Top facts about Javier Zanetti, El Tractor

Javier Zanetti is the historic former right-back of the Argentine team who gained much of his popularity through playing for Inter Milan.

He has earned his place in the memory of the nerazzurri fans not only in the light of his ability to attack and defend but also because he has turned in to an emblem of the team for almost two decades.

The beginning of his career was in Argentina, first with Talleres, and then

. From 1995 to 2014 he featured for the Italian club Internazionale and captained the team from 2001.

With 1,114 official games played, he is fifth on the list of players in history with the most appearances. Likewise, he is the foreign player with the most appearances in Serie A (615), and holds the fourth-most appearances in the league, behind only Paolo Maldini,

and Francesco Totti.

Above all, he is the most capped player in the history of Inter (861), and won 16 trophies with the club: five Scudetti, four Coppa Italia, four Supercoppa Italiana, one UEFA Cup, one Champions League and the FIFA Club World Cup. He is also the most capped player as captain in the Champions League (82).

Apart from being a legendary footballer for Inter, his participation with the Argentina shirt is part of the history of the team itself. He is considered to be the second player with the most matches at Albiceleste with 145 appearances( behind Javier Mascherano’s 147) yet he just netted 4 goals between 1994 and 2011.

Top facts about Javier Zanetti you might want to know

Here you would go through an engaging ride through some of the most impressive top facts about Javier Zanetti. So buckle up for the long ride ahead.

Javier Zanetti facts in brief

Bio

• Full name

  : Javier Adelmar Zanetti

• Nickname

  : El Tractor

General information

• Date of Birth

  : August 10, 1973

• Birth Place

  : Buenos Aires, Argentina

• Nationality

  : Argentine

• Religion

  : Catholic

• Age

  : 47

Football information

• Occupation

  : Retired Professional Football Player

• Position

  : Defensive Midfielder

• Foot

  : right

Physical Status

• Height

  : 5 Feet 10 Inches (1.78 m)

• Weight

  : 75 kg (165 lbs)

• Hair Color

  : Brown

• Eye Color

  : Dark brown

Personal information

• Father

  : Rodolfo Zanetti

• Mother

  : Violeta Bonnazola

• Brother

  : Sergio Zanetti

• Marital Status

  : Married

• Wife

  : Paula Zanetti (m. 1999)

• Sons

  : Tomas Zanetti, Ignacio Zanetti

• Daughters

  : Sol Zanetti

• Net Worth

  : $12 Million

Javier Zanetti childhood

Javier was born into a typical working-class family in the suburbs of Buenos Aires.

Javier Zanetti childhood

was not an easy journey. He was raised in the harbour areas of Dock Sud district, one of the most notorious areas of Argentina.

From his early childhood, he started to be involved in not only football and study but also experienced part-time work in a grocery store, delivered milk and also helped his father, who was a mason.

In spite of all these difficulties, Zanetti did not put the thought of playing football aside. In 1982 he started his football career as he joined the club of

for which he played until 1989.

But when the player was 16 years old, he understood that it would be very difficult to break into the basis of this team, as they had rejected him, saying he lacked the physique to play.

The upset teenager then got contracted with a lesser-known club -Talleres de Remedios de Escalada, a second division team of Argentina. Although his run with them was not that much good and it was rather average, he was not discouraged from joining Banfield.

After playing some decent seasons for Banfield, he eventually joined Internazionale, and Inter found their icon. Some things are bound to occur in as much as they are written in the stars. Inter and Zanetti’s case was that kind of incident.

Javier Zanetti professional career

Javier Zanetti tried out to be part of Independiente youth academy but after he was rejected on account of his inability to succeed in a game for his lack of physique, he joined the

.

He began to show a good game in the first season, featuring in 33 games, putting away his first goal on a professional level for them. Although the team took 14th place in the second division of the championship of Argentina, he did not stay in the division, and right away after the end of the championship, he got contracted with the Banfield.

Back then, the club had gained the right to play in the First Division of the Argentina Championship. On September 12, 1993, Javier made his debut for Banfield in a game against River Plate. And he netted his first goal for them against the Newells Old Boys in the Argentinean championship match.

In his first season with the team, he became one of the favourites of local fans as they were ranked in 9th place. In the second season, he went on to perform brilliantly, but he did not succeed to help the team repeat their previous success, as they took only 13th place.

After his brief stint with the Banfield, he joined the

in 1995. On August 27, the Argentinian made his debut for them in a match against Vicenza. On December 3, 1995, he put away his first goal for Inter at the gate of Cremonese.

From the very first season, Javier managed to become the main defender of the Milan team. But as times goes by, with the arrival of more eminent stars in the club, he began to take the position of left-back.

In 1999 Javier Zanetti took the responsibility of captaining the Internationale, taking the captain's armband from the legend of the club of Milan, Giuseppe Bergomi. On April 16, 2010, the legend played his 500th match for the Milan club. By the end of his sports career, he became even more willing to stay and end his football life in this club.

Having played his 600th match in 2013, Javier revealed the fact that he would presumably hang the boots on a nail. In the summer of 2013, he promoted the contract with Inter for another year.

On May 10, 2014, he played his last match with a unique captain's armband as the names of all those players with whom he entered the field in the Inter shirt were printed on it.

As part of Milan's Inter, during his career, he managed to win such awards as the UEFA Cup, 4 Italian Cups, 4 Italian Super Cups, along with becoming the champion of Italy for 5 times.

Also in 2010, Zanetti together with “Inter” won the Champions League and Club World Cup. Totally for “Internationale” in Serie A, he appeared in 615 matches and scored 12 times.

Besides in the Champions League, the athlete spent 105 games and scored 2 goals. Furthermore, in the Argentine national team, he has a special record despite his achievements with the national team through full trials. On November 24, 1994, he made his debut in the game against Chile.

Totally for the national team, playing until 2011, he appeared in 143 matches, scoring 5 goals in them. He also proved his dedication to his home country, placing himself in second place in the list of players who most notably appeared to strengthen the national team behind Javier Mascherano.

In June 2014, he was appointed as the vice-president of Inter by the club chairman Erick Thohir for a two-year term. And he kept the role upon the change of ownership to the Suning Holdings Group.

Javier Zanetti personal life

In regard to top facts about Javier Zanetti in the realm of his personal life affairs, one can point out the fact that he married his long-time girlfriend Paula de la Fuente, who is the daughter of a university lecturer on 23 December 1999.

Seven years before their marriage, they met each other and began dating when Javier was 19 and she was just 14.

Javier Zanetti wife

current profession is photography.

The couple is blessed with three children together, a daughter, Sol (born 11 June 2005), and two sons, Ignacio (born 2008) and Tomás (born 9 May 2012).

They currently live together happily near Lake Como, as they also own a restaurant called El Gaucho in Milan in the Navigli district, a highly popular area that attracts many tourists.

One of the most heart-wrenching

top facts about Javier Zanetti

is that his mother, Violeta Bonazzola, passed away from a heart attack just hours after Inter's victory in the 2011 Coppa Italia Final.

His elder brother Sergio is also a former football defender. To clarify confusions, Javier Zanetti is not a relative of Cristiano Zanetti, an Italian who played alongside him for five seasons at Inter.

Besides, it is notable to indicate that he has published two autobiographies: Capitano e gentiluomo in 2010 and Giocare da uomo in 2013.

Interestingly in 2007, Zanetti collaborated with Italian singer Mina in a Spanish cover of the song "Parole parole", available in the album Todavía.

Javier Zanetti religion

As long as

Javier Zanetti religion

is concerned, he is a devout Catholic, to such an extent that as he is a close friend of Dutch footballer Wesley Sneijder, he inspired him to convert to Catholicism.

And upon the 2013 election of the fellow Argentine Pope Francis, Zanetti was invited to the Vatican to participate in an audience with him. He expressed his feelings in an interview after the audience in the following terms:

"It was an emotional occasion because when he was elected, the first thing I wanted to do was meet him. Today I had the opportunity to do so and it was a real privilege. I found him to be a straightforward man, with a big heart, who will do everything in his power to help believers."

In a disclosed meeting in Santa Marta, which lingered on nearly for an hour, Javier discussed numerous issues with the pontiff, from his experiences in Italy and Argentina to crucial matters like the herculean work done by Inter-Campus and the P.U.P.I. Foundation.

Pope Francis who is a big football enthusiast and fan of

in his homeland, received several gifts from Zanetti including his number 4 shirt and a captain's armband with the flags of Italy, Argentina and the Vatican City embroidered on it, along with Zanetti and the pope's initials.

He also received a copy of the Inter-Campus book that was featured with a special message from president Massimo Moratti inside, a sign of the P.U.P.I. Foundation, and a pennant with the crest of Pope Francis on it.

Javier Zanetti potentials

One of the most amazing top facts about Javier Zanetti is that he is recognized with the nickname of El Tractor for his remarkable stamina and unflagging energetic runs up and down the wings so as to help both attack and defence. His teammates knew him for his consistency and fitness regime, as he was benefited from these features throughout his career.

As a captain for both his club and international sides, he was highly adored and well-respected by both fans and the opposition for his leadership, composure and more specifically his reassuring demeanour both on and off the pitch to such an extent that in his entire 22-year career, he just received two red cards.

Zanetti was an agile, robust and physically fit player in his prime, with exceptional physical features, incredible ball control, dribbling, technical skill and acceleration.

Defensively, he exceeded at reading the game, as he was a good ball-winner and man-marker, yet his ball distribution to his teammates was excessively effective in the light of his passing range and vision.

A two-way and two-footed player, he also excelled at playing on either flank, while he was qualified to advance into more offensive positions for the sake of crossing balls for teammates.

Besides, he owned a precise shot from distance. And during his later years at Inter, he was recognized for having developed a formidable partnership with fellow full-back Maicon, ending up the club win several titles.

Javier Zanetti social media

If we delve a bit further into

top facts about Javier Zanetti

, the indication of his social media accounts would be highly notable. With over 1.4 million followers on Instagram, he once uploaded a photo of himself with two of his nephews posturing in a swimsuit with a mate in his hand (the above image), captioning "We take advantage of these beautiful days."

Quickly, the post surpassed 80 thousand like and generated a welter of various comments on social networks, which were inclined to highlight his incredible physical condition even six years after the retirement from professional football, for instance, one of the comment read "Captain, come and play, you're immense" or another indicating " When the uncle is younger than the grandchildren. It can happen."

One particular aspect of

Javier Zanetti social media

is that he has a lot of activities not only on Instagram but also on Twitter and Facebook.

For example, recently he joked with his fans in a ‘Guess Who’ challenge post on his Instagram. He posted a photo that showed 16 different players represented through emojis and it quickly went viral across social media as the people had an insatiable desire for entertainment whilst stuck inside due to the Coronavirus emergency.

While he had around 3 hundred thousand Followers on his Twitter account, he once along with Ryan Giggs took over the official

and Inter Milan Twitter accounts for a bizarre online Q&A. And both likely deemed it a brilliant idea to have a chat in front of a digital audience of millions.

He also has his official page on Facebook and once used it to thank the club and president Erick Thohir for their decision to retire the number 4 shirt he wore for 20 seasons at Inter. And he thanked the fans who have always given him great support as well.

Javier Zanetti net worth

As one of the top facts about Javier Zanetti, the notion of his net worth merits a mention. His name is ranked on the list of the Richest Soccer Player in Argentina.

He has built a whopping amount of money from his football profession.

Javier Zanetti net worth

is estimated to be $12 million while he has built his wealth steadily over the years.

Javier Zanetti altruism

If we take one of the most inspiring

top facts about Javier Zanetti

into consideration, we would suggest that along with his wife Paula, he created the Fundación PUPI. It is an Argentine nonprofit organization that supports impoverished and disadvantaged children.

It is predominantly localized in the Buenos Aires Province, specifically in townships where the underlying majority of the population live under the poverty line. The purpose of the foundation is to provide poor children with educational opportunities and to meet their nutritional requirements at the same time.

It is recognized by the government and has collaborations with corporate sponsors, charities and local football clubs as well. The organization's president is Andrés de la Fuente and Monica Giacoletto, who are the father-and mother-in-law of Zanetti and are specialized in psychopedagogy.

Reading his own terms in this respect would be much more impressive: "When I look back to my childhood, many concrete scenes come to my mind, good ones and bad ones.

I had a difficult childhood, and 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."

Besides, it is notable to indicate that he has been called an ambassador for the SOS Children's Villages project in Argentina by FIFA, and in 2005 he was granted the Ambrogino d'Oro award from the city of Milan for his social initiatives.

Zanetti is also a Global Ambassador for the Special Olympics and has announced his support for the Mexican Zapatista rebels as well.

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