To me Zanetti represents the joy of living, the joy of making football your
job every morning. He is the smile, the life force, the passion for training
, the good cheer for everyone who works with him. To me Javier Zanetti is al
l of these things, and he is a man that I'm happy to say will be a friend fo
rever.

After all of that, and a long way behind, comes the footballer. But having b
een his coach for only two years of his incredible career, it's not my place
to talk about a man who has written his own story - and what a marvellous s
tory it is. All I will say is thank you for everything, thank you for giving
me a small space in your story. What I will cherish most is that hug in the
middle of the Santiago Bernabeu: it won't be the last but it was certainly
the most intense of our two years together.

Perhaps one day somebody might beat Zanetti's record, but there will only ev
er be one Zanetti.

José Mourinho
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