'Bionic' Zanetti to make 800th Inter appearance

Internazionale Milan’s coach Andrea Stramaccioni praised teams’ capitano Javier Zanetti ahead of the 39 year-old's 800th appearance today against Romanian side Vaslui in the first leg match for a place in this season's Europa League.

During a press conference Stramaccioni exclaimed “It's remarkable. I don't think I've even seen 800 games in my whole life! Zanetti should be cloned, 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. They were built to play in the Champions League preliminary round”, said the coach.

He added that matters would be complicated further by his side's domestic challenges.

“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".