Inter Vice-President Javier Zanetti has spoken in depth in an one-on-one interview in July’s edition of the FourFourTwo magazine.
“There were some firm rumours of Manchester United wanting to sign me during the late ’90s. I once saw Alex Ferguson in an airport while I was in England with my wife. We talked a bit about football, but I was always centered in my idea of staying with Inter, even in those complicated years, and it would have been difficult for me to go under any circumstances. It wasn’t just Manchester United, there were other big clubs as well, but my love for Inter always tipped the scales.”
“I was confident that their moment would eventually come – Zanetti continued – I would speak about it with President Moratti and my family. Being captain, I wanted to leave an important mark on the club. Yes there were hard times, but the management showed trust in the squad being built and we worked together to achieve the goals we wanted for so long. When you sign for Inter, the club makes you think that you are part of a family, like a new son.”
Zanetti then moved on to speak about former team-mate Zlatan Ibrahimovic stating “what an incredible guy he is, he has great character and he is one who makes the difference. His 3 years with us were spectacular and filled with trophies but the thing I can never forget happened once during training. The ball was in the air and he raised his foot over the head of a teammate disposessing him off the ball with the most delicate of touches I have ever seen. He knew Taekwondo or something similar and for this reason you can’t be surprised by his movement. If you look at his height, you might be fooled to believe that he’s not technically gifted but he is a different player, unique. We were very lucky to have in our team.”
