Zinedine Zidane's son Luca sent-off for headbutting opponent during Real Madrid youth match

The 17-year-old goalkeeper was sent-off during the Madrid derby in scenes echoing his father's infamous 2006 World Cup final headbutt

Jack de Menezes
Tuesday 01 December 2015 05:41 EST
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Zinedine Zidane's son headbutts opponent in derby match

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They say like father, like son, but Luca Zidane still has some way to go before he emulates his great father, Zinedine Zidane.

Especially when it comes to the head-butting department.

Zidane Snr was infamously sent-off during the 2006 World Cup final after he head-butted Italy defender Marco Materazzi in the chest, with 10-man France going on to lose the final.

However, despite his son, Luca, being a goalkeeper instead of an outfield player, that hasn’t stopped the youngster from getting stuck into his opponents.

Luca is currently playing for Real Madrid’s academy, and the incident in question came during a heated confrontation with players of Atletico Madrid’s academy, Real’s fierce rivals. As the two sets of players clashed, Luca – wearing a distinctive green goalkeeper kit – is seen to clash heads with an opponent.

But while the 17-year-old Frenchman was shown a red card for what was later confirmed as violent conduct, he can hardly be accused of trying to mirror his father with an all-out headbutt. Luca is also seen to push out at his opponent as they finally unlock their foreheads, but the red card has to be described as harsh.

Zinedine Zidane headbutts Marco Materazzi during the 2006 World Cup final
Zinedine Zidane headbutts Marco Materazzi during the 2006 World Cup final (Getty Images)

Luca is then seen trudging off the pitch dejectedly and back to the changing room, but at least he is not yet playing for Zinedine, who is currently the head coach of Real’s reserve side Castilla – which Luca could graduate to in the coming seasons.

Of course, we couldn’t overlook Zidane Snr’s moment of madness all those years again, so here’s the perfect excuse to watch his devastating headbutt once more.

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