Some of Javier Zanetti’s earliest footballing memories are rooted in the World Cup. He was not quite five years old when Argentina won it for the first time amid the tickertape celebrations of 1978, but the sensation released across the nation has never left him.
'I will always remember, after the final, a country very happy to have won the World Cup,' says Zanetti, 52. 'A country in a difficult situation but a country very excited when the final whistle blew. The happiness of winning the World Cup is something special.'
This still resonates in Argentina. They are defending champions as we start another World Cup year. One in which Zanetti, now vice-president of Inter Milan, will launch his own global youth development venture in the USA.
It is one more than a decade in the making and will become reality in June as the Albiceleste set out to defend football’s biggest prize, eyes on a fourth title and Lionel Messi, who turns 39 in the group phase, attempting to inspire what Diego Maradona came close to achieving in 1990, four years after winning the World Cup in Mexico.
'We were born watching Diego and what he was able to do on the pitch,' says Zanetti. 'Through him we fell even more in love with football. When we see Messi play, we enjoy it. Messi is the essence of football.
'I am happy two of the best footballers in the world were born in Argentina and represented us in any part of the world in the way they did. But time goes by for everyone. The important thing is that Messi, for sure in the next six months, will prepare in the best way to continue to be the captain of our national team and defend the title with all his team-mates.'
Zanetti is one of football’s gentlemen. His diplomatic qualities were evident in his playing days, loyal to Inter in different positions through 19 years and 858 senior appearances and politely declining the chance when it came to join Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United.
'We met at an airport,' he recalls. 'He told me that he wanted me to go to Manchester United and I thanked him. Manchester United is one of the most important clubs in the world and Ferguson one of the most important coaches in the history of football.
'But I told him that my footballing life would be through Inter, I wanted to play for them until the end of my career. And he understood that.'
Loyalty was rewarded when Inter swept all before them during Jose Mourinho’s two years in Milan, culminating in the Treble in 2010. 'One of the best,' says Zanetti of Mourinho. 'We won everything with him but beyond winning it was his personality, his ability, his intelligence, his capacity as a coach. He was very important in my career.'
He won 145 caps for his country and involved in two fierce World Cup clashes between England and Argentina around the turn of this century, which revived the fierce sporting rivalry from the World Cup in 1986 when Maradona had settled a quarter-final in Mexico City, scoring one with a hand and another of sublime individual brilliance, a solo run from inside his own half.
'You talk about the goal with the hand,' says Zanetti. 'I remember a difficult match for Argentina but I think beyond the goal with the hand and we all remember the second goal, something fantastic and something only Maradona could have done in the way he did.'
Zanetti scored against England in Saint-Etienne in 1998, another sizzling World Cup encounter won by Argentina on penalties after a 2-2 draw in which an 18-year-old Michael Owen announced his arrival on the international stage with a brilliant goal and David Beckham was sent off, early in the second half.
'It was my first World Cup,' Zanetti recalls. 'And the truth is that the match against England was a very intense match. We ended up winning on penalties and I was lucky enough to score an important goal for my country.
'It was one of the best moments of my career with my national team. It was a classic game. Owen scored a great goal and David’s red card that left England with 10 men, it made things a bit easier, and we had the chance to level the game.'
He was involved again when England took their revenge in Sapporo in 2002, the only goal a penalty converted by Beckham, who Zanetti rates among the best English footballers.
'England always had great players, and David is one of them,' he says. 'David had a great career. He always represented his country by giving everything. So did Steven Gerrard, another of England’s emblematic players with a very important career.'
The 52-year-old Argentine is talking to Daily Mail Sport as he promotes his new venture, MagiCup 2026. It is an international tournament for Under 12s teams hosted at Walt Disney World in Florida and bringing 20 elite academies from clubs including Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Boca Juniors together in competition with grassroots teams from around the world.
It is an idea first hatched when Zanetti was visiting Disney World with his family in the summer of 2016 and he has tapped into famous footballing friendships for support, including Rivaldo, Didier Drogba and Andriy Shevchenko.
Ivory Coast, Ukraine, Brazil, Colombia and Barbados will be among the countries sending grassroots teams and the dream of organisers is that some of the children will attract interest to later help secure sports scholarships in the United States.
'It is an idea designed to bring opportunity to underprivileged young players around the world,' says Zanetti. 'This is a new global platform with the chance for these kids not only to compete on an equal footing with professional clubs but also to experience these elite facilities and this environment in the true spirit of football. It is going to be very special.'
His own journey started in the humble surroundings of Dock Sud, a working-class district of Buenos Aires, from where he rose to become a legend in Argentina and Italy, where he now serves as a vice-president of Inter.
'Thanks to football I was able to fulfill the dreams I had practically from the day I was born,' says Zanetti. 'I was blessed to have the possibility and the work ethic to reach professional goals as a professional footballer.
'I was born and raised within that culture of playing football in the streets, playing in any space where you can make a pitch and play with your friends. Football is lived this way in Argentina. That’s why there is such passion for it in our country. I have seen the same passion around the world. The most important thing is that the football unifies people.'
As for the World Cup, he expects Lionel Scaloni’s team, featuring Messi who now plays for Beckham’s club Inter Miami, to be among the favourites.
'I think and hope that Argentina will win,' says Zanetti. 'For sure, a World Cup is not easy because there are very strong teams like France, Spain and Germany. Even Brazil, who are going to prepare in the best way to win the World Cup.
'But I have no doubt that Argentina will go out to defend the trophy, which they have never done before.'
He laughs when it is pointed out that he has overlooked England. Old rivalries linger. 'England is a very hard team to play against because it has a lot of top players,' he smiles. 'For sure in this World Cup, they're going to be a big contender as well.'