Esteban Cambiasso unburdens his heart. From his debut in the Champions League with Inter to the most important moments in his career. Cuchu talks openly about the meetings and events that proves his love for Inter. His contract expires in 2014 and there is talk of a possible extension with a lower salary, but he makes it clear that he wants to stay at Inter. All this and much more, the Argentine talks about in a long interview with an Argentine newspaper.

Massimo Moratti has a penchant for the Argentines, doesn’t he?

“I think that the Argentine players, in general, are highly regarded in Italy. Inter has a unique history with Argentines from Helenio Herrera who was coach of ‘La Grande Inter’. Over time, perhaps this Inter will be the second ‘Grande Inter ‘. When Herrera was the coach of Inter there was Angelo Moratti, the father of Massimo who was then 18 years old and grew up with a team that was coached by an Argentine. It influenced him. It has also been crucial that Zanetti was the first acquisition under his direction. If Pupi had done badly it would have been difficult for the Argentines who came after. Then I think that it is thanks to all of us, we are small ambassadors for our country.”

How is Moratti in everyday life? Does he talk to the players?

“He’s with the team during training once per week. He either watches the training or eats with the team. He is very close to the team and is always trying to be present, especially when you have problems that are not related to football. The thing that has impressed me the most is his humility, something that is rare in this environment. Especially considering that he is not only the President but also the club’s owner. The humility you see is what makes sure he has the authority and he never abuses it. He always talks highly of you. He gets angry, just like everyone else, but I’ve never seen him be disrespectful to anyone.”

Do you have any idea when you will stop playing?

“Nowadays, I put no time limits, you have to see how it feels, what options you have, if it serves any purpose and then make an evaluation.”

Is it in your plans to return to Argentina?

“You never know. It’s not something I have planned, I have one and a half years left of my contract with Inter, but football is always changing.”

If it were up to you, which team would you play from now until the end of his career?

“Inter.”

Looking to carry on the legacy of Zanettis?

“It is more likely that Pupi retires after me. Players come and go, and he continues to play for Inter (laughs).”

How do you explain Zanettis physics?

“It is supernatural. The most surprising thing is not how much he runs during matches and training sessions, it’s a lot, but how quickly he recovers. Those who study these things can confirm that he is second to none in this area.”

What do you think of Palacio?

“Rodrigo is a complete player who reads the game like few other attackers. He likes to play on the edge of offside, always looking for empty spaces when he is without the ball and scores a lot of goals. He is also generous, he does not hesitate to make an assist when he can score goals,  it is a characteristic that I like in football. Palacio is one of the best strikers I’ve ever played with.”

Is it true that Juve are favored by the referees?

“Today, these are rumors and nothing else. On other occasions it happened, however, and it has been proven in court. It is a chapter in Italian football history, which fortunately is over. Now everybody is complaining because the big teams gets penalties, but the big teams are more often in the opponents’ penalty areas than others, so there are more chances to get penalties than for those who never attack.”

What made you stay with Inter for so many years?

“Sometimes situations are created. I came here with the challenge of achieving significant results, something lacking at the club. Aside from last season we have always won at least one title and sometimes even more, like we did during the season of the treble, during the seven previous years. Achieving result gives you satisfaction and here I feel very good and I am very happy.”

When you met Barcelona at Camp Nou, were you only thinking about defending?

“These knockout matches lasts for 180 minutes and here Inter scored three goals on Barcelona, and we scored them when we were losing. Until then, no team had scored three goals against Guardiola’s Barcelona, no team had turned a match that way. In the second leg many things happened, but I repeat what I said earlier: these matches last 180 minutes. If someone just wants to analyze one half is another matter.”

Will we see you at the World Cup in 2014 or is it impossible?

“Impossible I don’t think it is, I play with a team like Inter. If I still maintain a good level, it is certainly possible. It is not strange that Sabella tries to form a group and I’m glad things are going well. If I’m not a player in the Selecciòn, I will be a supporter. Sabella has been here twice to look at players and we talked.”

The saddest and happiest days of your career?

“The saddest day, when we were knocked out against Germany in 2006. The happiest, the day after we won the Champions with Inter and thus also the treble. On May 22, we won the Champions, on May 23, my brother qualified for the Argentine first division with All Boys.”

Your best friends in football?

“Okay, my ‘brothers’ Milito, Pupi, Ariel Montenegro, Diego Forlan, Mariano Pernia and others that I can’t remember at the moment.”

The three best players you have met on a football field?

“Messi, Zidane, and then all the others.”

The most difficult opponent to mark?

“Kakà. It could seem that he came at you with a constant speed and then he fooled you by accelerating.”

Who would you vote for in the Ballon d’Or?

“After Milito was not included among the finalists in 2010 Ballon d’Or it lost credibility in my opinion. The one who decides the Champions with two goals, wins the treble and scores in all finals deserves to at least be among the three finalists.”

We change the question: who are the three best footballers in the world right now?

“Messi, then the others far behind.”

What is the best and the worst with Mourinho?

“The best thing is to have him on your side. The worst is to meet him. If you meet him, you will suffer. It is difficult to say what is the best he has since today’s coaches have to know many things to introduce their own style.”

Does Mourinho squeeze out the teams physically and mentally? And when he leaves they collapse…

“I think it’s normal with a decline the year after you have won everything. This is because you are expected to win it all again and have less energy. This is not a discussion that only applies to Mourinho but all coaches. Barcelona, for example, which is the best team in history, could not win two Champions in a row under Guardiola. It is difficult to get continuity with the results, apart from Mourinho. We won the treble, the fourth consecutive Scudetto, and it is normal for a team that has won everything to have a downturn.”

But it is said that Mourinho squeezes teams to the extent that they then have a period of decline…

“They say a lot of things… If Mourinho is not ‘squeezed’ us during the first season, we would not have won anything the second. For the kind of conditions he requires as a coach, it is difficult to maintain the same conditions for the coaches who come after.”

Have you seen some qualities in Mourinho that you have not seen in the other coaches?

“Above all, the conviction and the work, which are the most important things in football. With Mourinho there were no trainings that were not with the ball. He believed in specific workouts for each player depending on his position on the pitch. If you come from a pre-season when you have been running for miles on the pitch and suddenly get a coach who does everything on the pitch, it is obvious that there is a difference. It had never happened to me before and I liked it, of course, because it was an extra motivation for the player. It is important, for Mourinho, that a team assimilates quickly and well to perform with intensity. Intensity is one of his cornerstones.”

Is he as unsympathetic as he seems to outsiders?

“A coach who confronts when he must confront is not unsympathetic. Otherwise wouldn’t nearly every player he had speak so highly of him. In this regard, he has good support.”

Have you ever talked with Guardiola?

“I’ve only spoken to him in passing, but unfortunately we have never talked.”

The best coach you ever had?

“I choose three, the ones that made me begin: Ramon Maddoni, Luis Andretto and Oscar Refojos.”

And the worst?

“There are none. A coach’s secret is knowing how to communicate his ideas. It very much depends on the moment you are in and what moment the team is in. It is difficult, it is necessary to understand: there are 25 different heads.”

And have you ever had discussions with a coach?

“Some discussions, yes, but the exchange between two people who think differently. I’ve had these, but not because of I have been excluded or because I have been substituted. With whom? No, I keep that to myself. I am like the players in the seventies.”

What does it mean to you to be the Argentine player who has won the most titles in history?

“It’s an honor, a great satisfaction. Especially in a country like ours, with many players who made history and won so much. But I had not counted them until I was informed about this record. But it’s a record that will be passed, in the end Leo Messi will have more titles than me. It is no wonder, he’s the best.”

If you had to pick a podium of the 23 titles you have won?

“Without awarding bronze, silver and gold, I would say U-20 World Cup in Malaysia, as it started my career, Coppa Intercontinentale with Real Madrid and Champions with Inter because it is the culmination of everything you can win here. Also because Inter won it again after 45 years.”

What is the stadium that impressed you the most?

“I’ve been lucky enough to play for the two European teams that have the stadiums that according to me seems to be the best: the San Siro and the Bernabeu. They are the ones who have had the greatest impact on me. These are stadiums that are made only for football, without running tracks and stands closer to the pitch.”

Between Argentina, Spain and Italy, which is the most beautiful derby you have played?

“Real-Barcelona is followed by the media in a way unlike anything else. But for the fans and the atmosphere, the most beautiful is Inter-Milan and in Argentina. When you lose a derby in Europe, it may mean that you lose the league because these are great teams at the top of the tables.”

Why are you bald?

“I was bald for the first time in 2002, when we won the league with River. Then I grew my hair back and I was bald again in 2007, when we won the first Scudetto with Inter on the pitch. Then I have, for convenience, continued to be bald.”

After a career of many years, what is your position?

“I define myself as a player who always played for the team. I’ve never played where I want but where the coach puts me. But see how things are: in Argentina I am regarded as an offensive midfielder, whilst in Italy I am considered to be one of the most tactical players in the league. This means that you pay attention defensively when the team attacks and that you help out in attack when there is less offensive potential. Usually, I happen to play for teams with great offensive emphasis. Anyway, I like best to be more in the middle of the pitch. I have the pitch in front of me, I can use my vision for the game. At the wings, I have limited resources, speed is not my forte.”

In which positions have you never played?

“Goalkeeper and striker. Though I in some games, when the team was below, have ended matches playing as a striker. In reality, I have played a part of a striker which can be seen in some of the goals I have scored. In midfield, I have played in all positions, I have been center-back in a defense of three or four players. I have also played on the wings, right and left. At Argentinos I played as a left central defender then they moved me to midfield.”

So, therefore, you don’t agree with Borghi who said: “The one who is versatile is the one who plays bad everywhere.”

“Everyone has their own opinion. It is important to know how to play and I think the one who knows how to play performs better in different positions. It is normal that there are things that you can do better, but in today’s football a team’s formation can change two or three times per game, and if you do not play more than one position, it makes it more difficult for the team.”

With Inter, you have only received 27 yellow cards in 371 matches, no red card. In practice, one yellow card every fourteenth game. Why so few cards given that you play on such a delicate position?

“From the boys team, to the youth team and the first team, I have been sent off three times. Twice with Independiente, once with the Selecciòn. I always try to see if I can reach the ball or not. If I can, I go into situations . If not, I do not go in just to do it, I will not go. Unless you are sure that you will reach the ball, you have everything to lose.”

For a midfielder you score many goals, a curious fact.

“Usually, I try to keep up with attacks to the end. Due to this I have scored many goals on rebounds. I never give up in situations in either defense or offense, not when our goalie saves either.”

And your celebration? It seems that you give your life for each goal.

“As a midfielder, I think a lot about the balance of the team. So almost always when I score the team is about to lose, or draw. Whenever we are in the lead and I score I generally cheer less. But for those who live with football as a passion, how you can not be happy? I celebrate and I do it with my soul and my life.”

Is it true that you did not like football in the beginning?

“There are people who like other sports (Laughs) It was the first impact, because my family had played basketball and I lived practically in a basketball club. If you are born into a riding club because your dad is there all day, it more likely that you like horses than dogs, that is how it was for me. I was born into a basketball club and thought it was my sport. I had a great passion for basketball, my parents preferred that I played basketball instead of football. I had to choose when Argentinos youth team played their matches on Sunday mornings, the same time as the basketball games. Now I like football the most, it is my life, but I also like basketball and tennis. it would be presumptuous to say that I could have had a significant career even in basketball, but I can say that when I finished, I was better at basketball than football, they advised me not to leave it.”

What did you learn from basketball?

“Probably the overall vision, the overview. As a point guard you must be able to be in control of your teammates. Then also the  coordination to jump.”

You were born in Villa de Parque in Buenos Aires. How was it growing up in this neighborhood?

“Strong and healthy, team sport teaches everything. For this reason, I, along with Pupi founded a football school in Italy (Leoni di Potrero ed.), A nonprofit organization to carry this spirit forward. The team of life gives you a membership and a safe place.”

Is that why you have founded in the Leoni di Potrero?

“Yes, it is an idea that I got when I and Pupi spoke during one of many ‘asados’ with the family. We wanted to recreate the atmosphere of a team, this spirit. It is a project that has lasted five years, and 200 children have passed through it. It is a pleasure for us to see the kids grow up well. It got its name because we were both born in the sign of the Leo, while Potrero has to do with our Argentinean background. Occasionally I and Pupi make surprise visits when we can.”

Which team did you cheer for as a child and who was your idol?

“I cheered for Argentinos Juniors and at that time Fernando Redondo was an inevitable role model. I was fortunate enough to get to know him when I was on holiday in Argentina. My coach, Carlos Balcazar, said to me, ‘you have to get to know a person.’ I had his poster in the room and I was his supporter. I was curious. Then I was bought by Real Madrid and did a pre-season with Fernando and the other sacred giants in Real.”

You play many matches per season, what is your secret?

“It is that I live for this. All activities that I do on the side, whether I’m working or traveling, I try to make sure they do not affect me at all. I know it’s a short career. Eating well is important. At the rate we are going, it’s almost more important to eat well and sleep than to train. Alcohol is banned and I do not like it either. Also, I drink few drinks that are not water.”

What does it mean for you that you got to scored the ‘the goal of 25 passes’ in the 2006 World Cup?

“It’s one of the best goals of my career. I came from a couple of difficult days, the first match against Ivory Coast was tough. Of the eleven who started the first game, I was the only one who was in the starting line-up for the following. Since Lucho Gonzales had had the misfortune to get injured and I had to play at a position that was unusual for me, right midfield. Such is fate and I got this reward in the most unexpected of moments.”

Were you surprised that you were not called up by Maradona for the 2010 World Cup after winning the Champions League with Inter?

“There was nothing strange about it considering what had happened before, since I only had been called once during Maradona’s management. I never talked to Maradona, either before or after the World Cup. But I do not think the coaches should call you to say yes or no. If I met Maradona today in an elevator? I would greet him. Why would not I be able to greet him when he has not done anything to me.”

Messi is better than Maradona?

“There is no way of knowing because he exceeds all possible and imaginable limits. He plays 60 games per year and it would be strange if he had not scored two goals in any game. Messi has everything it takes to be the best in history, today it difficult to compare the two because one has retired and the other has not. Similarly, in two or three years, Zanetti will be the most symbolic person in Inter’s history.”

Source: fcinternews.it