We live in an era where the beautiful game is increasingly synonymous with footballers making opportunistic big-money transfer deals chasing individual success, the decline of values like loyalty and dedication to clubs and footballers being more ‘plastic’ celebrities than role models.
In such an era, it is important that we sing praises at the top of our voices of the few remaining idols who value virtues more than individual success, who dedicate their careers to the cause of the clubs that they believe in, who roll on despite advancing age and fight to defy nature and freeze time.
Of those remaining amongst the fast disappearing line of footballers who are true role models on and off the pitch, Javier Zanetti is an unsung hero, a true legend of Calcio, a man who seems defies nature with every passing season, a man whose heart continues to beat fiercely for Inter Milan despite his 16 year association with the club.
When Javier Zanetti signed for Inter Milan in 1995, the club was going through a crisis. Their last Scudetto was won in 1989 and fierce rivals AC Milan and Juventus were taking Europe and Italy by storm through their domination.
By making Javier Zanetti his first signing, club President Massimo Moratti ushered in an era which would become one of the most glorious periods in the club’s history.
Beginning with the Scudetto in 2006 and culminating with the treble in 2010, the last five years have borne fruit to the re-building phase that began when Moratti took over. An integral part of that re-building and the bid to knock Milan off their perch in the domestic level has been captain Zanetti.
In the last 16 years, the Nerazzurri have seen a total of 16 managers and several superstar players come and go in Massimo Moratti’s attempts to buy instant success. Amidst the constant arrival and exodus of managers and big players, Zanetti has been a constant, the player whose name has come to ring with everything that is good about Inter Milan.
During his distinguished career at Inter, Javier Zanetti has played in almost every position in defence and midfield, an achievement which speaks volumes about his versatility and ability to adapt in order to serve the team cause. This versatility and willingness to adapt is exactly why he has been able to hold his place in the star-studded starting line-up of Inter Milan which has seen superstars come and go constantly.
Now 37 years old, the child-like enthusiasm that he brings to the game every time he steps out on the pitch is infectious, as was displayed against Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League group stage when he became the oldest player ever to score in the elite competition.
An inspiring captain who leads by example and lets his performances do the talking, Zanetti is to Inter what Paolo Maldini was to Milan, only Zanetti has not got the limelight that Maldini has deservedly enjoyed. A soft-spoken character and a gem of a humanitarian, Zanetti is a living embodiment of everything that is good about football, something that has also been evident in his playing style that is synonymous with clean tackles despite being a defender.
Having lived in the perennial shadow of their cross-town rivals AC Milan in terms of European domination, the 2009-10 season marked a striking change in Inter’s fortunes and the power dynamics in the great city of Milan, when the Nerazzurri were crowned European champions and Zanetti, fittingly, lifted the Champions League trophy after playing a pivotal role in the Jose Mourinho project, having been a stellar performer in an impregnable defence that stopped two of the best attacks in the world in Barcelona and Chelsea.
While AC Milan’s star continues to fade, Inter’s continues to rise as they stand a glorious chance of retaining the Champions League crown and shed their tag of European under-achievers. And it is only fitting that Zanetti, who is into his final days of his playing career, gets to lift the trophies that help raise his club’s stock amongst Europe’s elite, a feat that was the dream that he believed in when he stuck with Inter during it’s darkest hours when he could have easily turned to greener pastures to seek success.
In short, Javier Zanetti is Mr. Inter Milan whose name will continue to be chanted by the Nerazzurri faithful for a long time to come, whose achievements will stand the test of time.
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