Inter Milan
He made his debut for Inter on 27 August 1995 against Vicenza in Milan. Throughout his stay with the club, he has won 16 trophies, 15 of which came under his captaincy : the UEFA Cup in 1998 – scoring the second goal for the final with a shot outside the penalty area – the 2005, 2006, 2010 and 2011 Coppa Italia, the 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2010 Italian Super Cup, the 2005–2006, 2006–2007, 2007–2008, 2008–2009 and 2009–2010 Scudetti and the 2009-10 UEFA Champions League. In 2010, Zanetti became the first player to captain an Italian club to a treble of the Scudetto, Coppa Italia and European Cup.
Zanetti's qualities have earned him respect on and off the field. He is sometimes criticised for being too soft-spoken on the pitch, but he makes up for this by being one of Inter's most consistent, reliable, and trusted players. As such, he was rewarded with the club captaincy, taking over from legendary defender Giuseppe Bergomi. Being a part of the squad for the last 13 seasons and with over 700 appearances, he is currently the team's longest-tenured player, and the first overall surpassing Bergomi (758) in the all-time list of most capped Inter players. To Inter fans, Zanetti is one of the greatest players to have ever worn the colours of the black and blue and he is a legend of Inter and considered their inspiration. He celebrated his 600th cap for Inter in style with a 1–0 win over newly promoted Lecce. Minutes before the match, he was presented with a commemorative plate by vice-captain Iván Córdoba to mark the special occasion.
Since the arrival of Maicon at the beginning of the 2006–07 season, Zanetti was moved from the right back position into midfield. He ended a four-year goal drought when he scored on 5 November 2006 at a home match against Ascoli, having previously scored on 6 November 2002 at an away match against Empoli. On 27 September 2006, against Bayern Munich, Zanetti played his 500th professional match for Inter and on 22 November 2006, he appeared in his 100th UEFA match against Sporting Clube de Portugal. Zanetti went on an incredible twelve years without being sent off in a match. The first time he was sent off in his career was on 17 February 1999 in a Coppa Italia match against Parma, but he broke his streak when he was sent off in a Serie A match against Udinese on 3 December 2011. These are the only times he has been sent off during his entire career at Inter.
At Inter, Zanetti has had 17 different coaches (list), making him the only player to have played under this many coaches. His current contract with Inter Milan runs until 2013 after he extended his contract at the summer of 2010. The captain has pledged his future to the Nerazzurri, hoping to have a future behind the desk at the club once he hangs up his boots after he quits playing. "Inter means a lot to me," Zanetti said.
It was the first team to open the doors of European football. I was very young when I came here and I think not many teams could have had so much faith and patience with a boy in his early 20s from the very first day like Inter did with me. I will always be grateful for that. For some reason I have always felt at home here at Inter and this is why I have never thought of leaving.
Though Zanetti is more often classified as a defender, he has played in the midfield for most of the first half of the 2008–09 season. For the last several weeks of October 2008, with Portuguese coach José Mourinho facing a midfield crisis due to injuries to key midfielders Esteban Cambiasso and Sulley Muntari, he was moved again to the midfield for the matches against Genoa and Fiorentina. Since then, Mourinho played him in the midfield due to the preference of Maicon, Lúcio, Walter Samuel, and Cristian Chivu in the back four.
The 2009–10 season began well for Zanetti and Inter, especially after a 4–0 thrashing of crosstown rivals Milan in the Derby della Madonnina. In the 17 October match against Genoa, he started off the counterattack that led to Inter's second goal after dispossessing a Genoa player. Inter became the first team of the season to win by a five-goal margin. On 24 October, he reached Giacinto Facchetti's record of 476 Serie A appearances when he turned out for the match against Catania, which ended in a 2–1 win for the Nerazzurri. He also currently holds a club record of 149 consecutive appearances.
Inter won the 2010 Champions League Final 2-0 against Bayern Munich on 22 May 2010. This was Zanetti's 700th appearance for Inter Milan.
On 20 October 2010, at 37 years and 71 days, Zanetti became the oldest player to score in the Champions League when he netted in the opening minute of Inter's 4-3 group stage win over Tottenham Hotspur at the San Siro. This was only his second ever Champions League goal; his first came in December 1998 in a match in a 2-0 win against Sturm Graz.
On 19 January 2011, Zanetti overtook Inter legend Giuseppe Bergomi in Serie A appearances, his 520th match in Serie A, all for Inter.
On 11 May 2011, Zanetti made his 1000th appearance as a professional footballer playing for Inter against Roma in the second leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final.
On 20 September 2011, Javier Zanetti made the all-time appearance record in a Serie A clash against Novara. The Argentine defender replaced Giuseppe Bergomi in the Inter record books upon his appearance against Novara.
Read more about this topic: Javier Zanetti, Club Career