Top 99 Quotes & Sayings by Javier Zanetti
Explore popular quotes and sayings by an Argentinian athlete Javier Zanetti.
Last updated on December 23, 2024.
It's an honour for me to wear the Inter shirt. To have been involved in so many important moments that all of us and our fans will keep in our hearts and minds forever, I feel privileged.
I have always been proud to play for my country and every time I am called up, I play with the same desire and commitment.
Messi is the best player in the world, the things he does with the ball are incredible. If someone knows how to stop him, they have to tell me.
I liked my father's work. But above all I liked the idea of doing something concrete and useful. Building a house is a metaphor that I like, it's at the core of my life philosophy: starting from the bottom and reaching the top.
My secret is to train as intensively as I can, if possible, with the same intensity you experience in a real match.
It's always nice coming back to the national side.
I am very happy working with Inter, helping them build the club's international relationship with both Fifa and Uefa, promoting the marketing side, its social responsibility activities as well as being involved with the club's academy.
I dreamed of ending my career with the Inter shirt, Inter is my house and I'll try to give my contribution off the pitch as well.
A lot of things, experiences I had, helped me to grow up and mature, both in terms of my football career and my private life too.
To arrive in a city like Milan as a young man was a huge challenge.
My story is like many other stories. I started very young. As the years went by, I only cared about playing football. I was never obsessed with money or being a professional though.
For some reason I have always felt at home here at Inter and this is why I have never thought of leaving.
Even though I started out at right-back, I actually enjoy the contrast of playing both at full-back and in midfield. Both require physical attributes and a lot of energy.
Maldini was a key figure in world football. I have always had great admiration for him as a player and as a human being. I faced him in many derbies - he was tough but always very loyal.
Inter have given me everything.
I grew up in a humble neighbourhood in Argentina called Dock Sud. From my house, about 200 metres away was a football pitch. That's where I spent my childhood. It's a neighbourhood where everybody helped each other because there was a lot of difficulties. There, I grew up happily, because I learned a lot of things.
The important thing is to train well during the week so you perform well physically come matchday.
In the past a lot of Italians emigrated to Argentina, and now us Argentinians, and in my case, us footballers, are returning to Italy. We always try to keep our identity.
The bond between Inter and I will last forever.
This is football, and one cannot be distracted at any moment because the opposition can put you in difficulty and compromise a result.
It wasn't my target to work as Argentina team manager.
What can you say about Messi? A guy who has won five Ballon d'Ors, four Champions Leagues and has scored 97 goals in a year. There is no need to win a World Cup to certify that talent.
We believe in a better world, an unglobalised world, enriched by the cultural differences and customs of all the people.
Every coach has his own ideas about managing the team and how it plays.
I never settle.
Football is made up of episodes.
When I look back to my childhood, many concrete scenes come to my mind, good ones and bad ones.
My mother was a cleaner and my father a builder. I watched both of them make big sacrifices for my brother and I to study. This is where I get my work ethic from. This is also the source of my generosity and willingness to help.
Inter is my life.
We Argentines do not realise what Leo represents for the whole world.
I don't mess around when it comes to fitness.
Injuries are part of the job.
I've managed to play most games every season for many seasons. That gives you confidence and stability.
If I had a lock of hair out of place then I would not feel OK.
Messi is an extraordinary player, but your squad is pivotal: at a World Cup, the 11 players on the pitch and everyone else in the group can all play an important role.
Inter have given me so much and I am very proud.
Benitez is a coach with clear ideas and lots of experience in football.
When I was promoted to the main squad at Talleres de Remedios de Escalada, I felt my dream had become reality.
Inter are a huge club and so always obliged to win.
I've been lucky to be part of very good teams and to play with immense players.
Milan are always a team to be respected.
Messi is an ambassador of Argentina, and I am also proud of him as an Argentine.
Before coming to this decision to leave the game I had thought about it a lot.
I took after my father who was a bricklayer and used to build everything step by step, brick by brick.
I've always believed that our public actions need to take account of our social responsibility.
Football always gives you a chance to set the record straight. Things go full circle and end up the way they should be.
Feeling my hair in place gives me confidence. It's a question of image but also of character.
The thing about Champions League football is it can turn on an instant. You can have a very good, solid team over the course of the season, but the Champions League is more like the World Cup, where your fate can be decided in a second and you need a bit of luck too.
I'm a fan of Independiente, so I'd naturally like to wear their colours, and I also like Banfield, who gave me a lot as a young player. Either would be nice.
I am a big fan of Independiente and I played in their youth systems before being released for being too small, so I went to work with my father as a builder. This helped me understand a lot of things about life; it made me mentally very strong and it also pushed me to go and play for another team.
Throughout my career I have always done everything with passion.
When I was young, as a fan of Independiente, my idol was Enrique Bochini. He was a playmaker and a total legend at the club. He never played for another club in his career. Maradona was a fan of Bochini too. So when I think that I have only played for Inter in Italy, I feel a little like Bochini. Only with far fewer assists!
You need passion and commitment in your sport or else you will never survive that long. Of course you also have to give it your best shot and be responsible for your own behaviour both on and off the field before you can fully enjoy the game for such a long period of time.
The guys who play in midfield and up front are the ones who decide games.
Football has given me a lot and I have tried my best to give something back.
I am a precise person in everything I do.
I always seek to improve, but I also give a lot of importance to food and sleep too.
I have always tried to be myself on the pitch and probably my biggest pleasure is when fans of other teams come to show me their respect.
My team-mates at Inter mock me when we are training. 'Stop running, let us win for a change,' they joke. But as long as my body responds, I will keep playing.
I can honestly say that there's nothing more beautiful for a sportsperson that to play for his or her country, regardless of the tournament or the location.
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