​Esteban – The First“There were only two or three journalists there,” he recalled a few years later. “And the most optimistic question was whether I thought I might get a few minutes.” Yet Cambiasso was only 24 and had just come off the back of three seasons at Real Madrid, where he had been a regular or close to it. He had already won Intercontinental Cups, league titles and UEFA Super Cups. Before that came a loan spell at River Plate, hardly a small stepping stone. Whether there really were only two or three journalists there is hard to say. Probably a few more. What is certain is that the press room was far from packed for Esteban Cambiasso’s unveiling. More tellingly, his name barely featured in any of the projected starting XIs that summer.Veron and Davids looked set to form the midfield pairing. La Brujita was a key figure in Roberto Mancini’s plans, while the tireless Dutchman arrived on the back of a six-month spell at Barcelona that had helped revive his standing. Cambiasso did start the first leg of the qualifier against Basel in mid-August, with Davids unavailable, but the Dutchman was back in the side for the return. That hierarchy did not last long. Partly because Davids no longer had quite the same legs or dynamism he had shown at Juventus, and partly because Esteban Cambiasso, a keen basketball fan like many of his compatriots, had an enormous point to prove.Argentina won just two gold medals at the 2004 Athens Olympics: one in men’s basketball, where Ginobili and Scola’s side beat the Dream Team in the semi-final before defeating Italy in the final, and one in men’s football, courtesy of a 1-0 win over Paraguay. Cambiasso missed out on both. He was not quite good enough for the basketball team, although by all accounts he was an excellent point guard, while in football he had simply been born a year too early. At 24, he was over the age limit for an Under-23 tournament, with Argentina using their three over-age places on Ayala and Heinz in defence, where there was greater need, and Kily Gonzalez. Cambiasso therefore arrived at Inter with plenty to prove and everything to play for: a place in the team and a route back into the Argentina squad. In time, he claimed both.On 3 October 2004, Roma hosted Inter in a fixture that, similarly to now, so often delivered goals and drama. That afternoon was no exception, with Montella opening the scoring after nine minutes before Inter found the equaliser with one of the final moves of the first half. Recoba swung in the cross and Cambiasso, surprisingly preferred to Davids, timed his run perfectly to head home his first goal of the season. On the touchline, Mancini and his assistant Fernando Orsi exchanged a knowing look, almost congratulating each other on the decision. Cambiasso would go on to spend exactly ten years at Inter, a decade that ranks among the most successful in the Club’s history. He won everything there was to win, found his name on the scoresheet time and