Inter Milan Legend Cambiasso: Best Experience Came at Leicester City

At the IFA 2026 event in Berlin, Cambiasso said that what remains from a football career is not trophies, but the emotions and experiences one goes through. He won the UEFA Champions League with Inter Milan.

Cambiasso said: "I think the best thing is emotion. Because at the end of life, what we remember most is often not something else, but the emotions we felt and experienced in life." He listed different forms of emotion: "Sometimes it is a goal, sometimes it is a goalkeeper making a great save, sometimes it is winning a championship, sometimes it is when you save the team at a certain moment." He concluded: "I don't think the most important trophy is the best emotion you have in your life."

Cambiasso said his best football experience was not lifting trophies at Real Madrid or at Inter Milan under Jose Mourinho, but during the later stage of his career at Leicester City. He said: "My best experience in football was my only season at Leicester City. That was probably also the only club where I never won a trophy. We were at the bottom of the league for 15 matches, but in the final nine games we won seven. The emotion and feeling of the city and the fans were truly crazy."

Cambiasso compared that relegation battle success with his achievements on the international stage: "After successfully avoiding relegation, the emotion you feel inside can even be stronger than winning a cup title."

Speaking about the relationship between players and fans in the era of instant digital communication, Cambiasso said this relationship has always been different in different countries. "In England, it is a form of entertainment; in Italy and Spain, it is a huge passion and a very important part of life."

Speaking about Argentina, Cambiasso said: "That is the moment when you can release all the problems and all the bad things in life, then walk onto the pitch and express all of it." He believes players carry responsibilities beyond match results: "Many times, players have to carry a lot of pressure because it carries people's lives."

Speaking about the constant filming at football stadiums today, Cambiasso said: "We need to realize that sometimes we are filming a moment, but we are not enjoying that moment. We may want to look back on it in the future, but that moment is that moment, not a future moment." He also said: "If you see me holding a phone during a penalty kick, remind me, because I am not that kind of person. For me, the game is the game."

Cambiasso also discussed the relationship between sponsors and the dressing room, focusing on communication within clubs. He said: "Clubs have a responsibility to tell players everything. Because if you treat players like an apple, it will become difficult later, and players may react differently." In his view, there is unseen work behind every sponsorship: "When you score, you may see the advertisements around the pitch, but you do not understand how much work has actually gone on behind all of this."

Cambiasso finally spoke about young people and mentioned the previous World Cup. He said: "The most important thing now is that to allow children to have great emotions, they first need to have great dreams. Because if you are a child and someone tells you that you cannot do it, I do not think that is true."

Cambiasso used Cape Verde as an example to defend FIFA's decision to expand the number of teams participating in the World Cup: "Nobody wants to see a national team like this at the World Cup, but later you understand that this is a huge opportunity for these children. Everyone expects to see Cristiano Ronaldo or Messi, but in the end it is a child nobody expected, such as Vozinha, who attracts all the attention. He got a small opportunity and seized it."