headbutt from Zinedine Zidane in the showpiece match.
The French midfielder was sent off for his actions before Italy went on to win on penalties.
Born in Lecce, Materazzi, 52, spent a decade of his 25-year playing career at Inter Milan from 2001 to 2011, winning five Serie A titles and four Coppa Italia trophies. The towering left-footer also won the Uefa Champions League and the Fifa Club World Cup in 2010.