Javier Zanetti

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.

After his rejection from Independiente, Zanetti signed for Talleres, then a second division team.

Javier Adelmar Zanetti (born 10 August 1973) is an Argentine former professional footballer.

With them, he played 33 matches and scored one goal in his only season, before moving in 1993 to the First Division club 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.

From 1995 to 2014 he played for Italian club Inter Milan and was captain from 2001 until his retirement in 2014.

Having participated in 1,115 official games, he is on the list of men's footballers with the most official appearances.

He is also the foreign player with the most appearances in Serie A (615), and holds the fourth-most appearances in the league, behind only Gianluigi Buffon, Paolo Maldini and Francesco Totti.

He holds the record for the most appearances in the history of Inter (858), as well as the record for the most trophies won with the club, with 16; five Scudetti, four Coppa Italia, four Supercoppa Italiana, one UEFA Cup, one Champions League and the FIFA Club World Cup.

He also has the most appearances as captain in the Champions League (82).

In 1995, along with fellow Argentine Sebastián Rambert, he transferred to Italy's Inter Milan, becoming team owner Massimo Moratti's first-ever purchase.

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.

Zanetti made his debut for Inter on 27 August 1995 against Vicenza in Milan.

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 being sent off in a match.

He scored Inter's second goal in their 3–0 win over compatriots Lazio in the 1998 UEFA Cup final at the Parc des Princes in Paris, his first silverware at the club, after losing in the final in the previous season.

The first time he was sent off in his career was on 17 February 1999 in a Coppa Italia match against Parma, but he broke his streak when he was sent off in a Serie A match against Udinese on 3 December 2011.

These were the only two times he was sent off during his entire career at Inter.

At Inter, Zanetti played under 19 different coaches, making him the only player to have played under this many coaches.

He has pledged his future to the Nerazzurri, hoping to have a future behind the desk at the club in his retirement from playing.

"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."

After two years, in which he consistently wore the captain band in place of the injured Ronaldo, Zanetti was rewarded with the club captaincy in late 2001.

With Argentina he reached the final of the Copa América in 2004 and 2007, and the Confederations Cup in 1995 and 2005.

On retiring, Inter Milan retired his number 4 jersey and named him as its vice president.

He has been named an ambassador for the SOS Children's Villages project in Argentina by FIFA, and in 2005 he received the Ambrogino d'Oro award from the city of Milan for his social initiatives.

Zanetti is also a Global Ambassador for the Special Olympics.

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.

With the Argentina national team he played in 145 games, a figure that makes him the third player with the most appearances in the history of La Albiceleste, having held the record from 2007 to 2018.

He is regarded as one of the best players of all time, and is especially well known for having dedicated almost his entire career at Inter Milan, having a key role in the historic treble-winning 2009–10 season.

Zanetti was known for his versatility as well as his adeptness on both the left and right wing, having played mostly as a full-back or wing-back on both flanks, but also spending considerable time as a midfielder.

He is currently the Vice-President of Inter.

Zanetti started his career in Argentina, first with Talleres, and then Banfield.