Javier Zanetti

Talleres

After his rejection from Independiente, Zanetti signed for Talleres, then a second division team. With them, he played 33 matches and scored one goal in his only season, before moving in 1993 to the First Division club Banfield.

Banfield

A 20-year-old Zanetti debuted for Banfield on 12 September 1993 in a home match against River Plate. He scored his first goal 17 days later against Newell's Old Boys in a match that ended 1–1. His outstanding performances for Banfield gained popularity from El Taladro fans and also earned him a call-up from the national team. First division giants River Plate and Boca Juniors displayed interest, but Zanetti decided to stay on for another year at the club. In 1995, along with fellow Argentine Sebastián Rambert, he transferred to Italy's Inter Milan, becoming team owner Massimo Moratti's first-ever purchase.

Inter Milan

As a part of the squad for 19 seasons and with 858 appearances across all competitions, he is currently the team's longest-tenured player, and the first overall – surpassing Giuseppe Bergomi (758) – in the all-time list of Inter players by most games played. Throughout his stay with the club, he won 16 trophies, 15 of which came under his captaincy: the UEFA Cup in 1998, the 2005, 2006, 2010 and 2011 Coppa Italia, the 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2010 Supercoppa Italiana, the 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09 and 2009–10 Scudetti and the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League. Zanetti went 12 years without…

In June 2014, Inter chairman Erick Thohir appointed Zanetti vice-president for a two-year term. Zanetti kept the role upon the change of ownership to the Suning Holdings Group. On 4 May 2015, during a charitable match at the San Siro, with former and current football stars, organised by Zanetti himself for the opening celebrations for the Expo 2015 in Milan, Inter officially retired Zanetti's number 4 jersey.

Debuts and 100th appearance

Zanetti debuted for Argentina on 16 November 1994 against Chile under coach Daniel Passarella. He was called up for the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France, making his competitive debut in team's opening group match against Japan which finished in a 1–0 victory. During the 1998 World Cup run, he neatly finished off a Juan Sebastián Verón free kick in the round of 16 match against England making the score 2–2. Zanetti celebrated his 100th cap by helping Argentina win their 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup semi-final over Mexico on 26 June 2005, in which he won the Man of the Match award. Despite having been part of the team during the qualification rounds, Zanetti was not called up for the 2006 FIFA World Cup by coach José Pékerman in a controversial decision.

2000s

With new coach Alfio Basile, Zanetti played a friendly match against France on 7 February 2007, helping Javier Saviola to score the only goal of the game that gave Argentina the first victory under Basile's second management. In April 2007, Zanetti was presented with the National Giuseppe Prisco Award. After the retirement of Roberto Ayala, Zanetti was given the captain's armband. In a World Cup qualification match against Bolivia on 17 November 2007, he became the highest capped player for Argentina. Zanetti remained a regular footballer under new coach Diego Maradona, although defensive midfielder Javier Mascherano took over as captain at Maradona's request. Zanetti's place…

Javier Adelmar Zanetti was born in Buenos Aires to working-class parents of Italian ancestry and grew up in the harbour area in the Dock Sud district, one of the city's most notorious areas. His father Rodolfo was a bricklayer and his mother Violeta Bonnazola was a cleaner. Reportedly, some of Zanetti's ancestors were Italian settlers brought to southern Chile by Giorgio Ricci in the aftermath of the Occupation of Araucanía (1861–1883). He began playing football on a field in the city suburbs, maintaining the pitch in his spare time. When he was a teenager, he tried out for local club Independiente's youth academy, but was ultimately rejected and told that he lacked the physique to succeed in the game. Instead, he concentrated on school and worked as an assistant to his father with masonry as well as odd jobs such as delivering milk and helping out at a relative's grocery store.