Zanetti wins Facchetti Award "A touching moment"

The Inter skipper is the first Nerazzurri player to receive the Gazzetta dello Sport prize: "I feel Italian, I have a lot to thank your country for"

Inter captain Javier Zanetti is the winner of the Premio Facchetti 2012 award, now in its seventh edition, a prize set up for the Gazzetta dello Sport by Candido Cannavò and editor at the time Carlo Verdelli. The Nerazzurri talisman joins Julio Gonzalez, the captain of the Iraqi national team Younes Mahmoud Khalef, Paolo Maldini, Cesare Prandelli, Gianfranco Zola and Michel Platini. “This is one of the most important awards I've received in my career because it's named after Giacinto. The cheque you have handed me will go to my children in Argentina,” said an emotional Zanetti.

Leader with respect — One of the deciding factors in awarding Zanetti the honour was his ability to be a leader on the pitch while at the same time showing the utmost respect for the opposition. The work he does outside football via his foundation to help the most needy also contributed. The award ceremony was attended by Gianfelice Facchetti, Bedi Moratti, Franco Carraro, Claudio Lotito and some of the other Inter greats of the past such as Luisito Suarez and Roberto Bonisegna. "Thanks to his loyalty and his passion for his humanitarian work he’s become a symbol of modern-day football, recognised not only by the fans of his own club, but also by rivals supporters,” were the words of current Director of the Gazzetta dello Sport, Andrea Monti. His words were echoed by Gianni Petrucci, the President of CONI: "Zanetti shows us all how to win or lose, maintaining the same sporting freshness and the same attitude towards sport.”
Zanetti — "I’ve lived a fantastic adventure in Italy. I feel Italian and I must thank your country too. I’ll continue playing at least until 2014 and be focused on Inter. I don’t know whether I’ll be part of the Argentina squad for the World Cup in Rio. A future club official at Inter? I don’t know! We’ll see! For now, I’m only concentrated on playing football.” And praise for Zanetti also came from the other half of Milan, the Rossonero half: "In my 18 years of the Milan derby I’ve not heard a single one of my players say a single bad word about Zanetti,” AC Milan CEO Adriano Galliani said.