Zanetti 757

by InterMalia Wed Sep 21, 2011 11:02 pm

Leonardo: Well done, Pupi! The captain has set yet another record, while making it look like something ordinary. For anybody else it would be talked about as an extraordinary feat, but in his case it's just the natural consequence of a career that he has built through solid hard work. How can you talk about the captain without overdoing the praise? And yet numbers alone can't explain what he represents for Inter and the world of football. When I was asked to write a message for the captain, I struggled to find the words. What immediately came to mind was the Foundation that Pupi set up with Paula and I do think that is where you can see a side of Javier that is less well known, yet it's what makes him the Captain. But too many words would be pointless. So just thank you, Pupi!

Mourinho: To me Zanetti represents the joy of living, the joy of making football your job every morning. He is the smile, the life force, the passion for training, the good cheer for everyone who works with him. To me Javier Zanetti is all of these things, and he is a man that I'm happy to say will be a friend forever.

After all of that, and a long way behind, comes the footballer. But having been his coach for only two years of his incredible career, it's not my place to talk about a man who has written his own story - and what a marvellous story it is. All I will say is thank you for everything, thank you for giving me a small space in your story. What I will cherish most is that hug in the middle of the Santiago Bernabeu: it won't be the last but it was certainly the most intense of our two years together.

Perhaps one day somebody might beat Zanetti's record, but there will only ever be one Zanetti.

Mancini: I had the chance to play against Pupi as a player and he made a great impression because, though young and in a foreign country, he played with such intensity and quality.

Later I had the good fortune to coach him at Inter and I can say without a shadow of a doubt that every coach in the world would love to have a player like him, because of the professionalism and the quality he takes with him onto the pitch and because, apart from in goal (maybe), he can play in any position.

He is also an extremely upstanding individual, something that never goes amiss.

I'm delighted that he's achieved this record, and what's more at a big club such as Inter, especially because it means overtaking Bergomi, another Inter symbol. Very many congratulations Pupi and just keep going.

Cuper: Javier Zanetti is one of the best professionals I have ever coached.

He is utterly dedicated, honest, hard-working and a responsible individual. A professional at the service of the team, and I'm not talking about him as a player but as a professional within the group. A great captain who has always put the team's best interests first – never has he acted out of selfishness. His greatest virtue is his extraordinary, transparent humility, so he deserves every honour he gets. From where I am, not so very far away, this is my humble tribute to him: I will always remember him as the best.

Simoni: Dearest Javier,

So much has been said about you already that it's difficult to find something original to say. I met you when you were little more than a boy but even then it was easy to see your qualities – not just as a player but as a person. We spent a wonderful year and a half together, because that was a fantastic group. A group of people with values similar to your own, with the likes of Diego (Simeone), Beppe (Bergomi) and all the others. Captains on and off the pitch. You were young but it was clear you were following the example of the right people; you were young but you possessed bags of personality and an immense desire to knuckle down and learn. Then you became an even better footballer; you became a man, a husband, a father; you became the symbol of the team - and not just any team. Today we celebrate with you the record of a player who has turned out for Inter more times than anyone else, and I can say in all honesty that for me you are the real Phenomenon of football. Because keeping it up on the pitch for years, season after season, always putting in the utmost effort as you do, is phenomenal indeed. You are a model for everyone involved in the game and for those who watch from the outside. And what I love about you is that you're still the same person you were then, despite the fame, the Scudetti, the cups, the money, the praise. All wonderful things that can make a man's head turn. But not yours.

Hodgson: I'm glad to have this opportunity to congratulate Javier on his record, overtaking Beppe Bergomi's appearances at Inter, and I consider myself lucky to have worked with these two Nerazzurri legends.

Javier and I joined the club in the same year, 1995, and what immediately struck me about him was his professionalism, his desire to learn and adapt to a new type of football, his total commitment and his focus on the targets he wanted to achieve. So it comes as no surprise to me that he has now made a record number of appearances in a Nerazzurri shirt, and the good news for Inter is that at the current rate he shows no signs of slowing down.

So once again, congratulations Javier on this thoroughly deserved honour and I wish you all the best for your future games.

Roy Hodgson

P.S. Remember that Stanley Matthews played his last game in English football at the age of 49! Good luck.

by CroInter Thu Sep 22, 2011 12:41 am

This should be getting way more replies, but since we are bad at being Inter fans :coffee:

by Internal Thu Sep 22, 2011 1:31 am

There's been a few threads/posts about it. Nevertheless, what a shining light in the black hole that is our season. A true accomplishment from a true interisti. I'm so glad to have grown up watching pupi's illustrious career unfold, and can't wait to see how far it goes. He's a legend in every sense of the word, and my favorite player. Forza zanetti, forza inter

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