Javier Zanetti is a soccer player from Argentina whoplayed the position of defender and midfielder. Included in the list of the top 100 football players according to FIFA. Now is the vice-president of the club "Internazionale". He began his professional football career in Argentina, first at the Talleres Club and then at Banfield. In the period from 1995 to 2014, he played in the Italian club Internazionale (Milan), in which he has been captain since 2001. From 1994 to 2011, Javier Zanetti was a regular key player in the Argentina national team, for which he spent 143 matches and scored 5 goals.
Biography
Javier Zanetti was born on August 10, 1973years in the city of Buenos Aires (Argentina). He grew up and was raised in an Argentine working-class family with Italian roots. His father Rodolfo was a bricklayer, and his mother Violetta Bonnazola worked as a cleaner of premises. Javier began to play football on the field in the suburbs of the city.
Since 1982, the guy played in the youth clubIndependiente, in which he was later rejected, saying that there is not enough physical strength for productive work. After the refusal received, the young man concentrated on studying at school, and in his free time he worked as an assistant to his father in the stone workshop. In the biography of Zanetti, it is also noted that he worked as a milk supplier and a grocery store seller. In 1991, the ambition of the guy won, and he was accepted into the youth team "Talierres".
In 1995, Javier Zanetti signed a contract withItalian Interom. At the same time, his compatriot Sebastian Rambert joined the "snakes". These transfers were the first in the history of the new owner of the "Internationale" Massimo Moratti. And if the story of Sebastian Rambert in Serie A ended after half a season (the player has not played a single match), then Javier Zanetti was destined to become one of the greatest players in the Giuseppe Meazza stadium.
As part of the "snake" debuted on August 27, 1995in a home match against Vicenza. In the debut season of Serie A, the Argentine became a key player in the main team. He took part in 32 fights and was marked by two goals, which fell to the share of the club “Cremeonese”.
Here he quickly gained prestige among teammates, and also passionately loved by loyal fans. Fans gave him the nickname El Tractor, because Zanetti played in an aggressive style, not allowing the opponent to squeeze into his own penalty area.
Legend of the national team of Argentina and the Italian "Inter": defender Javier Zanetti
Argentine lateral recordthe number of games played in the entire history of the club "Internazionale". As part of the "black and blue" spent 1114 games, among which 858 are considered official (and are a record). This indicator is a derivative of several more records:
- the first foreign player on whose account the largest number of matches played in Serie A (615),
- the most titled football player of "Inter" (16 trophies),
- Inter player with the highest number of matches played in the Champions League (105).
This list is far from over.In the career of Javier Zanetti, such exotic records are distinguished, for example, as the player who played the highest number of matches in the Champions League as team captain (82). Also, the Argentine is the oldest player who managed to print the gate at the World Club Championship (scored at the age of 37 years and 123 days).
Among all the dedicated players of Serie A are JavierZanetti takes the fourth position, behind such masters as Paolo Maldini (647), Gianluigi Buffon (629) and Francesco Totti (619). It is worth noting that the legendary goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon still has chances to become the first on this list.
In the summer of 2010 by a voteSports Journalists Zanetti was awarded the Gaetano Shirea Prize. This award is given to football players whose age is over 30 years old and whose career is called “exemplary”.
Achievements in the "Inter"
In the composition of the “black and blue” Javier Zanetti won16 trophies: five Scudettes, four Copa Italia, four Superkopp Italy, one UEFA Cup, one Champions League Cup and one FIFA World Cup.
International achievements
As part of the national team of Argentina Zanettiplayed in 143 matches, and this figure is also a record. Together with the “white-blue” he reached the America's Cup final in 2004 and 2007 and the Confederations Cup final in 1995 and 2005. Here, Zanetti became the silver medalist of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and the gold medalist of the 1995 Pan-American Games in Mar del Plata.
