Javier Zanetti

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Javier Adelmar Zanetti (born August 10, 1973 in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine football player and the current club captain of Inter Milan.

On the club level, Zanetti has played for Talleres de Remedios de Escalada[link] (third division) and Banfield before moving to Italy's Internazionale Milano in 1995. He was Massimo Moratti's first ever purchase.

For Argentina, he has been capped 101 times (as of July 2005) and played for his country at the 1998 and 2002 World Cups, being the captain on many occasions. He was also a member of the team, that won the silver medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. He was not included in the Argentina team for 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Originally nicknamed El Tractor because of his strength and resilience, Zanetti carries this title with pride owing to his fantastic ability to run past defenders from deep in his defensive position. He is nowadays better known as Il Capitano, the captain, moral leader of the Inter fans.

Zanetti's qualities has made him a respected footballer all around the world. He is sometimes criticized for being too soft-spoken on the pitch, but he makes up for this by being one of Inter's most consistent, reliable and trusted players. As such, he was rewarded with the club captaincy, taking over from Giuseppe Bergomi, the legendary defender. He is currently one of the longest serving Inter players, having stayed at Inter for nearly 12 years.

To the Inter fans, Zanetti remains one of the greatest players to have ever worn the colors of the black and blue. Throughout his stay with the club, Il Capitano has won 3 trophies, the UEFA Cup in 1998, a final in which he scored the second goal from a wicked shot just outside the box, the 2005 and 2006 Coppa Italia, and the 2005 Italian Super Cup. Whilst his stay at Inter has yet to bring him the missing glory in Italian football, the league championship (scudetto). The Inter tifosi often sing, in reference to Javier Zanetti, "Noi abbiamo un argentino che gioca al calcio meglio di Pelé" ("We have an Argentine that plays football better than Pelé"). Zanetti was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004. Together with his wife, they created the Pupi fundation for the social integration of poor childen. In 2005 The Milan townhall awarded Zanetti with the Ambrogino d'Oro for his social initiative.

Zanetti's elder brother Sergio is a former football (soccer) defender.

External links

• [Biography]
• [Forza Inter Forums]
• [Javier Zanetti] at AFA
• [Banfield Interview] (Spanish)
• [Fundación Pupi] (In Spanish, English and Italian)
• [inter.it profile]

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