Javier Zanetti on becoming Inter VP: “I had to prepare myself”

Javier Zanetti spoke about becoming the vice president of Inter and how he prepared himseld.

Zanetti spent 19 years as an Inter player and was the captain in 2010 when they won the historic treble. No longer a player, the 51 year old is now the vice president of the club. Speaking in an interview with JP Varsky on Clank Media, here is what he had to say:

“I left football and they offered me to be the vice president of Inter. On the one hand, I was happy to continue my relationship with Inter, but on the other hand, it was a great responsibility. I had to prepare myself. I went from 25 years running after a ball to being at a desk with other managers who spoke English. I had to prepare myself.

“I didn’t want to be just a leader linked to sports, but to have a broader vision. That’s why I enrolled in one of the most important faculties in Milan and started training in marketing, finance and international relations. That’s how I was preparing myself.

“I’m still studying. Football is so innovative that there are always new things coming out. That opened my head and it’s very useful for me. I had to change the way I express myself and the way I speak, because now I talk to managers, I don’t talk to players anymore.

“I took a communication course to see how to get there. Maybe I have to talk to a future sponsor and I know how to handle myself. After the first two years I started to feel well positioned.”