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| | Monday 12 May, 2008 | | Blog: Exit the Matrix | | Marco Materazzi deserves every insult he gets after a breathtaking show of arrogance came back to bite him and Inter, argues Susy Campanale |  |  | | Much like the movie he is nicknamed after, The Matrix has shown himself to follow up a good start with something desperately disappointing and frankly insulting to anyone who had developed respect for the man. He is now pilloried by fans, teammates, Coach and his own President – who was spotted in the stands mouthing the words “Materazzi lost us the game” – and he deserves every second of humiliation. It couldn’t happen to a nicer bloke.
Now while many hate the Inter defender for his quiet words with Zinedine Zidane or tendency to employ karate kicks in lieu of tackles, none of that has ever disturbed me. What gets my goat about this man is his utter and total arrogance. He has personified the Nerazzurri’s attitude to this entire campaign, assuming they were owed titles after Calciopoli so kindly granted them two on a silver platter and that this year would be no different. Believing that Inter have absolutely dominated this season, when clearly the results show that is not the case. Insisting they were still visibly the best team when they haven’t put in a decent performance since January.
And yes, above all, his statements over the past couple of weeks clinched it for me. “It would be every Interista’s dream to win the Scudetto in the derby. As a bonus we’d stop Milan from reaching the Champions League. They’ll fight until the end, but I hope they don’t make it.” Now that was just asking for trouble. Not only was Materazzi assuming the title was in their pocket with a victory over the on-form Rossoneri, but he showed how petty and small-minded Inter still are by wishing ill on their neighbours. In all this time Milan and Juventus have never crowed in such a pathetic way over the misfortune of others.
Laughably, last week Materazzi was also sent-off in the Coppa Italia semi-final against Lazio, yet had the cojones to accuse Goran Pandev of provoking him into a two-footed tackle. “Goran really disappointed me,” he stated. “He is in Italy thanks to Inter because the club gave him his big break. The least he could do is show some respect to the colours and instead he just kept shouting serious insults and trying to provoke us by saying that he hoped we lost the Scudetto.” Yes, how terrible of Pandev to say such a thing when you did exactly the same towards Milan four days earlier. For shame!
And finally, Materazzi deserves it all because of his total arrogance in grabbing that penalty kick off designated taker Julio Cruz. Doesn’t that show everything about Inter’s problems? They are not a team, they are a group of individuals all clamouring to get the golden goal that will be remembered for winning the title. You have to win games first, then think about solo glory. It’s a lesson the Nerazzurri, epitomised by Matrix, seem to have forgotten.
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Yet another great article by Susy. I enjoy reading what you have to say, and agree with your views. Inter are fast bringing hatred upon themselves due to their arrogance and lack of team spirit. Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to see them lose at Parma, and Roma snatch the title!! Forza Susy!
NoseyNicky
It's funny to read all the comments criticizing Susy for her article, but it's clear they are all blind Interistas. Everything she wrote is dead on, the Gazzetta dello Sport wrote a similar article about Materazzi this morning. Nerazzurri fans need to learn at the very least to deal with the criticism they get. It's obvious any team that is domestically dominant is going to attract criticism, be it Inter, Juve, or Milan.
Alessio
What utter bile-filled drivel! I thought your Inter-hating blogs had reached their lowest points both in taste and quality, but you've reached previously uncharted depths with this trash. So what if Materazzi wanted to take the penalty? This can come from passion, devotion to the cause, leadership. At least the guy had the integrity to say he was wrong. Something neither Juventus or Milan had the collective courage or moral fibre to do during their recent history.
But then your blog really wasn't about Marco Materazzi, was it, Susy ? It was just an excuse for another ill-conceived, badly written rant about your least favourite club. You live in a topsy-turvy world where cheating should be rewarded with league titles. Where verbal provocation should be dealt with by acts of violence and brutal assault. And along came another chance for you to spout your garbage.
In your world it’s Inter who should feel guilty for accepting the title awarded to them despite the fact that they probably would have won at least one on the field, probably more had the game been straight. The shame that has been brought on Italy's national sport by Juventus and others shall echo for decades, but it doesn't seem wrong in Susy's world. Never has, never will. You'd just rather ignore the suggestion of it and berate Inter at every turn.
Mark, Carnmoney
As a Juve fan I was delighted with the weekend's proceedings, esp with Del Piero edging on the Capocannoniere title. While I despise Materazzi for some of his atrocious tackles - lest anyone forget the treatment Ibra received while at Juve, he was instrumental in the World Cup and demonstrated the spirit of a Champion! To his peril he does not do it often enough to genuinely merit that term and what with his rash challenges, awful decision-making skills, and mistaking arrogance for a firm but fair approach to defending... hardly qualifying him as a 'nice bloke'!
While it is fair to say that Inter are not the only ones in conjuring up snide remarks about the opposition - I'm thinking of Totti who can never keep his big mouth shut and the wretched Moggi who frankly has no place in football solely on the basis of his less than dignified attempts to get back into the business – some of the Interesti seem rather misguided. The siege mentality seems to have clouded their judgement while accusing Susy’s of lack of it. So Juve exploiting legal loopholes to gain a third star makes them arrogant! Really? On the other hand, holier than thou Inter taking a title not earned on the pitch - at the back of a not entirely convincing Calciopoli trial, with no grace whatsoever to refuse it and claiming sort of a birthright on the past titles? Well, that's an objective and fair Inter fan for you! I just hope the individual brilliance of Juve’s protagonists continues to shine through as they work at their targets as a team! Juve forever!!!
Jitendra, London
This is a very biased article, I think Susy Campanale is an Inter hater. Materazzi is as good as it gets when it comes to one of the best defenders in the world, even his goal scoring ability, with 10 goals in one season, I don’t think any other defender did that. Not only that, he actually played a brilliant game against Siena, except for the penalty, and if I am not wrong, Materazzi has always taken penalties for Inter and even Italy, and this was his first miss, so why do you criticise him so badly, even ROBERTO BAGGIO THE LEGEND missed a penalty for ITALY at the WORLD CUP! So people make mistakes, and yes maybe he wasn’t supposed to take the penalty, but that’s just life. If you think Materazzi only thinks about himself, you are wrong, I believe all he would want to do is score that goal to win the Scudetto, and it shows how much he LOVES and SUPPORTS INTER. I don’t think it’s wrong for Materazzi to not want Milan to qualify for the Champions League, because as a true Interista, of course it would be the best thing to see your rivals not being able to achieve a Champions League spot or anything for that matter.
If Susy wants to talk about being small minded and arrogant, don’t look to far, look at what Ambrosini did... or maybe look at Juventus who cheated. Inter deserved those titles that were stripped from Juventus, because they didn’t ask for a "helping hand" from the officials. Or maybe Susy thinks it’s OK to do such thing.
AMRit
Your blog should be posted in either a Milan or Juventus website! Perhaps you should look at whether or not you deserve to be called as a journalist! You are merely a Juve/Milan desperate fan.
Aputz
Great article Susy. Materazzi's behaviour and attitude is the embodiment of Inter as a club. Materazzi may forget that his club too were involved in scandals(Recoba's fake passport and falsifying accounting records). The truth of the matter is that unlike Milan and Juventus, Inter do not have that champion class. When they are on top, they spit on everyone below them, and when they are not they curse everyone above them. If you look at what Elkann from Juventus said, he said he wishes Inter luck in their bid to win the Scudetto. That's class.
Abdel
I really do feel sorry for you Campanale. Your hate for Inter has really blinded you. You turn into this obsessive person who keeps writing more and more negative stuff about Inter while at the same time conveniently forgetting that Inter do have a positive side to them and other teams are not so innocent either. Moreover, after I browsed your blog archive at this website, I am astonished to find that out of 20 or so blog entries, only one -the one about Alexandre Pato- that doesn't have a negative undertone or contained some backhanded compliments to it. Only a completely miserable person is capable of such a thing. Life is such a precious thing to be wasted on hating, especially on a football club that doesn't even know that you exist. Don't you have some other things going in your life that you can you feel good about?
Henry
Materazzi makes himself so easy to despise it’s frightening. He was arrogant to presume he should adopt penalty duties, no question. As usual he was all over the opposition at set pieces, the penalty was typical of two guys equally at fault. If you can’t take it then don’t give it. Always the first to moan at every decision, his reputation precedes him with referees- why he was sent off (ridiculously harshly granted) against Liverpool. His media performance always infuriates also! Inter made the most of Calciopoli and even now have nothing on the Juventus or Milan teams of a few years ago. I'll be behind him with everything at the Euro Champs but he's a difficult man to support as a neutral fan.
Neil, Glasgow
I want to thank you Susy for the honest words that any football fan (except Inter fans) would applaud. Thank you, Susy, great blog.
Assaf
Another impartial Susy Campanale blog. You write complete drivel about Inter constantly. I wonder exactly what team you actually support, Juve, Milan? Or is it you don’t actually follow a team, you just despise Inter?
Inter may have been arrogant this season, but so have Juve and even Milan. Juve spouted at the start that they were going to win the Scudetto and even just last week showed complete arrogance with regard to the stars above the crest for every 10 Scudetti. Putting a third star when you cheated to obtain two of those Scudetti shows complete arrogance and lack of respect for fair play.
And Milan obviously thought that other competitions were more important than Serie A this season, such as the Club World Cup and the Champions League, otherwise they would not be in the current situation of not qualifying. You don't zone in on either of these clubs’ arrogance, yet you pick on Materazzi and Inter. This just furthers my opinion that your spitefulness knows no bounds.
Daniel
I've always wondered why Marco has to behave like this, he says the most outlandish and unusual things and you are correct, why do Inter feel like they are owed anything? They must understand that they have to show the quality needed to win the Scudetto. It’s not about hurling insults at everyone else, Marco personifies a bitter Inter. This situation couldn't have come at a better time, this Inter will collapse and it is all down to their poor attitude as a club. Marco does deserve it.
Simon
Why all this now? After all he was the one who earned that penalty, so why shouldn't he take it considering he's one of the best defenders out there when it comes to penalties? Materazzi is still a top defender, that's why he plays for the Azzurri, but luckily he missed it yesterday as Inter deserve no glory.
Erik
With all my respect to the crew of Channel 4, and for Susy Campanale - and there is a lot of respect - I wonder if Susy Campanale wrote the same stuff about the "legend" Ambrosini when he stated in front of the whole world with the signboard for Inter that says to stick the Scudetto in their backside. I am 10000% sure that you didn’t. Anyway Materazzi was wrong - he missed a penalty that he shouldn't have taken, except that he did have a wonderful game. Regards, and keep going.
Ze Elias
The article below was the worst ever and one written from a Juventus or a Milan heart does not belong in journalism. Firstly the article is not true because for three months you could read quotes from Milan players who wished that Inter would drop points, and I will not even comment what Mexes said before the Lazio derby. I'm not a Interista but I love Italy and this article is directed to the whole Inter team and the headline is Materazzi? What about Materazzi’s honours - World Cup winner, top defensive scorer in the history of Italian football with 10 goals? Please I love your page but journalism should provoke and not insult. It belongs to an anti-Inter or Materazzi page.
Lalle
Whilst I have to, in the main, agree with much of what Susy has to say on this occasion, she lets herself down by commenting that “it couldn’t happen to a nicer bloke.” Whilst his arrogance is undoubted, she must surely agree that, generally speaking, it’s a common trait in successful players and that people in the game, who know a lot more than she does about football, would say it’s also a necessary one too. And to insinuate that Inter were not “owed” titles after Calciopoli is to condone cheating. Finally, she insults our intelligence by remarking that Marco’s comments regarding the derby are what everyone at the Meazza believes – in reality, I’m sure most of the club would have liked to distance themselves from those comments. Like I’ve already said Susy, you’ve summed up yesterdays events pretty well, but please keep it real.
Gavin, Glasgow.
This is the most stupid thing I have ever read. Yes it is stupid to take the penalty kick when it was meant to be Cruz, but the things he said about Milan only show what a big Inter fan he is! Every fan around the world would love to see Milan fail to reach the Champions League. I can't take you seriously when you say Inter is a group of individuals, that is just stupid to say that. I feel sorry for you, clearly you are a Inter hater. FORZA NERAZZURRI
Rasmus
It’s not even worth replying to this twisted female or male’s blogs anymore…You can’t even say she’s lost it because she never had it to begin with. I’m actually starting to think he or she secretly loves Inter…Just as in school, when a guy likes a girl but doesn’t want to make it obvious, he says certain things which contradict his true feelings…Susy am I right???
Interista, Dubai
It's a shame that somebody like Susy Campanale writes such a terrible things about Inter. If she hates Inter then she shouldn't write anything about them, because she isn't objective. She just has to shut up. I can't stand it anymore.
Paolo
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