Few rivalries in world football carry the weight of history, politics, and raw emotion that Argentina versus England does — and Javier Zanetti, who lived through some of its most defining moments, wants to set the record straight on one of its most talked-about episodes.

The former Argentina captain was part of the squad that famously banged on the windows of the England team bus following their last-16 victory at the 1998 World Cup in Saint-Étienne. For years, the gesture has been interpreted by some as deliberate provocation. Zanetti flatly rejects that reading.