Jul 10, 2006, 12:11 GMT
Berlin - Andrea Pirlo, Italy's man of the match in their penalty shootout victory over France in the World Cup finals in Berlin Sunday, said afterward that it would take time for the reality of his side's achievement to sink in.
'It's an indescribable joy. It hasn't registered with us that we are world champions,' he said.
The midfielder also said his team had watched the incident involving Zinedine Zidane, where the Frenchman was sent off in extra time for headbutting Marco Materazzi in the chest.
'We watched the reply. It was a very strong blow to his chest and the referee picked up on it,' said Pirlo.
'I don't know why he did it. It was an instinctive action. Maybe he was tired,' he said.
'He's still a great champion. Unfortunately he did something wrong.'
Pirlo concluded by saying he was happy that Italy had finally prevailed in a penalty shootout after going out in three of the last four World Cups in this way.
'In the penalty shootout, it's a lottery. Sometimes you win sometimes you lose. This time we were better,' he said.
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