Inter Milan Vice-President Javier Zanetti would ideally like to avoid Real Madrid in the upcoming Champions League final.

Speaking to Italian broadcaster Sky Sport Italia, via FCInterNews, the Nerzzurri Vice-President named Los Blancos as a team he wouldn’t want to face, due to their incredible pedigree in Europe’s top club competition.

Now Inter can officially start thinking about who they might face in the Champions League final.

The Nerazzurri dispatched city rivals AC Milan to book their spot in the final in Istanbul next month.

Inter won’t have to wait too long to see who they’ll face. Tomorrow, Manchester City host Real Madrid in the other semifinal second leg. That tie is balanced on a knife’s edge after a 1-1 draw in the first leg at the Bernabeu.

Inter Vice-President Javier Zanetti: Hope To Avoid Real Madrid

Asked who he hopes wins the other semifinal, Zanetti replied “Difficult to say, but I’d like to avoid Real Madrid, since at the moment this competition seems made for them.”

“But the most important thing is that we got there,” he continued. “It was a difficult path for us, a derby in the semifinal isn’t easy.”

“I had to be on the losing side in 2003,” Zanetti noted, looking back to losing in a semifinal as a player.

He went on that “I’m very happy for Lautaro, each season with us he’s grown.”

“He’s a point of reference for the team,” Zanetti noted of his countryman. “We keep him close because he’s incredibly important to us.”

Asked whether he expects Inter will hold onto Lautaro Martinez, who’s been the subject of transfer rumours, Zanetti replied “Yes, for now.”

“Then we’ll see,” he continued. “Let’s enjoy this win.”

“But he’s happy here,” the Inter Vice-President said of Martinez. “He’s found his home.”

“He’s happy in Milan and I hope he’ll be happy for a long while.”

Asked if he can still recall the group stage draw, when the Nerazzurri were paired with Barcelona and Bayern Munich, Zanetti said “Of course. It was tough.”

“We did something incredible,” he said of getting out of that “group of death.”

“The biggest congratulations go to the team and the coach,” Zanetti observed. “They knew how to react in the difficult moments.”

“He didn’t talk much, and showed they’re worthy of the final.”