Marco Materazzi thinks Italians should show him more respect for what he did at the 2006 World Cup.
The World Cup winner was on the end of the headbutt that got Zinedine Zidane sent off in the final after scoring the equaliser to cancel out the Frenchman's opener.
"Zidane was defended by the French but I was killed by my compatriots," Materazzi said on social media.
"To me, they're not true Italians. I've always defended Italy's colours.
"Their criticism is what hurt me the most.
"They should have kissed the ground I walked on because I scored the equalising goal."
Discussing what provoked the reaction from Zidane, Materazzi played down the comments he made.
"I said some stupid things that shouldn't have provoked such a reaction," Materazzi said.
"On any pitch in Rome, Naples, Milan or Paris you hear much worse things.
"I spoke about his sister, not his mother as some newspapers reported.
"My mother died when I was 15, so I never would have gone so low."