Zanetti would like to play it: "Inter is ready"

Appiano Gentile, 30 May 2025 – In a week he has accumulated so much pre-match tension that he was reminded of the long eve of major events, when he wore the black and blue jersey as a footballer and carried the captain’s armband on his arm. “Would I like to play in this final? Damn, I wouldn’t make me ask twice. I would run onto the pitch...”. But Javier Zanetti can’t, he has been hanging up his boots since 18 May 2014 and is the vice-president of his Inter. The sign of continuity between past and present. A piece of the club’s history, a symbol for the fans. A favourite forever.

The last Champions League was won by your Inter fifteen years ago, the year of the Treble. What was different?

"My Inter was very strong, but this team is too, because it doesn't reach the final by chance after eliminating Bayern Munich and Barcelona. If we think about the days before the event, we certainly arrived full of energy, with the adrenaline of those who had won the Scudetto and the Coppa Italia, now the coach and the players have to metabolise the title that slipped away by a hair's breadth. It really makes you angry".

Can the regret for that point from Napoli have psychological repercussions?

“No, I don't think so. The boys are very motivated. Unfortunately, everything happened towards the end of the championship, perhaps the defeat in Bologna in the recovery was decisive but now we have to be optimistic. The team believes in it, it will be a very balanced match, we hope for a happy ending. We can only praise this group that has reached two Champions League finals in three years”.

And there is the desire to redeem the mockery of two years ago...

“Sure. Already in 2023 in Istanbul we would have deserved it: we were underdogs but we came really close against City. The regret remains for how we played that match, with courage and creating many opportunities. We can repeat the same performance against PSG”.

A rival that is sometimes indecipherable: terrible start in Europe, now they seem invincible...

“In fact, he reached the final after having narrowly escaped the group stage, but many insiders were already convinced a couple of months ago that they would have made it all the way to the final.”

How do you explain it?

“There are many merits of Luis Enrique, I like him a lot as a coach. He had to rebuild a group, he put all the players back in place even if there were no champions like in the years of Messi, Neymar and Mbappè. After all, history says it: it is in the decisive moments that a team becomes strong. The Treble group won the Champions League precisely because they took risks in the groups”.

From the outside, Inter today seems like a team disappointed by the outcome of the championship and exhausted by the fatigue of the season. Could having to play everything in one night be a burden?

“I don’t think Inter are tired. This is a team that enjoys itself and plays football, and it’s a pleasure to watch them. But with my Inter of 2010 in the final after the 1-0 we closed the door and controlled the game. This will be a fundamental aspect of the match in Munich”.

It is also true that playing, and playing well, is proof of an increasingly European mentality in Inzaghi's Inter...

“There is no doubt about that. But there are moments when you have to think only about the result: you saw Barcelona in Milan, at 3-2 for them they were all forward and they came out because they wanted to attack until the end. In my day people like Piqué and Puyol would not have let us get close to the goal...”

Many of Inter's hopes are placed on his compatriot Lautaro Martinez...

“He is doing very well now after a small injury that forced him to slow down in recent weeks. Before the semi-final against Barcelona he had a terrible week because he didn't know if he would make it. But at the end of the game he was crying, showing that he has a big heart and true attachment to the shirt. He wanted to play at all costs, he did a fantastic job. He is our captain and role model, he has a unique “garra“”.