[JetsFan2012]

this is getting ridiculous... looks like a planned reconcile between Materazzi and Zidane is in the works... how cute:

Marco Materazzi thought it would be nice if Zinedine Zidane dropped by his house and said he was sorry over a few cappuccinos.

Heck, if Zidane wanted, he could probably even bring his sister along.

What better way to put aside all the hard feelings over their little confrontation on the soccer field than a cozy tete-a-tete?

"A peace among men, without a lot of publicity," Materazzi said last week. "The door to my house will always be open for that. And if Zidane wants, he knows where to find my address."

That would likely be in Italy, which at last glance isn't all that far from France. Zidane could take the train down, enjoy a good meal, and make a day of it.

If only it were that easy. Apparently the most famous head butt in the history of sport calls for a more formal reconciliation.

File this one under silly ideas taken way too far:

Soccer king Sepp Blatter is working on a plan for the two to get together and resolve their differences in South Africa, where the 2010 World Cup is scheduled to take place. Actually, the meeting would be off the coast of South Africa on Robben Island.

If you haven't heard of Robben Island, it's never been known as a place for jolly get togethers. For the better part of four centuries, it served as a prison for political troublemakers and social outcasts of South African society.

Its most famous inmate was Nelson Mandela, who spent more than 20 years locked up in a tiny cell in the island's prison, which is now a museum.

The perfect place, it seems, for two soccer players to shake hands and maybe even exchange a hug or two.

"We are working on bringing together Zidane and Materazzi and to bring to end this story," Blatter said Monday.

That end also would be a beginning of sorts for the 2010 World Cup, which will be the first ever held in Africa. It also would serve as a thank you to the South African Parliament, which last month approved some $2 billion in spending for what is billed as the biggest sporting event in the world.

There were suggestions - denied by Blatter and others - during this summer's World Cup that FIFA was looking to move the 2010 event because of fears South Africa would not be ready. An appearance by the two famous combatants from this year's final would certainly be a morale booster for organizers.

Still, it seems like a strange spot to hold a reconciliation. The British tabloids are already having a field day with the idea, with one suggesting that Mandela serve as a referee.

"Blatter dreams of Zidane-Materazzi love island," screamed one headline.

Actually, there are a lot of reasons to continue to milk the head butt that got Zidane tossed out of the final, which Italy won on penalty kicks. Because even Americans who would rather watch the WNBA than a soccer match were captivated by the endless video replays of Zidane putting his head down and ramming into Materazzi's chest.

Anyone with an e-mail account who didn't get at least five different funny takeouts on the head butt needs to get out more. They may not know who Pele is, but they can tell you in great detail how that crazy Frenchman knocked the Italian flat with one well-placed head butt.

Materazzi finally came clean last week and revealed to a breathless world just what it was he said that provoked Zidane into attacking him. Seems Materazzi was grabbing Zidane's jersey and the French star told him:

"If you want my shirt, I will give it to you afterwards."

"I responded that I preferred his sister, it's true," Materazzi said.

As trash talking goes, it hardly approached NBA or NFL levels, where not only are sisters in play, but mothers too.

The French, however, take these kind of things a bit more seriously.

It may have cost them the World Cup, but 61 percent of the French in a recent poll said they forgave Zidane for his behavior. If anything, he is more of a national hero than before for being man enough to defend his family's honor.

At a European Championship qualifier in France last week, fans brought life-sized effigies of Zidane and chanted his name even though he was not on the field as France beat Italy in the rematch of the World Cup final.

If the two meet in South Africa, don't expect a lot of apologizing. Zidane's place in French history is secure without telling anyone he is sorry.

Materazzi, meanwhile, says he has nothing to apologize about. His trash talk was just that - trash talk.

"If anything, I owe apologies to his sister, although I swear, before all this mess, I didn't even know Zidane had a sister."