Posted February 20, 201410 yr So according to @dimarzio mourinho wants Zanetti on a one year deal next season and to be sporting director the year after Javier Zanetti has to decide his future which could be on the pitch or sitting behind a desk, these are decisive weeks for him. Zanetti’s contract with Inter is expiring in June and he needs to decide what will be the next step in his career. Erick Thohir is currently in Milano, and Inter’s captain will meet with the president, this will be the right opportunity to discuss the possibility of joining the management team starting in June, this is a more likely scenario than playing another season since Zanetti isn’t getting much playing time. Thohir and Zanetti will need to discuss the details of what his role would be starting in the 2014/15 season. But there also is a surprising development, Zanetti received a Special phone call from Chelsea’s manager Jose’ Mourinho with an intriguing offer: a year playing in the Premier League before becoming Mourinho’s right hand man in the sporting area in 2015, this would be a role that is very appealing to Zanetti. At the moment there are no definitive answers: Inter remains a priority for Zanetti, this is why the meeting with Thohir is so important to define his future. But Chelsea is trying, Mourinho would like to be reunited with Zanetti. But there are also personal and family reasons to take into account, Zanetti has also a strong bond with the city of Milano on top of Inter, so he is leaning towards staying with Inter, but Chelsea and Mourinho remain in the background….
February 20, 201410 yr A year playing in the Premier League for us? Zanetti is 40 years old. He'd be eaten alive in this league. I'd like him as a coach if Mourinho wanted him though, but there's no way he'd be able to play for us.
February 20, 201410 yr Yeah, Zanetti playing would be a bit too far, but definitely would be good to have him in an assistant coach or a behind the scenes role. Bit of random decision - that came out of nowhere. I would have thought that Zanetti would be more suited to a director/coaching role at Inter though, especially considering he's spent such a long time at the club. Edited February 20, 201410 yr by enigma
February 20, 201410 yr Surely this is a nonsense rumour? I can't see us needing cover at right back or midfield any time soon, but Javier Zanetti is a genius footballer who has seen it all, as of last year had shown no signs of decline, and is an idea so far out of left field that I'm all for it. This has the potential to be at least as good as the Belletti deal, and we all know how hilarious a signing he proved to be.
February 21, 201410 yr Sure...and why not make a cheeky bid for Giggs too ;) In all seriousness, I'd love to have him as an assistant...but we'll see.
February 21, 201410 yr I wouldn't underestimate the impact a Zanetti might have on the playing group if he were still playing and training. Also age is a number, every body is different. If his fitness and technique are still at a high level he could absolutely make a contribution.
February 21, 201410 yr Year deal as player/coach maybe? So he's not going to be first choice but just a back up option for injuries, suspensions and cup games maybe? That said I can't see it happening.
February 21, 201410 yr Year deal as player/coach maybe? So he's not going to be first choice but just a back up option for injuries, suspensions and cup games maybe? That said I can't see it happening. If & when we have injuries & suspensions it's when one of our very promising youngsters deserves a chance to step up - not a 40 year old FFS! This is complete Bollox. Mourinho has gone on record as saying we are building for the future - we have moved on from signing players way past their best.
February 21, 201410 yr If & when we have injuries & suspensions it's when one of our very promising youngsters deserves a chance to step up - not a 40 year old FFS! This is complete Bollox. Mourinho has gone on record as saying we are building for the future - we have moved on from signing players way past their best. I'm in complete agreement, I see no reason for us to bring in players on short term deals anymore. Schwarzer was a good signing in that it gave us some breathing space to sort out the 'keeper situation and we had failed with bids for both Jack Butland and John Ruddy. I'm still not convinced Eto'o was good business either but again I think it stemmed out of necessity where we (foolishly?) pursued Rooney in the summer. Looking at Zanetti though you would much rather the likes of Kalas, Ake and Chalobah were given the chance to prove what they can do. If it's experience and leadership that Mourinho wants to bring into the squad then I still think younger players can be signed, someone like Costa looks as though he could be strong presence in our squad for example.