Yes, indeed. I always imagined him celebrating his retirement with Inter's relegation.

AWESOME! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) Thank you. People have this respect thing for Zannetti. I don't. He is a sneaky little weasel.

That's in your mind. show me one incident where he said or acted like one.

Sneaky little weasels' don't make controversial incidents. I'd describe him as passive aggressive. The media and certain individuals talk about him like he is some sort of angelic, kind and fair player which to me is far from the truth. In truth he has always been a good and HIGHLY consistent football player. But he is often a sore loser like the rest of merda and is not a particularly respectful and honorable player.

The reason I called him a sneaky weasel is because I have memories of him acting like such a b@stard in a couple of the Milan derbies without ever getting in trouble because well, he is Zanetti...

Nah, Zanetti's alright in my book. What irks me is when Inter fans compare him to Maldini. A friend of mine even considers him a greater legend than Paolo. Dude, Zanetti is not a legend to begin with! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Mentioning Maldini and that player in the same post...

(IMG:http://institutfrancais.pl/enseigner-le-francais/files/2011/09/facepalm-statue.jpg)

Why are you blaming me? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Just pulling your pigtails (IMG:style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)

Zanetti out for 6/8 months.

Feel sad for him, no matter a little bit of sneaky behaviour here and there that max rightly pointed out, he's always been the only Inter player that I admired. No he's no where near Maldini no matter what Inter fans say, but he's "their" Maldini so to speak. He stuck with them throughout all the failures and was rewarded at the end with a treble winning season.

+1

Zanetti is one of the best players I've seen, technically he's on par with Maldini in my eyes and physically he even tops Maldini because Maldini had already slowed down a bit at this same age while Zanetti was still going ridiculously strong.

But he's no Maldini because he was in the wrong place most of his career. Maldini is in the end a winner with numerous trophies/medals while Zanetti won a few rubbish Scudetti because of Calciopoli. the only real achievement he had was that treble and it was a great one but it still doesn't hold a candle to Maldini's achievements.

Other than that, I can't separate these two greats.

Agreed.

Although I loath inter, Zanetti has been a professional through and through.

Really??

First of all, Maldini is a better defender. Maldini is the best fullback of all times, and he was a hell of a CB when needed as well. Ronaldo (the real Ronaldo) said it, many strikers said it as well - they feared playing against him. He had a feel for the game like little to none other defenders, he knew when and how to execute the perfect tackle. He never relied on physicality, but his touch.

Zanetti is physically and technically strong, but when it comes to the task of defending, Maldini is two leagues above him.

Maldini was a better leader if you ask me. He knew how to raise the spirit of his team, he knew how to handle all the stars - on and off pitch (especially this off-pitch part is important; I read some interviews with Zanetti saying that he had a hard time some players in the locker room in 98'/99'). Zanetti - not so much. He is doing this differently - he tries to (re)ignite his team with showing an example, playing like it's his last match. I don't say it didn't work many times as well, but all in all Maldini is the born captain.

You also have to keep in mind that Maldini is a homegrown talent who has a special connection with Milan through his family. He's our child, our talent, our star, our captain. Zanetti on the other hand came in as a young talent who had nothing in common with his new club. He settled rather nicely.

I must say I'm a bit shocked you said the only thing separating Zanetti and Maldini are trophies.

Fillipo, I wouldn't put Maldini and Zanetti in the same sentence. I just did, but ... In general, the two players have captained the Milan sides for a respectable amount of time. The command respect, is all I wish to say (IMG:style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)