Stramaccioni: Zanetti is bionic

Aug 22, 2012 11:15:00 PM

The Nerazzurri coach praises his captain ahead of his 800th appearance and says he will not be taking his side's Europa League opposition lightly

Andrea Stramaccioni has praised Inter captain Javier Zanetti ahead of the 39 year-old's 800th appearance.

The Nerazzurri trainer will not be expecting the milestone to come in an easy match for his side, however, with the Italian giants battling it out with Romanian runners-up Vaslui for a place in this season's Europa League.

"It's remarkable," the Inter coach stated at a press conference. "I don't think I've even seen 800 games in my whole life!

"The captain ought to be cloned," he added, "because in my view he is not human. He's bionic."

The tie will be played over two legs, with the first to be played in Romania on Thursday.

Inter will be hoping for an improved performance on their last European tie, after losing 2-0 to Hajduk Split at San Siro. The Italian side progressed as 3-2 winners on aggregate.

"I think Vaslui represent perhaps the toughest of the teams who weren't seeded in the draw," said Stramaccioni. "They were built to play in the Champions League preliminary round."

He added that matters would be complicated further by his side's Serie A obligations: "This play-off is difficult, as we will return home at 4am on Friday morning and on Saturday travel to Pescara for Sunday's game".

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