#InterLegends - Javier Zanetti: The Captain Among Captains

This week’s Inter legend is the captain among captains. Some players simply belong at their respective clubs such as Lahm at Bayern, Gerrard at Liverpool, or Keane at United. Javier Zanetti, much like the aforementioned names, belonged at Inter.

Zanetti led by example both on and off the pitch during his playing career and later blossomed into an ambassador of the sport as well as his beloved Inter post retirement. As spectators of the beautiful game, regardless of which club an individual may support, we can all agree on the fact that football is in a better place with someone like Javier Zanetti associated with it.

When the #InterLegends series was first conceived, Javier Zanetti was the first player that came to mind as a Nerazzurri legend. He is to Inter what Joe Montana is to the San Francisco 49ers, or Michael Jordan to the Chicago Bulls. He is the purest representation of the very best this club has ever produced. Words simply do not do justice for what Zanetti means to Inter and what Inter means to Zanetti, but occasionally, words are all that we have.

Placing all ambiguity aside and saying it as direct as possible, Javier Zanetti is Internazionale Milano. After 858 appearances (most in club history), five Scudetti, four Coppa Italias, four Supercoppas, one UEFA Cup, and a UEFA Champions League triumph in 2010 where his Nerazzurri became the only Italian club in history (at the time of this writing) to achieve the illustrious feat of completing the continental treble, Zanetti has few equals in the sport.

Zanetti entered professional football during a time of incredible growth and change. His first match for Inter was played all the way back in the summer of 1995 against Vicenza. In his 19 seasons at Inter, Zanetti had 19 different managers. To break that down even further, he had to endure 19 different philosophies in as many years. That is enough to make just about anyone pack their bags and leave on the first flight outbound.

During his time with the club, he was given a multitude of reasons to depart for greener pastures elsewhere, yet, he stayed. He stayed because as Zanetti once said himself: “Inter means a lot to me.” Can that be any easier to understand? He is and always has been a beacon of positivity. Perhaps this is why 15 of the 16 trophies that Inter won during his time as a player for the club occurred while he was wearing the captain’s armband.

When it comes to Inter, not just the team, but the club as a whole, Zanetti has seen it all. A key figure on the pitch, Zanetti was the player who made the other players around him better. He made them believe in themselves and in each other. During his captaincy at Inter he was instrumental with the shift in mindset at the club from a team that seemed hopeless at times into a team that acted as a cohesive unit with the belief that no match was over until the final whistle.

It is quite unbelievable to think about all of the players who have come through the San Siro during the past two decades that Javier Zanetti has referred to as “teammate.” Ronaldo, Christian Vieri, Diego Milito, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Samuel E’to, Luis Figo, Dejan Stankovic, and even current captain and fellow countryman Mauro Icardi, just to name a few. The one constant through all of this turnover was Zanetti himself. Unlike many of his fellow Nerazzurri through the years, Zanetti was never subdued or overtaken by his own ego. He was the contrary in fact, selfless.

Zanetti came to Inter just as the Massimo Moratti era got underway and was with the club for both of his tenures as Chairman, with Giacinto Facchetti occupying the role in between. Zanetti was a key figure in the transition of the club from Serie A mediocrity in 1995 to global football power in 2010. Zanetti’s leadership on the pitch, coupled with the managerial hires of Roberto Mancini and Jose Mourinho, propelled Inter to heights it had not experienced since the Grande Inter days of the 1960s.

Zanetti was, and is loyal, at a time when money is the universal language in the sport of football and a person’s allegiance to a particular club is often bought and paid for. He played the game the way it was meant to be played, with honor and integrity. He lives his life by those same principles.

This portrait of Zanetti could have been all about his triumphs with the Nerazzurri as a player, his standing at center-stage in 2010 and hoisting the prestigious European Cup above his head after his team’s Champions League triumph. That, however, would not be telling the true story of Javier Zanetti.

Some players are remembered for all of the wrong reasons. Cristiano Ronaldo, now a convicted tax felon, Diego Maradona a cheat and a drug addict, Luis Suarez a bad sportsman on the grandest stage. and John Terry, for more reasons than there is time to mention them all. These players will be remembered for their brash behavior, selfish acts, poor temperament, and even perhaps for “being cool” for one brief moment (After all, everyone loves a degenerate for at least a minute or two).

There are those, thankfully however, that do things the right way. History rewards these individuals with immortal status at their respective clubs, retired numbers, hall of fame inductions, and statues being built for generations of fans to observe. This is the mold of player that Javier Zanetti embodied.

Today, Zanetti is displayed on the television at almost every Inter match. There is good reason for this. He is as important now as ever as the club has transitioned from Champions League winners into a struggling, rebuilding side for much of the past decade. As 2019 begins Inter has reemerged and finds itself quietly knocking on the door of becoming a top Serie A club once again.

As the Director of football at Inter, Zanetti plays a key role in the continuous growth of the club. Every player that comes to Inter should look up into the stands at the San Siro and see the Argentinian legend as someone to model their career after. As a player, teammate, and as a man.

His versatility on the pitch as either a fullback, midfielder, or winger, has followed him into his post-playing career. In addition to his role at Inter he is also a Global Ambassador for the Special Olympics as well as the SOS Children’s Villages project in Argentina, in addition to his personal charities.

A tireless work ethic, never-say-die attitude, putting family and team before self, honor, integrity, and loyalty. These are the characteristics that best define the #InterLegend, Javier Zanetti. As previously stated, every club has it’s own icon, it’s own symbol of excellence represented by one individual from it’s own history. It is hard to deny Javier Zanetti of that distinction when speaking in terms of Inter. So, we won’t. We will leave it at this. Javier Adelmar Zanetti: he is our icon.