Javier Zanetti

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You have new messages (last change).
Javier Zanetti
Personal information
Full name Javier Adelmar Zanetti
Date of birth August 10, 1973 (age 33)
Place of birth    Buenos Aires, Argentina
Height 178 cm (5ft 10 in)
Nickname Il Capitano (The Captain)
Il Trattore (The Tractor)
Pupi
The Silent Engine[citation needed]
Playing position full Back / Midfielder right,left,centre
Club information
Current club Internazionale
Number 4
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1992-93
1993-95
1995 — Present		 Talleres (RE)
Banfield
Internazionale		 17 (1)
66 (21)
537 (98)   
National team2
1994 — Present Argentina 103 (8)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 18 Mar 2007.
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of 7 Feb, 2007.
* Appearances (Goals)

Javier Adelmar Zanetti (born August 10, 1973) is an Argentine football player. He has been a member of Serie A club Internazionale since 1995 being the team captain since 1999. He has also played in two World Cups for Argentina.

Known as Pupi in Argentina, he was nicknamed Il Trattore (The Tractor) after moving to Italy because of his strength, resilience, and his ability to run past opposing defenders when joining the attack from his right back position.

He is also notable for his charitable work, running a foundation to benefit disadvantaged children in Argentina.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Zanetti, born in Buenos Aires, grew up in the harbour area, in the Dock Sud district. He combined scholastic and working commitments, helping his bricklayer father without neglecting his passion for football, He began playing football on a pitch in the suburbs of the city, and personally took care of pitch maintenance.

[edit] Club career

Zanetti, after being rejected by the youth divisions of Argentina's former giants Independiente, signed for Talleres de Remedios de Escalada (a second division team at the time) but soon moved in 1993 to Argentine First Division 's Banfield.

His debut for Banfield occurred on September 12, 1993 in a home match against River Plate, His first professional goal for Banfield was on September 29, 1993 against Newell's Old Boys in a match that ended 1-1. His outstanding performances for Banfield led him to not only being Taladro 's fans one of most loved players but also getting a place in the National side. In 1994 he was requested by both giants River Plate and Boca Juniors but stayed on for another year at the club and in 1995, Zanetti finally moved to Italy's F.C. Internazionale Milano, becoming team owner Massimo Moratti's first-ever purchase.

His debut for Inter occurred on August 27, 1995 against Vicenza Calcio at Milan. He has since appeared in over 500 official club matches. Throughout his stay with the club, he has won 6 trophies: the UEFA Cup in 1998 – scoring the second goal for the final with a shot outside the penalty area –, the 2005 and 2006 Coppa Italia, the 2005 and 2006 Italian Super Cup, and the 2005-2006 Scudetto.

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 legendary defender Giuseppe Bergomi. Being a part of the squad since the last 12 seasons, he is currently the team's longest-tenured player, and the fifth overall behind Giuseppe Bergomi (758), Giacinto Facchetti (634), Sandro Mazzola (565), and Giuseppe Baresi (559) in the all-time list of most present Inter players. To Inter fans, Zanetti is one of the greatest players ever to have ever worn the colors of the black and blue. He is nowadays known as Il Capitano ("the captain").

"Inter means a lot to me," Zanetti said, "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".

As of March 2007, Zanetti has not been sent off in more than eight years. The last time he was sent off was on February 17, 1999 in a Coppa Italia match against Parma F.C.

Zanetti ended a 4-year goal drought when he scored on November 5, 2006[1] at a home match against Ascoli, having previously scored on November 6, 2002, at an away match against Empoli F.C.

On September 27, 2006, against Bayern Munich, Zanetti played his 500th professional match for Inter.[1] and on November 22, 2006 he appeared in his 100th UEFA match against Sporting Clube de Portugal[2]

Since the arrival of Maicon, Zanetti has moved from the his right back position and now plays in midfield.[3]

At Inter, Zanetti has had 14 differents coachs (list), remaining the only player to survive such different administrations.

[edit] National team

He made his debut for Argentina on November 16, 1994 against Chile.

For Argentina, he has 103 caps (as of February 2007) and played for his country at the 1998 and 2002 FIFA World Cups. He was also part of the team that won the silver medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.

In the 1998 World Cup, he scored against England on a pre-planned play, which was considered one of the best goals of the tourment.

After Roberto Ayala suffered a last minute injury which left him out of the tournament, Zanetti captained the Argentine national squad in the 2002 World Cup.

In a controversial decision, Zanetti was not called up for the 2006 FIFA World Cup by coach José Pekerman, instead Lionel Scaloni was given a surprise selection, a move that bewildered many fans.

"I don't know if there are any footballing or non-footballing reasons. But I can sleep peacefully because I have given so much to my national team, and I still feel a player of the Argentine national team. I'm certainly not Pekerman's kind of player," Zanetti commented after being omitted from the final squad.

Zanetti, won the last of his 102 caps in a 3-2 defeat by England in a friendly in November 2005 before falling victim to Pekerman's decision to revamp his squad with younger players for the World Cup

With new coach Alfio Basile, Zanetti was called for a friendly match against France on February 7th. He played brilliantly and helped Saviola to score the only goal of the game that gave Argentina the first victory under Basile 's second management.[4].

[edit] Honours

Olympic medal record
Competitor for Flag of Argentina Argentina
Men’s Football
Silver 1996 Atlanta Team competition

Zanetti was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004.

[edit] Personal life

In 1992 at the age of just nineteen he met Paula, who became his wife seven years later. Today, Paula Zanetti, daughter of a university teacher, dedicates herself to photography with good results, She enjoys 'immortalising' Javier from the touchline during Inter's home matches.

On June 11, 2005 Zanetti's wife Paula gave birth to a baby girl Sol Zanetti. The Inter captain commented "I'm very happy about this baby girl who has come into my life. It was a beautiful experience with my wife. My daughter will have all the happiness she deserves."

Zanetti's elder brother Sergio is a former football defender as well.

[edit] Charity work

Zanetti has also proven that he has a highly-developed social conscience. In response to Argentina's economic crisis of 2001, which threw millions of people into poverty, Zanetti, with his wife Paula, created the Fundación PUPI (PUPI foundation) in Argentina for the social integration of poor children. The aim of the organization is to help children by giving them educational opportunities, as well as taking care of their nutritional requirements who were left impoverished by the country's economic crisis.

"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," he explains.

In 2005 The Milan townhall awarded Zanetti with the Ambrogino d'Oro for his social initiative.

Zanetti is also the FIFA ambassador for the SOS Children's Villages project in Argentina, and has declared his support for the Mexican Zapatista rebels.[2]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Match Formations. Football-Lineups.com. Retrieved on January 17, 2007.
  2. ^ tactical Formations. Football-Lineups.com. Retrieved on January 17, 2007.
  3. ^ tactical Formations. Football-Lineups.com. Retrieved on January 25, 2007.
  4. ^ "Saviola sinks Les Bleus in Paris" - Yahoo sports.
  5. ^ A CAMBIASSO IL "PIRATA D'ORO" - Inter.com (Italian)

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Giuseppe Bergomi		 Internazionale Captain
1999 -		 Succeeded by
incumbent
Preceded by
Gianluca Pagliuca		 Internazionale Player Of The Year
1996		 Succeeded by
Youri Djorkaeff


Flag of Argentina Argentina squad - 2002 FIFA World Cup Flag of Argentina

1 Burgos | 2 Ayala | 3 Sorín | 4 Pochettino | 5 Almeyda | 6 Samuel | 7 C. López | 8 Zanetti | 9 Batistuta | 10 Ortega | 11 Verón | 12 Cavallero | 13 Placente | 14 Simeone | 15 Husaín | 16 Aimar | 17 G. López | 18 González | 19 Crespo | 20 Gallardo | 21 Caniggia | 22 Chamot | 23 Bonano | Coach: Bielsa
Flag of Argentina Argentina squad - 1998 FIFA World Cup Quarter-finalists Flag of Argentina

1 Roa | 2 Ayala | 3 Chamot | 4 Pineda | 5 Almeyda | 6 Sensini | 7 López | 8 Simeone | 9 Batistuta | 10 Ortega | 11 Verón | 12 Burgos | 13 Paz | 14 Vivas | 15 Astrada | 16 Berti | 17 Cavallero | 18 Balbo | 19 Crespo | 20 Gallardo | 21 Delgado | 22 Zanetti | Coach: Passarella
F.C. Internazionale Milano - Current Squad

1 Toldo | 2 Córdoba | 4 Zanetti | 5 Stanković | 6 Maxwell | 7 Figo | 8 Ibrahimović | 9 Cruz | 10 Adriano | 11 Grosso | 12 Júlio César | 13 Maicon | 14 Vieira | 15 Dacourt | 16 Burdisso | 18 Crespo | 19 Cambiasso | 20 Recoba | 21 Solari | 22 Orlandoni | 23 Materazzi | 25 Samuel | 36 Fautario | 50 Maaroufi | 51 Bonucci | 57 Filkor | 58 Biabiany | 60 Ribas | 61 Slavkovski | 77 Andreolli | 79 Carini | 91 González | 99 Choutos | Coach Mancini
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../j/a/v/Javier_Zanetti_3b2f.html"