About Cristiano Zanetti
Born 1977. Cristiano Zanetti is an Italian association football player and association football coach.
Cristiano Zanetti (; born 10 April 1977) is an Italian former footballer who played as a midfielder and current football coach. He was most recently in charge of Massese.
Zanetti played for several Italian clubs throughout his career, winning titles with Fiorentina, Roma, Inter, and Juventus. At international level, he represented the Italy national football team at the 2000 Summer Olympics, at the 2002 FIFA World Cup and at UEFA Euro 2004.
Club career Early career He played for Fiorentina (1993β96), Venezia (1996β97), and Reggiana (1997β98), before he joined the defending UEFA Cup Champions Inter Milan aged 21, in 1998, where he played alongside his unrelated namesake, Argentine fullback Javier Zanetti. Under manager Fabio Capello, he soon became a member of the starting line-up and he won a Scudetto with Roma during the 2000β01 season. Inter paid 10 billion Italian lire to buy back Zanetti. He was a regular starter under Cuper, and with the club he managed to the reach of the semi-finals of the 2001β02 UEFA Cup and the 2002β03 UEFA Champions League, also narrowly missing out on the Serie A title both of those seasons. The 2003β04 season was more disappointing, however, and upon the arrival of new manager Roberto Mancini, he was deployed with less frequency due to injuries, as well as the arrivals of Edgar Davids and Esteban Cambiasso in midfield, although he was finally able to capture some silverware during his final two seasons at the club. During his second stint with Inter, he won two Coppa Italia trophies in 2005 and 2006, a Supercoppa Italiana in 2005, and he was also awarded a Serie A title after the Calciopoli scandal in 2006. as the club was preparing to play in 2009β10 UEFA Champions League play-off round. He signed a 2+1 contract. He is the second player to join La Viola from Juventus in 2009β10 season after Marco Marchionni. Zanetti was tagged for β¬2 million and deducted from Felipe Melo transfer fee. He made his debut for Fiorentina on 29 September 2009 against Liverpool in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League. His assist led to Fiorentina's first goal, scored by young Montenegrin Stevan JovetiΔ. Fiorentina eventually won the match 2β0.
Brescia On 31 January 2011, Zanetti signed for Brescia on a two-year contract. He retired before the conclusion of the 2011β12 Serie B season, however, after cancelling his contract with the club.
International career Zanetti represented Italy at Under-21 level on 19 occasions, winning the 2000 UEFA European Under-21 Championship under manager Marco Tardelli; he also took part in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney with Italy, where the team was eliminated in the quarter-finals. He subsequently played for the Italian senior national team at the 2002 FIFA World Cup and at UEFA Euro 2004. In total, he won 17 caps for the national side between 2001 and 2004, under Giovanni Trapattoni, and he scored one goal in a 2β1 friendly away win over Switzerland, on 30 April 2003.
Style of play Zanetti has been described as a hardworking and tough tackling defensive midfielder, with good vision, technique, passing ability, and a controlling influence on the midfield, and was known in particular for his ability to break down possession and subsequently start attacking plays, which also enabled him to be deployed as a central midfielder, or even as a deep-lying playmaker in front of the defence; he was also deployed as a left-sided offensive-minded central midfielder on occasion, known as the mezzala role in Italian football jargon. Despite his talents, he was often injury-prone throughout his career.
Managerial career In 2013, Zanetti accepted an offer to become a youth coach at Pisa, heading the Giovanissimi Nazionali (Under-16). In 2014, he became a coaching graduate and obtained a UEFA Pro Licence. In 2014 become youth coach at Prato.
Career statistics Club
Scores and results list Italy's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Zanetti goal.
Managerial statistics Updated 10 April 2021 TeamNatFromToRecordGWDLWin %Massese 1 July 201722 January 2018Total
Honours Fiorentina Coppa Italia: 1995β96
Roma Serie A: 2000β01
Inter Milan Serie A: 2005β06 Coppa Italia: 2004β05, 2005β06 Supercoppa Italiana: 2005
Juventus Serie B: 2006β07
Italy U21 UEFA European Under-21 Championship: 2000
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Important facts
People in Cristiano Zanetti's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Cristiano Zanetti's
Frequently asked questions
Who is Cristiano Zanetti?
Italian footballer
When was Cristiano Zanetti born?
Cristiano Zanetti was born on 10 April 1977 in Carrara.
What is Cristiano Zanetti's occupation?
Cristiano Zanetti is an association football player and association football coach.
What nationality is Cristiano Zanetti?
Cristiano Zanetti is Italian.
Sources & further reading
Β· Wikipedia: Cristiano Zanetti
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Cristiano Zanetti. https://biography.guide/cristiano-zanetti/
MLA: "Cristiano Zanetti." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/cristiano-zanetti/.
Chicago: "Cristiano Zanetti." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/cristiano-zanetti/.
Data last updated: 2026-09-20 Β· Spot an error? Report a correction.
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