Filippo Inzaghi

At 50 years old, Filippo Inzaghi has this physical status:

Filippo "Pippo" Inzaghi (Italian pronunciation: [filippo intsa]; born 9 August 1973) is an Italian professional football manager and former footballer who competed as a striker. During his playing career, fans and commentators referred to him as "Superpippo" or "Alta tensione." He is the head coach of Reggina's Serie B team. Simone Inzaghi, the younger brother of Inter's current manager, is also a former footballer and former Italian coach.

Inzaghi played for several Italian clubs and spent the most memorable parts of his club career with Juventus and AC Milan, winning two UEFA Champions League titles (2003, 2007), and three Serie A titles (1998, 2011). With 313 goals scored in official matches, he is Italy's seventh highest scorer. With 70 goals, he is now the sixth highest goal scorer in European club competitions, behind only Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski, Ral, and Karim Benzema. With 43 goals, he is also Milan's top international goal scorer in the club's history. With ten hats in Serie A, he also holds the record for most hat-tricks.

Inzaghi earned 57 caps for the Italy national team between 1997 and 2007, scoring 25 goals. He represented his country at three FIFA World Cups, including the 2006 edition, and he also competed in UEFA Euro 2000, where he received a runners' medal.

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Club career

Paolo Rossi and Marco van Basten, two of Inzaghi's favourite footballers as a child, were Paolo Rossi and Marco van Basten. Simone Inzaghi, the older brother of fellow footballer Simone Inzaghi, got his start in 1991 as a youth but ended up in just two league appearances before being loaned to Serie C1 side Leffe, where he scored an impressive 13 goals in 21 games. In 1993, Inzaghi joined Hellas Verona in Serie B, scoring 13 goals in 36 league appearances. He scored 15 times in 37 games, leading his team to victory in Serie B and establishing himself as a thrilling young prospect.

Inzaghi made his Serie A debut in 1995 when he transferred to Parma, but only in 15 league matches. "Making him cry" against Piacenza, one of his former clubs. He also scored two goals in European competitions this season. After scoring against every team in the league, he made his way to Atalanta for the first time this season. In the final game of the season, he was named Serie A Young Footballer of the Year and served as team captain.

Inzaghi, on the other hand, was soon moving to his sixth team in seven seasons, this time to Juventus for 23 billion lire. He formed a formidable attacking partnership with Alessandro Del Piero and Zinedine Zidane, a team that would last four seasons under new owner Marcello Lippi, and then Carlo Ancelotti, extending Inzaghi's longest tenure with one team at the time. He scored two Champions League hat-tricks against Dynamo Kyiv and Hamburger SV during his time with Bianconeri, becoming the first player to do so.

Inzaghi scored two goals as Juventus defeated Vicenza 3–0 in the 1997 Supercopa Italiana, during his first season with the club. Juventus triumphed in the Scudetto tournament in 1997-1998, in which Inzaghi scored 18 goals, including a dramatic, Scudetto-winning hat-trick against Bologna. He also scored six goals to help Juventus reach the Champions League final, but they were defeated 1–0 by Real Madrid.

Juventus' 1998–99 season was less fruitful, with them losing in the 1998 Supercopa Italiana by Lazio and finishing seventh in Serie A, with six of his goals in the Champions League, as Juventus were eliminated in the semi-finals by eventual champions Manchester United. Inzaghi scored two goals in the first ten minutes of the second leg of the semi-finals in Turin, but Manchester United came back and win the match 3–2.

Inzaghi was the captain of Juventus, scoring five goals in the semi-finals against Rostov, and two in the finals against Rennes, qualifying Juventus for the UEFA Cup this season. Inzaghi scored 15 goals in Serie A, when Juventus barely escaped out on the title to Lazio after losing on the final matchday. Inzaghi's second season in Serie A, he scored 11 goals, including a hat-trick in a 4–4 draw against Hamburger SV, but Juventus was disqualified in the first round. For the third straight season, he was Juventus' top goalscorer with 16 goals in all competitions. However, his once-effective relationship with Del Piero had become less efficient in recent seasons due to a lack of knowledge, personalism, and their strained friendship both on and off the field.

Despite scoring a high number of goals in 165 games for the Bianconeri, Inzaghi was soon dismissed in favour of David Trezeguet and Milan's account was purchased for AC Milan for 70 billion lires, or 45 billion lires plus Cristian Zenoni. (Sky Sports announced a smaller figure, £17 million) for coach Fatih Terim's 2001–02 campaign. Juventus reported that Inzaghi's sale generated a €31.1 million to the club, much more than the actual transfer fee. Inzaghi, on the other hand, sustained a knee injury and missed the first half of the season. On his return, he was able to forge a strong goalscoring alliance with Andriy Shevchenko, and shortly after he was promoted to several awards with the Rossoneri, including the 2002–03 Coppa Italia (scoring in a 2–2 draw in the second leg), and the 2003 UEFA Super Cup, the 2004 Supercopa Italiana. He scored his third Champions League hat-trick against Deportivo de La Corua in the Group Stage and a pivotal goal against Ajax in quarter-finals, totaling 12 European goals in that season. In November 2004, he signed a new deal with the club.

Inzaghi fully recovered from the persistent knee pains that had dogged him for two years and regained his predatory goalscoring form in 22 Serie A matches, two against Olympique Lyonnais in the quarter-finals and two against Bayern Munich in the first knockout stage. In the 2007 quarter-finals, he scored the decisive goal against the Bavarians, helping Milan to qualify to the semi-finals of the tournament. In Athens' 2007 Champions League final, he scored both of Milan's goals in their 2–1 victory over Liverpool in a rematch of the 2005 final.

He declared after the match:

In Milan's 3–1 victory over Sevilla, he picked up where he left off in Athens, scoring the equalizer on the Super Cup. Inzaghi closed the year off by scoring two goals in the final of the 2007 Club World Cup, assisting Milan in beating Boca Juniors 4–2 to retaliate for the loss on penalties in 2003.

In Milan's 21-0 victory over Palermo with a diving header on February 24, 2008, Inzaghi scored the match-winning goal in the game; it was his first Serie A goal in over a year. In the league, ten more goals were scored, the last against Udinese. This was his 100th goal for the club in official games against Udinese. Despite his outstanding form, Italy's national team boss Roberto Donadoni declined to call him for Euro 2008. In November 2008, Inzaghi decided to a contract extension with Milan until June 2010.

Inzaghi's first hat-trick of the season for Milan against Atalanta on March 8, 2009, leading his team to a 3–0 win at the San Siro. In Siena's 5–1 thrashing away from home, his 300th career goal was achieved. He then went on to score three goals against Torino, his second professional hat-trick in that season. Scoring this hat-trick helped "Super Pippo," the player's nickname in the media, smashing a record for the player with the most hat-tricks in Serie A over the past 25 years. In Serie A, Inzaghi is ahead of Giuseppe Signori (9), Roberto Baggio, Marco van Basten, Gabriel Batistuta, Inzaghi (8), Antonio Di Natale (6), and David Trezeguet (6) with ten hat-tricks. Inzaghi had one hat-trick for Atalanta, four for Juventus, and five for Milan, with five for Milan.

In the 2009–10 season, Inzaghi was relegated to the position of back-up actor, with his deal set to end in June 2010. He was given a new one-year deal on May 21, 2010 that will run until June 30, 2011.

In the UEFA Champions League 2010–11 Group Stage campaign, Inzaghi came off the bench in the second half and scored a brace to give Milan a 2–1 lead on September 3rd. Pedro León was equalized in the 94th minute, but the final score was 2–2. With 70 goals, he became the first all-time top scorer of all European club competitions. He also became the second-oldest player to play in the Champions League, aged 37 years and 85 days, behind only Manchester United's Ryan Giggs, who has since been surpassed by Inzaghi's compatriot Francesco Totti. Inzaghi's two goals put him ahead of his mentor Marco van Basten, who was the all-time top goalcorers with 125 goals.

Inzaghi sustained a serious injury while playing for Milan against Palermo on November 10, 2010. Inzaghi had sustained a lesion of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and an external ligament injury to the left knee's external meniscus. It was predicted that he would be out for the remainder of the season. This injury may have ended his career, but Inzaghi was hopeful, despite it. Milan took the 2010-11 Serie A title on May 7th, 2011 with Inzaghi still recovering from his injury. For the first time since being sidelined by injury for six months, he came off the bench for the first time since his injury on May 14 in Milan's victory over Cagliari 4–1. During the 2011–12 pre-season, he extended his contract until June 2012.

Inzaghi, Gennaro Gattuso, Clarence Seedorf, Alessandro Nesta, and Gianluca Zambrotta were among those who decided not to renew the contracts of several veteran players at the end of the season, much like Andrea Pirlo in 2011. On May 13, 2012, he played his last game for Milan against Novara and marked his success by scoring the winning goal. Inzaghi resigned from professional football on July 24, 2012, and he began teaching.

Inzaghi is Europe's sixth highest scorer, behind only Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski, Ral, and Karim Benzema, with 70 goals. He became the first player to score two Champions League hat-tricks, both with Juventus, when he scored a treble during a 4–1 group stage draw with Hamburger SV on September 13, 2000; his first appearance was in a 4–1 victory over Dynamo Kyiv during the 1997–98 quarter-finals. In a 4–0 win over Deportivo de La Corua in the 2002–03 season, Inzaghi earned his third Champions League hat-trick while playing for Milan. Michael Owen, who has scored two hat-tricks for Liverpool and a third for Manchester United, will tie this record.

International career

Inzaghi made 14 appearances for the Italy under-21 team between 1993 and 1996, scoring three goals; he was also a member of the Italy under-21 squad that lifted the 1994 UEFA European Under-21 Championships. Inzaghi earned his first senior cap for Italy in the Tournoi de France against Brazil on June 8, 1997, under his former under-21 manager Cesare Maldini, who gave Alessandro Del Piero his first senior cap. Italy continued to draw 3–3. In a 2–2 friendly draw against Spain on November 18, he scored his first goal for Italy; he has now scored 25 goals in 57 appearances. He was selected for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Euro 2000, the 2002 World Cup, and the 2006 World Cup.

Despite Inzaghi's scoreless appearance in 1998, when he was mostly deployed as a replacement, he came off the bench to set up a goal for Roberto Baggio in Italy's final group match against Austria, which resulted in a 2–1 win and elevated Italy to the top of the table; Italy was disqualified from second place in the quarter finals against hosts and eventual champions France. Under Dino Zoff's new Italy manager, he was one of Italy's top strikers at Euro 2000. He scored two goals in Italy's 2–0 victory over Turkey in the tournament's second group match of the tournament, with his first coming from a penalty; his second came from a penalty; and he scored two goals in his country's second group match of the tournament. His efforts helped Italy progress to the final, where they were defeated by France once more on a golden goal. He was Italy's top scorer throughout the tournament alongside Francesco Totti.

In 2004, Inzaghi, Italy's top goalcorer under Zoff's return to action, scoring his first and only international hat-trick in a 4–0 home victory over Wales on September 6, 2003, but he did not participate in the second tournament due to injury. In Italy's 2–1 loss to Croatia in their second group match, Materazzi played a floating ball over the top from just over half way to Inzaghi in the 90th minute, but referee Graham Poll said he had grabbed an opponent's shirt throughout the 2002 World Cup, his second appearance. In Italy's last group match against Mexico, which resulted in a 1–1 draw, Inzaghi also had a goal incorrectly disallowed.

Inzaghi's consistent knee and ankle injuries stymied his international play for nearly two years before he resurrected at club level, prompting Italy coach Marcello Lippi to call up the 2006 World Cup final tournament. In Italy's final group stage match against the Czech Republic on June 22, 2006, Inzaghi made his first appearance, subbing Alberto Gilardino, scoring his first goal in the tournament, beating Petr ech in his second goal after Daniele Massaro. Italy advanced to the final after defeating France on penalties.

Inzaghi made six appearances under new Italian coach Roberto Donadoni's reign as Italy's UEFA Euro 2008 qualification campaign, two of which came in a 2–1 away victory over the Faroe Islands on June 2, 2007. He was not selected for the final tournament, though Italy was eliminated by eventual champions Spain in the quarter-finals on penalties, where he was unable to return to Italy on September 8.

Inzaghi is now the sixth best goalscorer in the Italian national team's history, with 25 goals, alongside Adolfo Baloncieri and Alessandro Altobelli.

Coaching career

Inzaghi began his teaching career in the 2012–2013 season, after signing a two-year contract as the head of AC Milan's Primavera (under-19) team.

Inzaghi, the former Rossoneri teammate Clarence Seedorf's dismissal of his Milan teammate Inzaghi on June 9, 2014, was named as the head of Milan's first team on June 9th. Milan defeated Lazio 3–1 in Inzaghi's first match as a boss in Serie A on August 31. Inzaghi was then able to win for the second straight match against Parma, a match that ended in a 5–4 victory for Milan.

Inzaghi will not be the coach for next season, according to Adriano Galliani, Milan's CEO. He was officially dismissed on June 16, 2015.

Inzaghi was appointed as the new head coach of Venezia's burgeoning Lega Pro team. He won promotion to Serie B as champions on April 19, 2017, after defeating Parma to the top position. In the same season, he also won the Coppa Italia Lega Pro.

Inzaghi led the Venetians to a fifth-place finish in Serie B, finishing in the playoffs positions to earn promotion to Serie A during the 2017-18 season. His team was disqualified by Perugia (coached by his former teammates Alessandro Nesta) in the preliminary round, but Palermo defeated him in the semi-finals.

Inzaghi was appointed as the new head coach of top-flight Bologna on June 13, taking over from Roberto Donadoni. In an eventual 0–2 loss on December 26, he was facing a Lazio team coached by his younger brother Simone. Following a record of two victories in 21 games, he was fired on January 28 and replaced by Sini Mihajlovi.

Inzaghi, the boss of Benevento in Serie B, was sacked on June 22. His team made promotion with seven games remaining on June 30th this year, winning Serie A for the second time in their history. They beat Sampdoria 3–2 on September 26, after losing 2–0 on his Serie A debut for the team. Benevento completed the 2021–21 season in eighteenth place, being relegated to Serie B for the first time after just one season; as a result of the events, Inzaghi was not given a new deal and left Benevento afterward.

Inzaghi, the twentieth century's chief of Brescia in Serie B, was appointed on September 9, 2021. Inzaghi made his Brescia debut in the first round Coppa Italia match losing 4–2 after a 2–2 draw in the extra time on August 16th.

Inzaghi was fired by club chairman Massimo Cellino on March 23, 2022, leaving the team in fifth place in the league table. On May 25, 2022, Cellino officially recalled Inzaghi as the head coach after his replacement Eugenio Corini was disqualified in the promotion playoff semifinals by Monza, owing to a provision that expressly barred him from sacking if Brescia were placed in one of the top eight league positions.

Inzaghi was appointed as the head of Reggina in Serie B on July 12, 2022, after he agreed to a three-year contract with the Calabrians.

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