After 19 years in the Italian Serie A, all with Inter Milan, Javier Zanetti said goodbye to Giuseppe Meazza’s fans during the last home match of the campaign on May 10, 2014.
The Argentine, who started his entire career in Italy with Inter on August 27, 1995, celebrated today with his fans that they have secured a place in the Europa League next year with a 4-1 victory over Lazio.
You could see by the players on the pitch today that they knew how important it was to send Zanetti off in style, but Lazio had other plans. G. Biava scored 2 minutes before the end of the match to give Lazio a 1-0 lead, but it didn’t take long and not even 5 minutes after, his Brazilian compatriot R. Palacio found the net for Inter Milan and ran to the bench by the waiting arms of Javier Zanetti, who did not start the match on the pitch.
In the 34th minute, Mr. Icardi found the net to give Inter a 2:1 lead, and he didn’t hesitate to also go to the bench to give Zanetti a big hug and a peck, and not 3 minutes after, on a detour in the box, Palacio found the back of the net and again with nothing else in mind but to celebrate with his Brazilian friend, he ran to Zanetti and the party started!
At that moment, the camera showed that Zanetti was chatting with the manager and a big roar came from the crowd as Zanetti was preparing to enter the match. The half-time whistle sounded and there was no doubt about who was coming into the game.
The captain, the veteran who had seen everything in his career, received the call in the 52nd minute to turn the crowd back on in a massive roar that was heard in the mountains of northern Italy, and received a special fanfare from the captain to enter the field.
The minute Hernanes scored the 3 points for Inter Milan, the public never stopped celebrating.
After the match, Zanetti arrived in midfield and gave everyone at the San Siro a special ciao, a tutti! Surrounded by his wife and children, Zanetti gave a sincere speech in which he thanked the fans for supporting him throughout his career and for helping him enjoy the moments of his stay there with all the championships, while his teammates, coaches and owners had tears in their eyes, but a big smile on their faces when he said goodbye.
In an even more powerful moment of the match, in the 81st minute, a fan came out of the stands to personally thank Zanetti for what it meant to him, when the security personnel striked him, Zanetti took the time to leave the field with the fan and thank him himself, which just showed the class and personality of one of the most respected players in Italy.
Perhaps we will say goodbye to a legend in Italy, but little remains to be said about his achievements.
While wearing the captain’s armband at Inter Milan, he won 16 trophies for the Nerazzurri (Black and Blue) in 15 years. The 1998 UEFA Cup, the 2005, ’06, ’10 & ’11 Italian Cup 2005, ’06, ’08 & ’10 the Italian Super Cup, the Italian Shield 2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10 (Serie a Championship) and the UEFA Champions League 2009-10.
A career that any player would dream of, he walks like a champion, a professional who gave everything he had to football, who played with a class that San Siro fans will never forget.
He will always be taken care of as the club’s coach within the organization after his career, so he will continue to bring a lot to the team, but now he will hang up his cleats and keep his head up high after an incredible career in Italian football.
