Javier Zanetti facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Javier Zanetti

Zanetti with Inter Milan in 2009
Personal information
Date of birth	(1973-08-10) 10 August 1973 (age 51)
Place of birth	Buenos Aires, Argentina
Height	1.78 m
Playing position	Right Wing-back / Right winger / Defensive midfielder
Club information
Current club	Inter Milan (vice-president)
Youth career
1982–1989	Independiente
1991–1992	Talleres
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1992–1993	Talleres	33	(1)
1993–1995	Banfield	66	(4)
1995–2014	Inter Milan	615	(12)
Total		714	(17)
National team
1996	Argentina U23	13	(0)
1994–2011	Argentina	145	(5)
Honours Men's football Representing  Argentina Pan American Games Gold 1995 Mar del Plata Team Olympic Games Silver 1996 Atlanta Team Copa América Runner-up 2004 Peru Team Runner-up 2007 Venezuela Team FIFA Confederations Cup Runner-up 1995 Saudi Arabia Team Runner-up 2005 Germany Team
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Javier Adelmar Zanetti (born 10 August 1973) is a famous Argentine former professional footballer. He is known as one of the best players of his time. Many also consider him one of the greatest right-backs ever. Zanetti spent almost his entire career playing for Inter Milan. He was a key player when Inter won a historic three trophies in the 2009–10 season. Zanetti was very flexible, playing well on both the left and right sides of the field. He often played as a full-back or wing-back. He also spent a lot of time as a midfielder. Today, he is the vice-president of Inter Milan.

Zanetti began his football journey in Argentina. He first played for Talleres, then for Banfield. From 1995 to 2014, he played for the Italian club Inter Milan. He became their captain in 2001 and remained captain until he retired in 2014. He played in 1,115 official games, making him one of the players with the most appearances ever. He also holds the record for the most games played by a foreign player in Serie A (615 matches). Only three players have played more games in that league. Zanetti has played more games than anyone else in Inter's history (858 matches). He also won the most trophies with the club, a total of 16. These include five Italian league titles (Scudetti), four Italian Cups (Coppa Italia), four Italian Super Cups (Supercoppa Italiana), one UEFA Cup, one Champions League, and the FIFA Club World Cup. He also holds the record for the most Champions League appearances as a captain (82).

For the Argentina national team, Zanetti played in 145 games. This makes him one of the top three players with the most appearances for Argentina. He used to hold the record from 2007 to 2018. With Argentina, he reached the finals of the Copa América in 2004 and 2007. He also played in the finals of the FIFA Confederations Cup in 1995 and 2005.

After he retired, Inter Milan retired his number 4 jersey. This means no other player at Inter can wear that number. He was also named the club's vice-president. FIFA made him an ambassador for the SOS Children's Villages project in Argentina. In 2005, he received the Ambrogino d'Oro award from the city of Milan. This award recognized his work in helping others. Zanetti is also a Global Ambassador for the Special Olympics.

Javier Zanetti's Early Life

Javier Adelmar Zanetti was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. His parents were working-class and had Italian family roots. He grew up in the Dock Sud area, a tough part of the city. His father was a bricklayer, and his mother was a cleaner. Javier started playing football on a field in the suburbs. He even helped take care of the field in his free time. As a teenager, he tried out for the youth team at Independiente. However, he was told he wasn't strong enough to succeed. So, he focused on school and helped his father with building work. He also did odd jobs like delivering milk and helping at a family grocery store.

Zanetti's Club Career

Starting in Argentina

After being turned down by Independiente, Zanetti joined Talleres. This team was in the second division at the time. He played 33 matches and scored one goal in his only season there. In 1993, he moved to Banfield, a team in the First Division.

Zanetti, at 20 years old, played his first game for Banfield on 12 September 1993. This was a home match against River Plate. He scored his first goal 17 days later against Newell's Old Boys. His great performances made him popular with Banfield fans. They also earned him a call-up to the national team. Big clubs like River Plate and Boca Juniors were interested in him. But Zanetti chose to stay at Banfield for another year. In 1995, he moved to Italy to play for Inter Milan. He was the first player bought by Inter's owner, Massimo Moratti.

Years at Inter Milan

Zanetti training with Inter Milan in 2009

Javier Zanetti played for Inter Milan for 19 seasons. He made 858 appearances in all competitions. This makes him the player who has played the most games for Inter Milan ever. He passed Giuseppe Bergomi (758 games) to set this record.

During his time at Inter, he won 16 trophies. Fifteen of these wins happened while he was captain. These trophies include the UEFA Cup in 1998. He also won the Coppa Italia four times (2005, 2006, 2010, 2011). He won the Supercoppa Italiana four times (2005, 2006, 2008, 2010). Inter won the Italian league title (Scudetti) five times with him (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010). And he captained the team to win the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League.

Zanetti went 12 years without getting a red card in a match. His first red card was on 17 February 1999 in a Coppa Italia game. He got his second and last red card on 3 December 2011 in a Serie A match. These were the only two times he was sent off during his entire career at Inter.

At Inter, Zanetti played under 19 different coaches. This is more than any other player. He always wanted to stay at Inter. He even hoped to work for the club after he stopped playing. He said:

Inter means a lot to me. It was the first team to open the doors of European football. I was very young when I came here and I think not many teams could have had so much faith and patience with a boy in his early 20s from the very first day like Inter did with me. I will always be grateful for that. For some reason I have always felt at home here at Inter and this is why I have never thought of leaving.

Early Success at Inter

Zanetti played his first game for Inter on 27 August 1995. It was against Vicenza in Milan. He scored Inter's second goal in their 3–0 win over Lazio in the 1998 UEFA Cup final. This was his first trophy with the club. He had lost in the final the season before. After two years, he often wore the captain's armband. This was because Ronaldo was injured. Zanetti officially became club captain in late 2001. In August 2003, he signed a new contract with Inter until June 2007.

Moving to Midfield

When Maicon joined Inter in the 2006–07 season, Zanetti moved from right-back to midfield. He scored a goal on 5 November 2006 against Ascoli. This ended a four-year period without scoring. On 27 September 2006, he played his 500th professional match for Inter against Bayern Munich. On 22 November 2006, he played his 100th UEFA match against Sporting CP.

Zanetti played a key role in the 2008 Supercoppa Italiana match against Roma. He scored his team's last penalty in the shootout, which Inter won. This was his first-ever penalty kick in his career. On 24 September 2008, he played his 600th match for Inter. Inter won that game 1–0 against Lecce. Before the match, he received a special plate to celebrate the event.

Zanetti playing for Inter in 2009

Even though Zanetti is often seen as a defender, he played mostly in midfield during the first half of the 2008–09 season. Inter's coach, José Mourinho, had many injured midfielders. So, Zanetti moved to midfield for several matches.

The 2009–10 season started well for Zanetti and Inter. They beat their rivals Milan 4–0 in the Derby della Madonnina. On 24 October, Zanetti reached Giacinto Facchetti's record of 476 Serie A appearances. Inter won that game 2–1 against Catania.

Inter won the 2010 UEFA Champions League final 2–0 against Bayern Munich on 22 May 2010. This was Zanetti's 700th game for Inter. It made him the first player to captain an Italian club to win three major trophies in one season: the Scudetto, Coppa Italia, and Champions League. This is known as a treble.

Later Career and Retirement

On 20 October 2010, Zanetti became the oldest player to score in the Champions League. He was 37 years and 71 days old. He scored in the first minute of Inter's 4–3 win over Tottenham Hotspur. This was only his second Champions League goal. He also scored in Inter's 3–0 win against Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma at the 2010 FIFA Club World Cup. Inter won this tournament.

Zanetti shaking hands with Sergei Ignashevich before a Champions League match against CSKA Moscow in 2011

On 19 January 2011, Zanetti played his 520th Serie A match for Inter. This meant he passed Inter legend Giuseppe Bergomi in Serie A appearances. On 11 May 2011, Zanetti played his 1,000th professional football match. This was for Inter against Roma in the Coppa Italia semi-final. On 20 September 2011, Zanetti broke the all-time appearance record in a Serie A game. He surpassed Giuseppe Bergomi again.

On 10 March 2013, Zanetti played his 600th Serie A match for Inter. It was a 1–0 loss to Bologna. On 21 April 2014, in a 1–0 win against Parma, Zanetti played his 1,100th official match. This made him the player with the fourth-most appearances of all time.

On 29 April 2014, Inter's chairman announced that Zanetti would retire. He would become a club director after the 2013–14 season. Zanetti's last game at the San Siro stadium was a 4–1 win over Lazio on 10 May 2014. He came on as a substitute and wore a special armband. It had the names of every player he had played with at Inter. He retired after the final game of the season on 18 May.

After Playing Football

In June 2014, Inter's chairman, Erick Thohir, made Zanetti the club's vice-president. He kept this role when the club's ownership changed to the Suning Holdings Group.

On 4 May 2015, Inter officially retired Zanetti's number 4 jersey. This happened during a charity match at the San Siro. Zanetti himself organized the match for the opening of the Expo 2015 in Milan.

International Career with Argentina

Debuts and Milestones

Javier Zanetti in action against Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo during a friendly match in Geneva, Switzerland, in 2011.

Zanetti played his first game for Argentina on 16 November 1994. It was against Chile. He was chosen for the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France. He played his first World Cup game against Japan, which Argentina won 1–0. During the 1998 World Cup, he scored a goal against England. This made the score 2–2 in the round of 16 match.

Zanetti celebrated his 100th game for Argentina on 26 June 2005. He helped Argentina win their 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup semi-final against Mexico. He was named the Man of the Match. Even though he played in the qualification games, Zanetti was not chosen for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. This was a surprising decision by the coach.

Later International Years

With new coach Alfio Basile, Zanetti played a friendly match against France on 7 February 2007. He helped Javier Saviola score the only goal. This gave Argentina their first win under Basile's second time as coach.

Zanetti during the friendly match against Portugal in 2011

In April 2007, Zanetti received the National Giuseppe Prisco Award. After Roberto Ayala retired, Zanetti became the captain of the national team. On 17 November 2007, he played a World Cup qualification match against Bolivia. In this game, he became the player with the most appearances for Argentina.

Zanetti continued to play regularly under new coach Diego Maradona. However, Javier Mascherano took over as captain. On 20 August 2010, Argentina's coach Sergio Batista called Zanetti back to the squad. This was for a friendly match against Spain. He and Gabriel Batistuta were honored by the Argentine Football Association at this game. Over 48,000 people gave them a standing ovation.

Zanetti was part of Argentina's team for the 2011 Copa América. This tournament was held in Argentina. He started in all four of the team's matches. Argentina was knocked out by Uruguay in the quarter-finals.

Zanetti's Style of Play

Zanetti making a tackle in an international friendly against Russia in 2009

Zanetti was nicknamed El Tractor (The Tractor). This was because of his amazing energy and how he ran up and down the field. He helped both in attack and defense. His teammates knew him for being very consistent and always fit. He kept playing in over 30 games per season even when he was in his late 30s. As a captain, he was respected by fans and other teams. This was because of his leadership and calm behavior. In his 22-year career, he only received two red cards.

In his best years, Zanetti was a fast, strong, and fit player. He had excellent ball control and was good at dribbling. He was also very technical and quick. In defense, he was good at understanding the game. He was good at winning the ball and marking opponents. He could also pass the ball well to his teammates. He was a versatile player, meaning he could play well on both sides of the field. He often moved forward to cross the ball for his teammates. He also had a powerful shot from far away. In his later years at Inter, he formed a strong partnership with fellow full-back Maicon. This helped the club win many titles.

Zanetti started his career as a right offensive winger. But he later moved back into midfield. He became a very smart and flexible player. He could play almost anywhere in midfield or in defense. Most of his career, he played as a wide midfielder or as a full-back or wing-back on either side. But he also played as a central defender, sweeper, or as a central or defensive midfielder. Sometimes, he even played in more attacking roles. Zanetti is praised for his determination, consistency, and hard work. He is also known for his discipline and how long he played. He says this is because he always trained very hard.

Javier Zanetti's Personal Life

On 23 December 1999, Zanetti married his long-time girlfriend, Paula de la Fuente. They met when he was 19 and she was 14. They dated for seven years before getting married. They live near Lake Como in Italy. They also own a restaurant called El Gaucho in Milan. Paula works as a photographer. The couple has a daughter, Sol (born 2005), and two sons, Ignacio (born 2008) and Tomás (born 2012).

Zanetti's mother, Violeta Bonazzola, passed away from a heart attack. This happened hours after Inter won the 2011 Coppa Italia Final. He has written two books about his life: Capitano e gentiluomo (Captain and Gentleman) in 2010 and Giocare da uomo (Playing Like a Man) in 2013.

Zanetti is a devoted Catholic. After Pope Francis was elected in 2013, Zanetti was invited to the Vatican to meet him. He said:

I must admit that [what] I feel at this moment is especially a thrill for all of us Argentines. [I] do not know him personally, but it is a Pope who has lived in Buenos Aires, very humble and always always close to our people. Faith is so important in the world and us we are all close. I had the good fortune to meet Pope Ratzinger and now I expect to have the 'opportunity to meet the new national pope, it would be a great thrill for me and my whole family. [I] wish him all the best and again, for all of us as people of Argentina [it] is a great feeling.

Zanetti is good friends with Dutch footballer Wesley Sneijder. He inspired Sneijder to become Catholic. Zanetti's older brother, Sergio, was also a football defender. Javier Zanetti is not related to Cristiano Zanetti, an Italian player who played with him at Inter for five seasons.

In 2007, Zanetti sang with Italian singer Mina. They recorded a Spanish version of the song "Parole parole". It is on her album Todavía.

Charity Work

Zanetti in 2011

Zanetti is a FIFA ambassador for the SOS Children's Villages project in Argentina. He has also supported the Mexican Zapatista rebels.

Fundación PUPI

Zanetti also cares deeply about social issues. After Argentina's economic crisis in 2001, many people became poor. Zanetti and his wife Paula started the Fundación PUPI in Argentina. This foundation helps poor children get an education and good food. He explained:

When I look back to my childhood, many concrete scenes come to my mind, good ones and bad ones. I had a difficult childhood, and even though I don't live in my country at present, I'm well aware of what's going on there and the devastating effect it's having on our poorest children. I've always believed that our public actions need to take account of our social responsibility,

Zanetti, along with his teammate Esteban Cambiasso, created this charity. It helps coach young children who have social problems and difficulties with movement. Zanetti said that this idea is part of all of Inter's programs for young people.

Media Appearances

In 2015, a documentary film called Zanetti Story was made about him. It was directed by Simone Scafidi and Carlo A. Sigon.

Zanetti is also in EA Sports' FIFA football video game series. He was included in the Ultimate Team Legends in FIFA 16.

Career Statistics

Club Appearances and Goals

International Appearances and Goals

Scores and results list Argentina's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Zanetti goal.

List of international goals scored by Javier Zanetti

No.	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	22 June 1995	Estadio Malvinas Argentinas, Mendoza, Argentina	11	Slovakia	2–0	6–0	Friendly
2	14 May 1998	Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes, Córdoba, Argentina	28	Bosnia and Herzegovina	3–0	5–0
3	30 June 1998	Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-Étienne, France	34	England	2–2	2–2	1998 FIFA World Cup
4	8 June 2003	Nagai Stadium, Osaka, Japan	70	Japan	2–1	4–1	2003 Kirin Cup
5	9 October 2004	El Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina	88	Uruguay	3–0	4–2	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification

Competition Statistics Summary

• Serie A: 615 appearances, 12 goals
• Coppa Italia: 70 appearances, 3 goals
• Supercoppa Italiana: 7 appearances
• UEFA Champions League: 105 appearances, 2 goals
• UEFA Cup: 53 appearances, 3 goals
• FIFA Club World Cup: 2 appearances, 1 goal
• FIFA World Cup: 8 appearances, 1 goal
• FIFA Confederations Cup: 8 appearances
• Copa América: 22 appearances

Honours and Awards

Team Trophies

Inter Milan

• Serie A: 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10
• Coppa Italia: 2004–05, 2005–06, 2009–10, 2010–11
• Supercoppa Italiana: 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010
• UEFA Champions League: 2009–10
• UEFA Cup: 1997–98
• FIFA Club World Cup: 2010

Argentina

• Pan American Games Gold Medal: 1995
• Olympic Games Silver Medal: 1996

Individual Awards

• FIFA 100: Zanetti was named one of the 125 greatest living footballers by Pelé in 2004.
• Pirata d'Oro (Inter Milan Player of the Year): 1996
• Pallone d'Argento: 2002 (Award for fair play and good behavior)
• Copa América Team of the Tournament: 2004, 2007
• Premio Nazionale Carriera Esemplare "Gaetano Scirea": 2010 (Award for an exemplary career)
• Golden Foot: 2011 (Recognized as a football legend)
• Premio internazionale Giacinto Facchetti: 2012 (Award for fair play)
• Number 4 retired by Inter Milan: His jersey number was retired to honor his career.
• AFA Team of All Time: 2015
• Inter Milan Hall of Fame: 2018
• Italian Football Hall of Fame: 2018
• IFFHS Argentina All Times Dream Team: 2021

See also

In Spanish: Javier Zanetti para niños

• List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps
• List of men's footballers with the most official appearances