This year Inter’s talismanic captain Javier Zanetti will turn 40. Gazzetta dello Sport made an exclusive in-depth interview with the captain, which you can read in its entirety here on SempreInter.com:
Cavalese towards the end of June 1995, not even 22 years old but already called Pupi. You join Inter’s pre-season camp together the hyped Rambert and a plastic bag in hand. What was in the plastic bag?
“A pair of football-boots which I brought with me from Argentina, that’s all I had with me.”
How many pairs of football-boots do you own now?
“We can say that I own more than one pair.”
Do you know what happened to Rambert?
“Last year he was an assistant manager to Ramon Diaz who is currently at River with his child, I don’t know what Rambert is doing today.”
What did you do when you turned 18, do you remember?
“I had a barbeque-party at home with my friends. I didn’t train that day, it’s one of teh few days in my life as a footballer when I didn’t train.”
40 years of age, what does this age mean to you now and how did you imagine this age when you were younger?
“I only started thinking about it not so long ago and I think it will be a fantastic moment, I will have 3 children who will celebrate with me and we will be in Como that my wife describes as ‘our haven in the world’. I will also be happy because I will still be playing for Inter too.”
So it’s a done deal, you will continue to play for one more year?
“That’s my intention and I think that it’s also Inter’s intention, everything is pointing in that direction.”
When did you decide?
“It wasn’t a decision that was amde over night, but it was something that came to be when we won 10 matches in a row. I ask myself often: “But why shouldn’t I continue to play if I feel that I help the team when I play?”
Isn’t 40 years maybe one too many years to continue to play?
“It’s a lot of years but not too many if you feel good and useful.”
So the sign with your name on the door to your office at Inter’s headoffices won’t be needed until 2014?
“There is no sign ready and if there was to be one I think the office would be at La Pinetina. I will do something, I want do be as close to the team as possible and maybe represent the team in certain issues. There is a risk that maybe Figo and I will tackle eachother.”
Is a Vice-President close enough to the team?
“I don’t know, this question is one you should ask Moratti.”
But you’re one of the people that he talks to the most?
“We speak far less often than you would think, it happens that he comes up to La Pinetina or if I have to speak to him beacause of something private or on behalf of the team. But it’s not written anywhere that a captain has to speak all day with the President or give him transfer-market advice.”
Surely sometime this must have occured….
“I have given my opinion about a few players, especially when it comes to my fellow countrymen, but this has happened far less often than most people think.”
Is Alvarez on your conscience?
“If you ask me Ricky hasn’t disappointed anyone, he’s had trouble in finding continuity due to fitness issues. If he had been able to play 10 matches in a row then we would have said something completely different about him today. Unfortunately he has injured himself often, but I wouldn’t say he’s weak physically, he always wants the ball and even if San Siro is a difficult ground to play at he has never been afraid of continuing to ask for chances to play it it.”
Do you think a change of setting could help him?
“I think he will be with us until the end of January, then everything will be summed up come the end of the season.”
Let’s go back to your own thoughts and let’s imagine if you were to be asked what your feelings are regarding a potential sale of Balotelli, did Inter make the correct decision in selling him?
“No-one has ever discussed Mario’s ability, only his behaviour. Something that hasn’t changed to much since he left Inter. This wasn’t due to anything on our part and I don’t know if we can still say that we didn’t understand him or help him enough when he was at Inter.”
So you speak to Moratti from time to time, but what about Stramaccioni?
“We speak very much, as much as with Leonardo who was a friend for a long time even long before he came to Inter. These are the two managers that I have spoken to the most even though I did speak quite often with Mourinho. I had a very close relationship with Simoni although it wasn’t based on that much continous dialoague.”
What does Stramaccioni have in common with Simoni, Mourinho and Leonardo?
“With Simoni he has in common the will to build a very unified group and aid it to grow, with Mourinho he has the cunningness, in a good way, in certain aspects he is several steps ahead of everyone else. With Leonardo he has the positivity to keep his hopes up even in the most difficult times.”
The night before Inter-Siena was the first time Stramaccioni said: “You’re not playing tomorrow”, was he scared?
“This hasn’t happened to me often so far in my career, I thought it would happen more often in July to be perfectly honest. But yes, he seemed quite concerned that day, you could see it in his face. I told him: “Boss, no problem.” He already knew this since I already assured him back in July that he would never have any problems with me.”
Did you also assure him that he wouldn’t regret giving you all an extended holiday period?
“Beside the fact that we were the first team to start our preparations it isn’t true that we vill play Udinese after only 4 days of training and that’s plenty because we’re not coming from 10 days of holiday, we’ve all had individual training programs and I’m positive that the group has resepcted and followed them.”
How come that you like last year haven’t decided to induce fines on those who return from the Christmas break in a poor physical condition?
“Last year I couldn’t have sworn that the majority of the group had been working well during the break, this year I can.”
Is Sneijder one of those whom you count as being part of the ‘majority of the group?’ How will this story end?
“He is the only person who can decide this, he has to speak up and be honest: if he wants to stay a sollution will be found. I told him to choose with his heart, he knows that the group has never left him on his own.”
But even if he were to decide to stay, is there a risk that is might be too late? That the past few months have left scars too deep to be healed?
“If he comes back and says to all of us: ‘Let’s look forward for the best of Inter’ then there will be no problems. But he has to be the first player to not walk around feeling concerned.”
From feelings of dissatisfaction to remorse. How come you’ve only managed to win 8 points in your last 7 matches?
“It’s definately not because we relaxed after the win in Turin, more likely it’s because how much we gave in that particular fixture togetehr with tiredness, injuries and a little bit of bad luck.”
Shall we not discuss the bans?
“I’d leave this image of us as victims but not without pointing out when we’ve been wronged. This is the third ban without having recieved a red card, Ranocchia after Cassano and Guarin, so maybe a little common sense wouldn’t hurt.”
Have you as a captain ever told your team-mates to watch what they say?
“We have already spoken about this amongst ourselves, but honestly I don’t think we are being to harsh on the referees. We know as a certainty that there are those who have behaved far more worse than we have and therefore it’s not impossible to start to imagine that certain rules only seem to apply to us. This way it’s all too much.”
Is Juventus 9 point lead to big of a lead?
“It’s a healthy advantage, but in football you never know. We have a deal, we’re only thinking in doing everything to be amongst those who play Champions League football next year and not how many points we have to gain on Juve.”
But is it such a burdon to be the Anti-Juve?
“No, not if you don’t consider yourself to be so, like none of us have done. With this advantage Juve deserve to be top of the league and if they continue like this all we can do is to lift our hats.”
Will Messi reach Maradonna if he continues on this path?
“I think he already has because the things he does he has been doing now for 3-4 years in a row. He doesn’t leave me impressed just for what he shows on the pitch, but also because I can’t say how far he can go, he doesn’t have any limits with regards to how far he can go.”
Looking at the midfieldsituation, does Inter need a midfielder? And as an Argentinian is Schelotto the man to go after seeing that Paulinho seems more and more difficult to sign?
“A midfielder would have helped us and Schelotto could be a good capture and an alternative for our wingers, also he would provide us with more of a variety in our game. To negotiate with Atalanta is probably easier than negotiating with Corinthians, also because it doesn’t seem that Paulinho is entirely convinced in joining us at the minute. It’s probably easier to speak about this in 6 months time.”
Is Rocchi a good reinforcement for the attack?
“He is an intelligent striker, especially when he runs deep at the opposition. Also he knows Italian football very well, he is the alternative that we need and I really hope that he joins us.”
Will he be needed in order to remove some of the pressure off of Milito and Palacio’s shoulders?
“I think that those 2 are the ones that have suffered the most from our recent lapse of brilliance, thorugh our loss of ability to create chances. Diego might have suffered a little bit due to fatigue becuase of the manner in which he plays his matches, it’s a player who always gives a lot. Rodrigo maybe wasn’t so used to having to play as often as he has done, he has needed some time to adapt to the weight of playing for a team like Inter.”
Can you tell us a secret that you have never told us during your stint in Italy?
“You in the media always talk about my hair and how perfect it always is, did you know that my barber for the last 18 years is a Milan-supporter named Marco?”
Swedish translation: Siavoush Fallahi Sia@sempreinter.com
English translation:Nima Tavallaey Roodsari (Nima@sempreinter.com)
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