Day 4 – This was the captain's day. There's no other way to describe it, even if there was plenty going on elsewhere. Like Bedy Moratti's visit to Inter Club Athens and the trip to the Parthenon.
Just minutes after stepping off his flight at Athens airport, Javier Zanetti received his first surprise: former team-mate Lambros Choutos – currently looking for a club – was there to meet him. With luggage and family in tow, the skipper made his way to Piraeus, where he arrived shipside at 16:30. Nerazzurri fans lined the decks high above, displaying banners, waving flags and chanting encouragement. The moment they'd been waiting for had arrived: their idol was joining them on board the Navigator of the Seas, to sail together to Ephesus and to raise the enthusiasm level even higher.
There was just enough time for Zanetti to drop off his bags in his cabin before he was leaving again, because a meeting with fans in the theatre awaited him. Lots and lots of Inter fans crowded in. All in expectation. A fun lottery was devised, with passengers drawn out by cabin number and placed into two groups for separate autograph sessions. They stood in line, waiting their turn in orderly fashion. But you should have heard the roar that went up when Javier stepped on stage! 700 joyous fans singing 'There's only one captain' in unison.
That was the cue for the next surprise, and suddenly there was not one captain on stage but two! Frank Martinsen, commander of the Navigator of the Seas, saluted our own skipper in true captain's style. That was followed by the customary exchange of pleasantries and gifts: a signed Zanetti shirt for one and a crystal replica of the Royal Caribbean ship chosen by Inter for this cruise for the other.
Then, after a little down time, came the musical soirée. Forming the jury were Bedy Moratti, Inter Club Coordination Centre director Sergio Spairani, Zanetti himself and his daughter Sol, just eight years old but no less passionate about singing than her dad. She even sang her own piece (and very good it was too!).
The Blacks and the Blues faced off in another game: on the same side when it comes to Inter, they find themselves on opposite teams for a week at sea. Yet whatever happens, as we've already said, it's the Nerazzurri who will win, and that's what matters most.
Finally, we reached the highlight of the evening: Zanetti's rendition of Eros Ramazzotti's 'Più bella cosa' (Nothing More Beautiful). And there's not much more beautiful than seeing and hearing our captain sing. Apart from watching him charge down the wing, of course.
