Cristiano Zanetti

Cristiano Zanetti (Italian pronunciation: [kriˈstjaːno ddzaˈnetti]; born 10 April 1977) is a retired Italian footballer who played as a midfielder and current football coach. He was most recently in charge of Massese.[1]

Cristiano Zanetti
Personal information
Date of birth (1977-04-10) 10 April 1977
Place of birth Carrara, Italy
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1993–1996 Fiorentina 4 (0)
1996–1997 Venezia 21 (0)
1997–1998 Reggiana 31 (0)
1998 Internazionale 0 (0)
1998–1999 Cagliari 18 (0)
1999–2001 Roma 38 (0)
2001–2006 Internazionale 99 (2)
2006–2009 Juventus 63 (4)
2009–2011 Fiorentina 29 (0)
2011–2012 Brescia 8 (0)
Total 311 (6)
National team
1995 Italy U-18 1 (0)
1998–2000 Italy U-21 19 (1)
2001–2004 Italy 17 (1)
Teams managed
2013–2014 AC Pisa (youth)
2014–2015 Prato (youth)
2015–2016 Pietrasanta Calcio
2016–2017 Carrarese (youth)
2017–2018 Massese
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Zanetti played for several Italian clubs throughout his career, winning titles with Fiorentina, Roma, Inter, and Juventus. At international level, he represented the Italy national football team at the 2000 Summer Olympics, at the 2002 FIFA World Cup and at UEFA Euro 2004.

Club career

Early career

He played for Fiorentina (1993–96), Venezia (1996–97), and Reggiana (1997–98), before he joined the defending UEFA Cup Champions Internazionale at age of 21, in 1998, where he played alongside his unrelated namesake, Argentine fullback Javier Zanetti.[2] Zanetti made his club debut for Internazionale on 26 August 1998 against FC Skonto before joining Cagliari along with Mohamed Kallon. During his time with Fiorentina, he won a Coppa Italia in 1996.[2]

Roma

In the summer of 1999, he was signed by Roma in a joint-ownership bid for 7 billion Italian lire.[3] Under manager Fabio Capello, he soon became a member of the starting line-up and he won a Scudetto with Roma during the 2000–01 season.[2]

Internazionale

In June 2001, Zanetti re-joined Internazionale under manager Héctor Cúper;[4] Inter paid 10 billion Italian lire to buy back Zanetti.[5] He was a regular starter under Cuper, and with the club he managed to the reach of the semi-finals of the 2001–02 UEFA Cup and the 2002–03 UEFA Champions League, also narrowly missing out on the Serie A title both of those seasons. The 2003–04 season was more disappointing, however, and upon the arrival of new manager Roberto Mancini, he was deployed with less frequency due to injuries, as well as the arrivals of Edgar Davids and Esteban Cambiasso in midfield, although he was finally able to capture some silverware during his final two seasons at the club. During his second stint with Inter, he won two Coppa Italia trophies in 2005 and 2006, a Supercoppa Italiana in 2005, and he was also awarded a Serie A title after the Calciopoli scandal in 2006.[2]

Juventus

Zanetti moved to Juventus in 2006 on a free transfer, despite the match-fixing controversy surrounding the Turin giants and their subsequent relegation. Zanetti was Luciano Moggi's final signing as the Juventus transfer director before his five-year ban due to his role in the Calciopoli scandal. Zanetti won the Serie B title with Le Zebre in 2007, earning Juventus Serie A promotion. The following season, he helped Juventus to a third place in Serie A, which allowed them to qualify for the UEFA Champions League in 2008. Juventus were eliminated in the round of 16, and they reached the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia, also finishing second in Serie A.[2][6]

Fiorentina

Zanetti signed with his first professional club Fiorentina on 10 August 2009,[7] as the club was preparing to play in 2009–10 UEFA Champions League play-off round. He signed a 2+1 contract. He is the second player to join La Viola from Juventus in 2009–10 season after Marco Marchionni. Zanetti was tagged for €2 million[8] and deducted from Felipe Melo transfer fee. He made his debut for ACF Fiorentina on 29 September 2009 against Liverpool in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League. His assist led to Fiorentina's first goal, scored by young Montenegrin Stevan Jovetić. Fiorentina eventually won the match 2–0.[9]

Brescia

On 31 January 2011, Zanetti signed for Brescia on a two-year contract. He retired before the conclusion of the 2011–12 Serie B season, however, after cancelling his contract with the club.[10]

International career

Zanetti represented Italy at Under-21 level on 19 occasions, winning the 2000 UEFA European Under-21 Championship under manager Marco Tardelli; he also took part in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney with Italy, where the team was eliminated in the quarter-finals. He subsequently played for the Italian senior national team at the 2002 FIFA World Cup and at UEFA Euro 2004. In total, he won 17 caps for the national side between 2001 and 2004, under Giovanni Trapattoni, and he scored one goal in a 2–1 friendly away win over Switzerland, on the 30 April 2003.[11]

Style of play

Zanetti has been described as a hardworking and tough tackling defensive midfielder, with good vision, technique, passing ability, and a controlling influence on the midfield, and was known in particular for his ability to break down possession and subsequently start attacking plays, which also enabled him to be deployed as a central midfielder, or even as a deep-lying playmaker in front of the defence; he was also deployed as a left-sided offensive-minded central midfielder on occasion, known as the mezzala role in Italian football jargon. Despite his talents, he was often injury-prone throughout his career.[2][6][12][13][14][15][16]

Managerial career

In 2013 Zanetti accepted an offer to become youth coach at Pisa, heading the Giovanissimi Nazionali (Under-16).[17] In 2014, he became a coaching graduate and obtained a UEFA Pro Licence. In 2014 become youth coach at Prato.[18]

Career statistics

Club

Source: [19][20][21]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Europe Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Fiorentina 1994–95 Serie A 2000—20
1995–96 2010—30
Total 4010—50
Venezia (loan) 1996–97 Serie B 27000—270
Reggiana (loan) 1996–97 Serie B 31020—330
Inter Milan 1998–99 Serie A 00101[lower-alpha 1]020
Cagliari Calcio (loan) 1998–99 Serie A 18000—180
Roma 1999–2000 Serie A 120102[lower-alpha 2]0150
2000–01 270003[lower-alpha 2]0300
Total 3901050450
Inter Milan 2001–02 Serie A 261106[lower-alpha 2]1332
2002–03 170106[lower-alpha 1]0240
2003–04 1910010[lower-alpha 3]0291
2004–05 230507[lower-alpha 1]0350
2005–06 140504[lower-alpha 1]0230
Total 9921303411463
Juventus 2006–07 Serie B 25230—282
2007–08 Serie A 26030—290
2008–09 122101[lower-alpha 1]0142
Total 6347010714
Fiorentina 2009–10 Serie A 230107[lower-alpha 1]0310
2010–11 6010—70
Total 2902070380
Brescia 2010–11 Serie A 8000—80
2011–12 Serie B 0000—00
Total 8000—80
Career total 30862504713807
  1. All appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
  2. All appearance(s) in UEFA Cup
  3. Five appearances in UEFA Champions League, five appearances in UEFA Cup

International

Source: [22]

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Italy
200110
200270
200371
200420
Total171

International goals
Italy score listed first, score column indicates score after each Zanetti goal.[21]
International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 30 April 2003Stade de Genève, Genève, Switzerland11  Switzerland2–12–1Friendly

Honours

Club
Fiorentina[2][6]
Roma[2][6]
Inter[2][6]
Juventus[2][6]

International
Italy[2][6]

References
  1. E il rilancio del Savona fa saltare Cristiano Zanetti‚ lastampa.it, 23 January 2018
  2. "Il Pallone Racconta: Cristiano ZANETTI" (in Italian). Il Palloen Racconta. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  3. "BILANCIO D'ESERCIZIO E CONSOLIDATO DI GRUPPO AL 30 GIUGNO 2000" (PDF). AS Roma (in Italian). Borsa Italiana Archive. 28 June 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  4. "JOINT CONTRACTS: KALLON AND ZANETTI BACK TO INTER". Internazionale. 28 June 2001. Retrieved 10 August 2009.
  5. "Zanetti torna all'Inter, Zebina rimane alla Roma". AS Roma (in Italian). 29 June 2001. Archived from the original on 9 February 2002. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
  6. Stefano Bedeschi (10 April 2016). "Gli eroi in bianconero: Cristiano ZANETTI" (in Italian). Tutto Juve. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
  7. "Acquisito Cristiano Zanetti, giovedì la presentazione" (in Italian). ACF Fiorentina. 10 August 2009. Retrieved 10 August 2009.
  8. "Agreement with ACF Fiorentina S.p.A. for the disposal of the player C. Zanetti" (PDF). Juventus. 10 August 2009. Retrieved 10 August 2009.
  9. Fiorentina 2–0 Liverpool
  10. "L'ex Cristiano Zanetti rescinde col Brescia". Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  11. "Convocazioni e presenze in campo: Cristiano Zanetti". Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  12. "In Praise of Cristiano Zanetti". theoffside.com. Archived from the original on 17 July 2013. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  13. De Vincenti, Niccolò Maria (30 May 2018). "Corea e Giappone 2002" [Korea and Japan 2002] (in Italian). Rivista Contrasti. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  14. Pratesi, Riccardo (10 August 2009). "Via Zanetti, resta Poulsen Pro e contro, e i perchè". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  15. "10 anni dopo è ancora Crotone-Juve" (in Italian). sport.sky.it. 8 February 2017. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  16. Sarra, Lorenzo (4 February 2017). "Fiorentina, non solo Chiesa Ecco la top 11 fatta in casa". Il Corriere Fiorentino (in Italian). Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  17. "Cristiano Zanetti allenatore dei Giovanissimi Nazionali del Pisa: "Nerazzurri in B? Un traino per il settore giovanile"" (in Italian). Pisanews. 3 September 2014. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
  18. "GLI ABILITATI DEL CORSO MASTER UEFA PRO 2013-2014" (in Italian). Settore Tecnico FIGC. 3 September 2014. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
  19. "Cristiano Zanetti". World Football. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  20. "Cristiano Zanetti". inter.it. Inter Milan. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  21. "Cristiano Zanetti". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  22. "Cristiano Zanetti - national football team player". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
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