(MLSsoccer.com)

Born in France, Antoine Hoppenot — naturally — is a fan of the French national team.

So it only seemed apropos that one of Hoppenot’s first thoughts, upon hitting the turf last weekend after enduring a headbutt from Montreal’s Nelson Rivas, was a moment from the 2006 World Cup — a moment no fan of the French national team will ever forget.

That was when France’s Zinedine Zidane was sent off in the World Cup final for headbutting Italy’s Marco Materazzi in the chest. Italy eventually took down France to win the crown.

“The whole Zidane thing, yeah, there were a lot of references to the Zidane thing,” Hoppenot said. “But in this situation, I’m Materazzi, which is not really the guy I want to be. It’s funny.”

Despite the broken nose, Hoppenot should be good to go for Sunday's home match with Chicago, Union manager John Hackworth said.