Since he officially unveiled himself as an Inter player, Javier Zanetti has been talking about his ‘pride’ celebrating 25 years.
Zanetti became the first signing of the Massimo Moratti era at Inter in the summer of 1995, with the Nerazzurri charging €6.5 m for the then-21-year-old right-back to Argentina’s side Banfield.
He went on to become the player with the most appearances in the history of the club (858), in 2010, collecting five Scudetti, four Coppa Italia and the Champions League.
Argentine big-hitters River Plate and Boca Juniors have courted versatile right-sided player Zanetti after developing themselves with Talleres and Banfield. But instead, he plumped to become one of the very first signings made by new Inter president Massimo Moratti for Italy’s Serie A.
His debut in a narrow 1-0 home victory at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza came in right wing-back on August 27, 1995, against Vicenza. During that initial campaign, he went on to make 32 Serie A appearances, missing just two league matches. City rivals AC Milan lifted the Scudetto while Inter trailed to seal the UEFA Cup qualification in 7th place.
“Twenty-five years ago today, was my formal introduction to Inter. At the start of my fantastic story with the Nerazzurri fans, always a beautiful moment to watch and recall with pride,” he wrote.
Now 46, he retired in 2014 from professional football and was fast-tracked to his current vice-president position.
