For some reason I have always felt at home here at Inter and this is why I have never thought of leaving.

I was close to joining Barcelona and Real Madrid, but I am happy to have remained at Inter because I knew that sooner or later our moment to shine would arrive, and it did.

My story is like many other stories. I started very young. As the years went by, I only cared about playing football. I was never obsessed with money or being a professional though.

Sportive fortunes get built day after day, week after week through a healthy lifestyle.

Inter is my second home and put their trust in me when I was an unknown.

To arrive in a city like Milan as a young man was a huge challenge.

My mother was a cleaner and my father a builder. I watched both of them make big sacrifices for my brother and I to study. This is where I get my work ethic from. This is also the source of my generosity and willingness to help.

The opponent I have most admired during my career is Paolo Maldini.

I've always believed that our public actions need to take account of our social responsibility.

A lot of things, experiences I had, helped me to grow up and mature, both in terms of my football career and my private life too.

I am enjoying everything football has given me, and I want to enjoy to the maximum every chance I am allowed.

I want to be useful for the team, depending on whatever position the coach chooses for me. That's the spirit I've always had.

I am a precise person in everything I do.

I am a big fan of Independiente and I played in their youth systems before being released for being too small, so I went to work with my father as a builder. This helped me understand a lot of things about life; it made me mentally very strong and it also pushed me to go and play for another team.

I took after my father who was a bricklayer and used to build everything step by step, brick by brick.

I do not like to discuss a game with the other players right after the final whistle.

I had chances to leave Inter, but this is my home. I stayed here even in times of difficulty and I was always sure that the winds of change would come through.

My relationship with Moratti goes beyond the normal ties between a president and a captain. I was an unknown and he believed in me. It's something that I will never forget. Indeed, I will always thank him for that.

Destro and Silvestre are two players worthy of wearing the Inter colours.

When I was young, as a fan of Independiente, my idol was Enrique Bochini. He was a playmaker and a total legend at the club. He never played for another club in his career. Maradona was a fan of Bochini too. So when I think that I have only played for Inter in Italy, I feel a little like Bochini. Only with far fewer assists!

Maldini was a key figure in world football. I have always had great admiration for him as a player and as a human being. I faced him in many derbies - he was tough but always very loyal.

I never imagined that I would be at a club like Inter, with so much history and success and also as the captain. I can't see myself as a coach, but maybe as a director to give back to the club.

Inter is my life.

I always seek to improve, but I also give a lot of importance to food and sleep too.