Zanetti: I never felt out of the picture Monday 18 June 2007 For most of the last decade, Javier Zanetti has been ever-present in two of the biggest sides in world football: the Argentinian national team and club side Inter Milan. Despite that, the inspirational and hard-working 33-year-old suffered one of the biggest setbacks of his career last year when he was omitted from the Albiceleste squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™. This season, however, the player's fortunes have changed for the better, with El Pupi having recently been crowned Serie A champion for the second successive year and been invited back into the national-team fold by coach Alfio Basile. Known for his tireless work with the charitable foundation he set up for disadvantaged children in his homeland, Zanetti found time amid the preparations for this month's Copa America to talk exclusively and at length to FIFA.com about the events of the last year - his triumphs in Italy, the pain of being overlooked for German 2006, his recent recall to the national team and his dream of helping his beloved Albiceleste win a major title. FIFA.com: Javier, it is more than 12 years since you debuted with the national team. What changes have you noticed in that time? Javier Zanetti: A lot of things have changed, although the desire to play [for the Albiceleste] is exactly the same. Every one of us would do everything in our power and make whatever sacrifice was needed to play for the team. I can honestly say that there's nothing more beautiful for a sportsperson that to play for his or her country, regardless of the tournament or the location. Of course, I've seen team-mates and coaches come and go in my time, but that sense of pride when you pull on the shirt remains intact. Do you think people realise the sacrifices that are involved? The most important thing is to be at ease with oneself, play your part when your time comes and just try to do your best for Argentina. We know the country is always behind us, watching our every move, and that we have to represent them as best we can. I hope people recognize that. Given your vast experience and international record, it must have hurt being left out of the squad for the FIFA World Cup™ in Germany... It left a bitter taste all right, especially as I'd been involved all the way through. I'd played in the qualifiers under (Marcelo) Bielsa and (Jose) Pekerman, as well as the friendlies and the Confederations Cup. I don't know what happened in those final couple of months for me to be dropped, nobody ever gave me a straight answer. Moreover, when I was with the squad, I was being told I was an important part of the team and a standard-bearer. I was led to believe I'd be playing a key role at the World Cup. Anyway, these things happen in football. Right now, I'm just enjoying the moment. What was it like experiencing Germany 2006 from the outside? It was a strange sensation because I'd love to have been there. That said, I encouraged my team-mates as I really wanted Argentina to do well, and many of them are also good friends. I was bitterly disappointed when we were knocked out. Was your recall all the sweeter after what you went through? Yes, but I never felt I was out of the national-team picture. On the contrary, I continued to feel like an international player. I knew if I continued to play well for my club that I'd get another opportunity. Football always gives you a chance to set the record straight. Things go full circle and end up the way they should be. You have played in some very good Argentina sides in your career, yet none of them have ever won a title. In fact, the last time the senior team won a major championship was at the 1993 Copa America... (Interrupts) Yes, unfortunately we haven't been able to crown some of those great performances with a major title. Now, we have another chances at the Copa America. Let's hope this is the one. Can you think of any reason why major honours have eluded the team? I think it's just circumstances. With (Daniel) Passarella, we came close to reaching the last four at France 98 before losing out to the Netherlands. With Bielsa we were very impressive in the qualifiers and friendlies prior to Korea/Japan 2002, but at the finals we suffered the cruel and undeserving fate of being knocked out in the first round. If we'd beaten Sweden 5-1 [as opposed to drawing 1-1 in our final group game], it wouldn't have been an injustice. But these things happen, and you just have to learn from them. Hopefully, this Copa America will provide us with the title we're looking for. With Hernan Crespo, Juan Veron, Roberto Ayala and yourself going to Venezuela, would you agree this Copa America will be one of the last chances for this generation of players to win a major title? Yes, we've come a long way together, and we've been on the cusp of glory many times. Never having taken that final step, every new tournament represents a new challenge, and this one will be no exception. Do the youngest squad members find it difficult to fit in with the more experienced members of the group? No, not at all. As a group we all get along fantastically well as the youngsters are very intelligent and good listeners. With every passing game, they are more and more prepared as they know what to expect and give their all to achieve our goals. I know there has been lots of conjecture about problems within the squad. In my 12 years with the team, I've heard it all: that we were fighting among ourselves; that the foreign-based players didn't want to come to certain games because of all the travelling involved, but they were all lies. We'd kill for the chance to play, and would take the boat or even walk if we had to! No other feeling comes close to that of representing your national team. Of the youngsters in the squad, would you say Lionel Messi has had the biggest impact? He's a player or immense quality, although he's still young and has plenty of room for improvement. What he's achieved thus far makes us believe we're witnessing the emergence of a genuine great, and he'll bring us lots of joy in the years ahead. Can you tell us a bit about your club football in Italy. How have you managed to remain a key player for so many years at a team like Inter? It hasn't been easy, especially as we've had to endure some difficult moments. Inter are a huge club and so always obliged to win. Fortunately, we've been able to deliver titles in the last three seasons. Once and for all, the truth has been told about what was happening in Italian football, and we [Inter] were the ones who were really affected. I'm not saying that was the only reason we hadn't been winning titles before, but it was a factor in our not winning three or four championships. Now, things are more transparent, and we've achieved the goals we'd set ourselves. Does it annoy you that some people have tried to belittle your recent title triumphs given the current state of affairs in Italian football? No, it doesn't bother me because we know the sections of the media who are saying that are on the side of those who were wrong. For anyone seeking affirmation of how well we've done, they need only look at all the records we've set in this season's league championship. As an Inter man, how did you take AC Milan's triumph in this year's UEFA Champions League? The old enemy eh! There is a lot of passion when it comes to our rivalry; it's on a par with Boca-River in Argentina. Luckily, our winning the Serie A title in the manner in which we did meant we were still euphoric despite their Champions League win. But how well the other team fares is still important in Milan? Of course, it pained us Inter fans to see them win the Champions League, but that doesn't change the fact that we were delighted with what we achieved. Could you imagine yourself playing for a European side other than Inter? No, I can't see that. I've only played for them in Europe, and they've always been great to me. I feel at home there. I realise that I'm at one of the world's top clubs and that it's not easy to stay there. A couple of seasons back Juan Veron took a pay cut to return to Argentina to try to get back into the national team. Although he had a lot to lose he accepted the challenge, won a domestic title and is now back in the Argentina squad. Could you see yourself following in his footsteps in the future? I know there will always be doors open to me in my country, and it would certainly be a nice challenge. I can easily understand why Seba made the move, as he's Estudiantes to the core, lives there and has great affection for the club. I'm delighted with what he and others who I've played with, like (Diego) Simeone and (Nelson) Vivas, have achieved. So you would consider a return? Any club in particular... Yes, I'd like to return [one day]. I'm a fan of Independiente, so I'd naturally like to wear their colours, and I also like Banfield, who gave me a lot as a young player. Either would be nice. Finally, have you given any thought to what you might do when you eventually hang up your boots? Well, I won't be going into coaching. I would like to dedicate myself to my children's charity [ Fundación Pupi] and set up something similar with Inter. I've already broached the subject with the club president, and he really likes the idea. AC Milan have a similar foundation, but as yet Inter don't. I'd like to set that up and devote my time to that. 在过去的十年时间里,哈维尔·萨内蒂始终效力于国际米兰俱乐部和阿根廷国家队这两支在世界足球市场上起着举足轻重作用的球队。但是,在去年,这名33岁的阿根廷后卫却意料之外地落选了国家队,因而遗憾地与06年德国世界杯擦肩而过。 然而本赛季,萨内蒂的好运却接连而至,首先是带领着自己的球队在意甲赛场上成功夺得了第十五冠,卫冕成功。随后又获得阿根廷新主帅阿菲奥·巴西莱的青睐,被重新召回到国家队中,除此之外,萨内蒂的“从意大利到阿根廷儿童基金会(PUPI)”也帮助收留了很多残障儿童。由于现在离美洲杯开赛还有一段时间,因此萨内蒂抽出了部分时间接受了国际足联官网的采访。 哈维尔,从您首次入选国家队到现在已经有12年的时间了,所以说,您应该很了解国家队这些年的变化。那么您认为最主要的变化是什么呢? “说实话,尽管有很多东西都在潜移默化中改变着,但是我们想为国家队效力的心却没有变过。我想,如果国家队需要我们,我们当中的每个人都愿意为之效力,即使需要我们做出一些牺牲和让步。可以这么说,对于一名运动员来说,为自己的祖国效力是世界上最美好的事情,无论他身在哪里。当然,在这些年中,我看着许多我的老队友离开,新队友加入进来;老教练离开,新教练进来,但是无论怎样我们的心是不变的。” 对于您落选了去年征战德国世界杯一事,您现在是如何看待的呢? “当然,对我来说,这很痛苦,很难以让人接受。去年的那个时候我的状态一直不错,但是很遗憾,我却落选了,我不知道发生了什么,也没有人告诉我为什么,这一度让我很困惑,很迷茫。但是,后来我被告知我是国家队中很重要的一部分,我本该在德国世界杯上充分展示我的能力,带领着我们的球队获得更好的成绩。不过,好在现在一切都很好,我充分享受着现在这一刻。” 那么德国世界杯上,您作为一名观众,有什么感受吗? “很奇怪的一种感觉吧,大概因为我深爱着这支球队。不过我一直在鼓励着我的那些队友,希望他们能为国增光,他们当中的很多人都是我的朋友。只是很遗憾,最后我们却被淘汰了。” 那么被重新召回到国家队是不是感觉特别高兴呢? “肯定是啊,但是我从来没有觉得我离开过国家队过。相反,我更认真地为我的俱乐部国际米兰效力,因为我知道在俱乐部表现出色也是能被国家队重新召回的一个原因。” 您虽然在国家队已经效力了很多年,但是好像近几年却还没获得过什么荣誉,上一次夺冠是93年的美洲杯吧? “是啊,很遗憾我们在近几年没夺得什么冠军,但是美洲杯又要开始了啊,我认为那是一个很好的机会。” 那么您认为是什么原因导致这些年一直与各个冠军无缘呢? “我认为只是环境因素吧。当年帕萨雷拉时期,我们离四强已经很近了,然而却在最后关头输给了荷兰队。在02年韩日世界杯上,我们的主教练是贝尔萨,然而由于实在是太糟糕的运气,我们居然小组都没有出现,着对我们来说简直是个噩梦。然而事情已经发生了,我们就应该正视这个问题,然后从中吸取教训。对于即将到来的美洲杯,我们还是满怀希望的。” 现在队内的赫尔南·克雷斯波、贝隆、罗伯特·阿亚拉以及您自己的年龄都已超过30岁,您是否同意这届美洲杯很有可能是你们这批球员最后的一届美洲杯了? “基本是的,我们曾经携手走过了很多路,也为之付出了很多努力。但是现在说实话,我们的体能都有了不同程度的衰退,所以我们不得不正视这个问题。” 在现在的国家队中,您是否认为梅西是最优秀的一名球员? “梅西是一名很出色的球员,虽然他还很年轻,但是同样他还有足够的潜能成长为一名国际巨星,我们足以相信他到时会带领这这支国家队取得更大的成绩,我们相信他会给我们带来更大的惊喜。” 我们知道您现在效力于国际米兰俱乐部,那么您是怎样看待您的意大利足球生涯的? “国际米兰是一支伟大的俱乐部,我很荣幸为之效力,并且那么多年一支是以队长的身份。这些年,我们经历过很多事情,很多的坎坷,还好,我们都一一克服了。国际米兰在意甲俱乐部中占据着举足轻重的地位,所以,我们所要承担的责任格外多。您也知道的,前些年意大利足球发生了一些事情,或多或少的,我们也受到了一定的影响,我不敢说这是几年没有夺冠的唯一因素,但是起码也是几个因素中很重要的一个。不过,现在事情正在朝着好的方向发展,我们也经过自己的努力将本赛季意甲冠军收入囊中。” 这个意甲冠军,有些媒体对此有些异议,您的看法呢? “我认为那些媒体之所以会这么说是因为他们站在某些球队的一方,当然了那些球队是原来犯过错的。我们对此不会在意,如果还有异议的话,那么请看一下我们本赛季那些比赛的记录。” 那么对于AC米兰夺得了欧洲杯冠军,您是怎么看的呢? “呵呵,AC米兰是我们的同城死敌呢!但是我们依然要祝贺他们。当然了,作为本赛季意甲冠军的我们在下赛季是不会仅仅满足一个冠军的。” 那么最后,您能透露一下您挂靴之后的安排吗? “呃,现在说这个问题还早吧。但是我觉得我不会去做一名教练的。我想我会投入到我的儿童慈善机构事业中去的,然后我希望我可以再建几个类似的基金会。据我所知,AC米兰俱乐部旗下好像有类似的基金会吧,但是国际米兰还没有,如果有可能,我希望我可以建一个,然后我会尽力去帮助那些孩子们。” |