Quotes from Javier Zanetti

I go to the hairdresser once a month and even if I don't use products, I always want to look tidy.

I have always taken pleasure from the affection I received from Banfield fans everytime I have returned here, but I will not close my career with them.

Recovery after hard work is key for any athlete.

Sportive fortunes get built day after day, week after week through a healthy lifestyle.

Messi is an extraordinary player, but your squad is pivotal: at a World Cup, the 11 players on the pitch and everyone else in the group can all play an important role.

What can you say about Messi? A guy who has won five Ballon d'Ors, four Champions Leagues and has scored 97 goals in a year. There is no need to win a World Cup to certify that talent.

The thing about Champions League football is it can turn on an instant. You can have a very good, solid team over the course of the season, but the Champions League is more like the World Cup, where your fate can be decided in a second and you need a bit of luck too.

I grew up in a humble neighbourhood in Argentina called Dock Sud. From my house, about 200 metres away was a football pitch. That's where I spent my childhood. It's a neighbourhood where everybody helped each other because there was a lot of difficulties. There, I grew up happily, because I learned a lot of things.

I am a big fan of Independiente and I played in their youth systems before being released for being too small, so I went to work with my father as a builder. This helped me understand a lot of things about life; it made me mentally very strong and it also pushed me to go and play for another team.

We Argentines do not realise what Leo represents for the whole world.

I never imagined that I would be at a club like Inter, with so much history and success and also as the captain. I can't see myself as a coach, but maybe as a director to give back to the club.

I've been lucky to be part of very good teams and to play with immense players.

Destro and Silvestre are two players worthy of wearing the Inter colours.

I can honestly say that there's nothing more beautiful for a sportsperson that to play for his or her country, regardless of the tournament or the location.

Even though I started out at right-back, I actually enjoy the contrast of playing both at full-back and in midfield. Both require physical attributes and a lot of energy.

Injuries are part of the job.

My secret is to train as intensively as I can, if possible, with the same intensity you experience in a real match.

I live every training session to the fullest as if it were a final.

I will not end my career with Banfield. I will stay at Inter until the end, the Nerazzurri fans should remain tranquil.

When I was young, as a fan of Independiente, my idol was Enrique Bochini. He was a playmaker and a total legend at the club. He never played for another club in his career. Maradona was a fan of Bochini too. So when I think that I have only played for Inter in Italy, I feel a little like Bochini. Only with far fewer assists!

In the past a lot of Italians emigrated to Argentina, and now us Argentinians, and in my case, us footballers, are returning to Italy. We always try to keep our identity.

My kids go to school in Italy and after my playing career is over I want to spend time with my family.

My only desire was to defend and honour the Inter jersey in any country all over the world.

To arrive in a city like Milan as a young man was a huge challenge.