THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MILAN, Italy — Former Italy defender Marco Materazzi has reportedly terminated his contract with Inter Milan.
The ANSA news agency reports that Materazzi’s agent, Claudio Vigorelli, says the defender won’t stay with Inter until his contract expires at the end of next season.
The 37-year-old Materazzi will likely look to play one more year with a foreign club, and then return to Inter in a management role.
Materazzi was the recipient of Zinedine Zidane’s head butt in the 2006 World Cup final, when Italy beat France in a penalty shootout.
He joined Inter in 2001 and was used mostly as a reserve in recent seasons.
Report: England coach Fabio Capello leads list of candidates for Inter Milan position
England coach Fabio Capello could be about to make a move to Inter Milan.
With current Inter coach Leonardo negotiating for an executive position with Paris Saint-Germain, the Gazzetta dello Sport reported Monday that Capello is now the most logical choice for club president Massimo Moratti.
"I want a coach I can trust," Moratti told the Gazzetta. "We want someone with experience and charisma."
However, Moratti was hesitant to dwell on Capello, saying only, "Eh, Capello. … I don’t want to offend anyone, Italians or foreigners."
Capello’s contract with England expires after next year’s European Championship, but Moratti said he wants to appoint a new coach by the end of this week.
Moratti said he thought about Andre Villas-Boas, but was turned off by the C15 million release clause in the Portuguese manager’s contract with FC Porto.
Efforts to bring in former Argentina coach Marcelo Bielsa also failed, and Moratti said he wasn’t going after Turkey coach Guus Hiddink.
Capello’s career as a club coach before joining England was marked by success after success with high-profile clubs AC Milan, Real Madrid, Roma and Juventus.
England general manager Franco Baldini, Capello’s right-hand man, has already reportedly agreed to an executive position with Roma.
Meanwhile, Leonardo is still under contract with Inter.
"My relationship with Leo is great. He calls me each evening to tell me he still hasn’t signed (with PSG) and so he’s still Inter’s coach," Moratti said. "But I understand that he loves being in management, not coaching. He didn’t like being on the bench. It’s better this happened now rather than midway through the season."