During his 22-year playing career, Javier Zanetti turned out more than 1,000 times for club and country.
The Argentina and Inter Milan great shared a dressing room with some of the greatest players of his generation and played under some of the game’s most influential coaches.
Few, however, left quite the same impression as Marcelo Bielsa, who handed Zanetti 52 international caps during his six-year spell in charge of Argentina.
Zanetti on Bielsa's impact
Bielsa’s reputation for demanding the highest level of commitment from his players is well-documented, but for Zanetti, the former Leeds United manager’s eccentric methods went way beyond mere tactics and training sessions.
"He is a manager who knows how to get the absolute best out of his players,” Zanetti tells FourFourTwo. That was true for me, and it has been true for so many others.”
For Zanetti, what sets Bielsa apart from other elite coaches is his ability to connect on a much deeper, more meaningful level.
“He has a way of reaching something deep inside you, of reigniting that pure love of the game you had as a kid,” he continues.
“It was a wonderful six years working with him with the national team."
During that time, Zanetti’s international career began to flourish, with the defender able to benefit from playing under Bielsa for a sustained period.
A year after Bielsa left the Argentina job, a new era was ushered in when Lionel Messi made his debut in a 2005 friendly against Hungary.
Over the next seven years, Zanetti and Messi would share a pitch for Argentina 37 times, giving the Inter Milan star the opportunity to get a front-row seat for the accession of one of the game’s all-time greats.
“I was lucky enough to play alongside him for six or seven years with Argentina, right at his peak, and when he was just breaking into the national team,” Zanetti adds.
“He could, and still can, produce something that nobody sees coming. Quite simply, the greatest player who ever lived.”
