Zanetti: ‘I was in love with Inter, Chivu always intelligent’

Javier Zanetti reveals why he turned down offers from England and Spain to see out his career at Inter, and why he knew Cristian Chivu ‘had the ability to develop as a coach.’

The club legend came to Europe from Argentina in 1995 for Inter and remained there until his retirement in 2014.

Even then, the experience wasn’t over, as he immediately went into management as their vice-president.

“Inter is the club of my heart, the club I’m in love with,” Zanetti told Sky Sports UK.

“I had offers from Spain and England to go and play there, but the truth is I stayed at Inter because I really wanted to leave my mark here at this institution. I knew our President at that time was making great sacrifices so that Inter could win important titles, and, well, time proved me right.”

Massimo Moratti did indeed achieve success, overseeing the legendary Treble campaign of 2010 where they won the Scudetto, Champions League and Coppa Italia in the same season.

Zanetti was the captain of that side under Jose Mourinho, but his teammate was Chivu, who is now at the helm as their coach.

“I’m very happy and very pleased because I think Cristian deserves this opportunity. Even when we were team-mates, Cristian was a very intelligent player,” assured the legend.

“Now he’s dedicated himself to coaching, and we’re very happy and pleased that he’s managing our team. It was always clear he had the ability to develop as a coach.”

Inter ended 2025 empty-handed, losing the Scudetto by just two points to Napoli, the Champions League Final to Paris Saint-Germain, the Coppa Italia semi-final, and two editions of the Supercoppa Italiana.

“I see a very balanced season, especially in Italian football, because there are four or five teams separated by just one point,” Zanetti said of their trophy odds.

“The important thing is that Inter always competes. And I think that applies whether Inter is playing in the Champions League or in Serie A. We always prove to be competitive, and that certainly brings you much closer to success.”