“All I will say is right from my first training session and match, I’ll try to give everything so Inter can achieve the success a big club like this warrants and strives for. Let’s hope we succeed because that’s the challenge we prepare to face.” That was how Esteban Cambiasso introduced himself upon his arrival at Inter from Buenos Aires in 2004.
“I’ve known ‘El Cuchu’ for ages and I’ve had some great times with him. One of his main attributes is his ability to be ready at all times.” That was the seal of approval from Javier Zanetti, a view shared by Roberto Mancini: “He was an important player both on and off the pitch because of his experience.”
Inter Legends, a show broadcast last night on Inter Channel, looked back over the former Nerazzurri midfielder’s time at the club. His performances on a weekly basis eventually earned him the “legend” tag. Cambiasso signed for Inter in the summer of 2004 and it only took him a couple of matches to boss the midfield. He made 430 appearances over 10 seasons, winning five league titles, four Coppa Italias, four Italian Super Cups, the Champions League and the Club World Cup.
After his memories of Argentina and his first spell in Europe at Real Madrid, we come to his time at Inter: “There were lots of good players, I worked patiently and in the end I managed to have a good career here.” Juan Sebastian Veron and Cambiasso became the first-choice central midfield pairing and the latter scored his first goal against Roma on 3 October 2014: “We had some wonderful games over the years, they were always entertaining matches full of goals. We met many times in the league and cups but my greatest memory remains the Coppa Italia final at San Siro.
“The best trophy wins were from the year we won the treble. Everyone remembers that night in Madrid. But perhaps the most important ones were the Coppa Italia wins in 2004/05 and 2005/06, the start of our spell of dominance.”
The World Cup and Calciopoli hogged the headlines in the summer of 2006 but ironically they just put more pressure on Inter, who simply had to win: “It was a strange, awkward and difficult period. When you play for Inter there never comes a time when you’re not under pressure. Winning that title on the pitch, remembering Giacinto [Facchetti], made me happy even though I had tears in my eyes when I celebrated.”
His highlight in Serie A came in the derby on 23 December 2007. Inter fell behind to a free-kick before responding, and it was Cambiasso who gave them the lead: “I was so happy. That was proof that what matters in football is hitting the target, then anything can happen.”
The most hard-fought title was secured at Parma, a match Esteban watched from the bench having picked up an injury in the last few minutes against Siena: “During the course of a season, there comes a time when things don’t go well. If it happens a few games from the end, things start to go wrong. Thankfully in the end we were able to respond and I think that one was the most hard fought, along with the Scudetto the year we won the treble.”
The following season, Jose Mourinho took over at Inter: “He tried to give the players confidence, which is essential. I played at centre back too and I did so because of that. I trained at centre back during pre-season and I was lucky to have team-mates alongside me like Ivan [Cordoba], Marco [Materazzi] and Walter [Samuel] who helped me a great deal. Mourinho is a leader be it in football, the kitchen or a company. He has the ability to convince you that you can achieve any goal.”
After three consecutive exits at the last 16 stage of the Champions League, Inter met Chelsea at San Siro in 2010. Diego Milito scored before Salomon Kalou equalised: “The Meazza was full and everyone that had experienced the exits thought it was a case of ‘Here we go again.’ Instead the goal was an amazing feeling, one of the biggest of my career.”
Up next was Barcelona, who had won the Champions League the previous year and would win it again the following season: “I must admit, I struggle to believe it myself. The first leg was a great win but it didn’t mean anything at that stage. The idea that they could come back in the second leg gave us added strength.”
Then it was off to Madrid for the final act, a stadium Esteban knew well: “My family were there, as were the friends I’d known since I moved to Spain aged 15. We went there in the knowledge that the final had to be ours.”
In the celebrations, Cambiasso wore Giacinto’s number 3 shirt: “In the weeks building up to the Siena game, I had asked Gianfelice for his shirt because I wanted to celebrate the Scudetto with him and that was the only way. I didn’t want to repeat the tribute three years on but as I came down from the podium with my winner’s medal, Giacinto’s son Luca gave it to me and told me: ‘You have to wear it tonight.'”
Source: inter.it
