Labelled 'water-carriers' in cycling or the 'engine room' in rugby, in football they are the players who operate in the shadows with low-key, hard-working performances. Balance and toil are the qualities they bring to the table, and few men contribute those vital elements better than Inter Milan and Argentina duo Javier Zanetti and Esteban Cambiasso. FIFA.com takes a closer look at a pair of players more used to grafting away than grabbing headlines.
Mention Inter to most fans of the game and the players who first come to mind are usually strikers Samuel Eto'o and Diego Milito or playmaker Wesley Sneijder. Brazilian goalkeeper Julio Cesar and South American centre-backs Lucio and Walter Samuel frequently get a mention too, as do the likes of Maicon, Ivan Cordoba and veteran defender Marco Materazzi.
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Rarely, however, does captain Zanetti come in for individual accolades, despite his 674 appearances for the Nerazzurri and rave reviews from his peers. For his Juventus and Italy counterpart Fabio Cannavaro, for example, the 36-year-old is “an incredible player and a perfect captain”.
As for Cambiasso, who seems to channel both Fernando Redondo and Bernd Schuster with his style of play, “he will be the next captain of Inter when Javier decides to quit,” according to club President Massimo Moratti.