MILAN – On the day of his 42nd birthday, Javier Zanetti welcomed Sky Sport Italia to Inter HQ for an interview on his past, present and future. And what better place to start than the day he sealed his move to the Nerazzurri, on 5 June 1995: "So many years have passed since that moment, but I’m really happy with my decision. Moving to Italy and coming to a huge club like Inter – the possibility to be part of this wonderful family – was a great move in my career.
"It wasn’t your average move because I was swapping a small club in Argentina for one of the giants of European football. That didn’t happen much back then – it was a big opportunity," continued Zanetti.
The Inter legend then acknowledged that another big club – Real Madrid – was interested in signing him at various points throughout his career: "Every time we meet, Florentino Perez speaks to me about it. We were chatting about it in China this summer. Real looked to sign me many times but I decided to stay, thinking about my career and listening to my heart. As I’ve always said, I love this jersey and this club."
Conversation then turned to the current Inter side: "It’s growing slowly but surely. We have a group that’s doing some great work together with the boss. There is a real desire to challenge once again and we have everything in place to return to the top. Serie A is always a tough league, but our goal is to get back into Europe. We’re desperate to do that, especially for our fans. The lads understand that and are doing everything they can to ensure we have a big season in 2015/16."
There were then a few words on a couple of Inter’s new signings: "We went to great lengths to bring in Kondogbia. Ausilio and Fassone did a fantastic job there. He’s a big talent and can give us a hand. Of course, he’s also a very young player, so we need to give him time to adapt to Italian football. We’ll keep a close eye on him, just like we do with all the players, to help him produce his best football.
"As an opponent, Jovetic always used to cause us problems. He’s one of those players that can pull something out of the bag at any moment. I’m really happy that he’s here with us – he’s another one that can do well with our group," declared Zanetti.
"Handanovic decided to stay with us because he knows that our intentions are for Inter to be challenging at the top once again," added the Argentine.
Last but not least, Zanetti spoke about the club’s objectives for the season ahead: "My first trophy as a director? We all hope that happens and that’s what we’re working towards. We want Inter to be at the top of the game."
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