Filippo Inzaghi has always polarized debate, but some of his qualities remain beyond doubt.
Filippo Inzaghi’s brace in Milan’s 2-2 draw against Real Madrid in mid-week Champions League action epitomized those of his qualities that have seen him lauded and maligned in equal measure. The first goal was testament to the striker’s positioning sense, which at thirty-seven remains acute as ever. Yes, it was Zlatan Ibrahimovic who laboured the most to create the chance in the first place, profiting from an untimely Pepe slip and a catastrophic Iker Casillas attempt at collecting his cross-shot. However, it was Inzaghi’s innate sense of being at the right place at the right time that allowed him to head into an empty goal.
The second goal was vintage Inzaghi in that without even a replay it seemed offside. It was. However, Inzaghi somehow managed to squeeze the ball past a hapless Casillas, much to the dismay of the Real defence who must have been wondering how they withstood the threat of Ronaldinho and Pato for so long, but folded in the face of a player who many--primarily those outside of Italy--think should not even play professional football.
Like him or loathe him, Inzaghi is prolific. Statistics are notoriously misleading, but in Inzaghi’s case even the raw numbers are enough to dispel any doubts over his scoring ability. He has always scored a considerable amount of goals wherever he has played with the exception of Parma, where he only managed two goals in his one and only season with the club.
At Piacenza, where his career started, he scored fifteen goals in thirty-nine games, a handsome return for a player about to embark on his career. He was only eighteen at the time. At Atalanta he finished Capocannoniere, the highest scorer in Serie A, during the 1996-7 campaign. Those scoring exploits earned him a move to Juventus the following season, where he managed to net fifty-eight goals over the course of four years.
Yet Inzaghi’s most successful spell was to come at Milan, where he has been for the last nine years. As he was quick to remind everyone, his two goals against Real Madrid mean that he is tied with Raul, now at Schalke, in the all-time European goalscoring rankings. Those two goals have come after many at Milan, a club that he considers his second home. He has hit the back of the net seventy-two times for Milan since his arrival, and his two most memorable strikes came in the 2007 Champions League Final in Athens, which allowed the Rossoneri to claim Europe’s top prize by defeating Liverpool 2-1.
“It was a dream to score in the Champions League Final,” said Inzaghi a day after his triumph. “The goals I scored in the Final will stay with me forever.”
Even Inzaghi’s international career is relatively impressive. He has scored twenty-five times in fifty-seven appearances for Italy despite intermittent injury problems.
Inzaghi has also been criticized for precisely those attributes on which his success has been predicated. For example, while at Juventus, there were rumours that Alessandro Del Piero and Inzaghi did not get along because of the latter’s selfishness in front of goal. Journalists as well have always thought of Inzaghi as a disgrace, a player whose very status as a footballer is up for debate. After all, he does not possess the skill of Del Piero outside the box, nor the technique of Ibrahimovic inside it. Often in one-on-one situations, he looks completely clueless as to how to proceed, and his attempts at dribbles conclude in embarrassment.
However, it is important to notice that Milan appeared completely toothless before Inzaghi took the field on Wednesday. With him in attack, their shape completely changed as did their determination. Unsurprisingly, Ibrahimovic revealed that he “prefers to play with Inzaghi” because it gives him more freedom. Inzaghi is a fantastic player for whom to provide because he very rarely fails to read the play. While Milan starlet Pato starts ahead of the veteran, he would do well to learn from Inzaghi the value of doing the simple things correctly.
At thirty-seven Inzaghi only has perhaps three years left in him, but it is still remarkable that he can play at the top level. He owes that partially to his genetics, for he is a slight player, who has always relied on reflexes and instinct rather than physique and power to score. And on every occasion he does hit the back of the net and wheels away in unbridled happiness, his critics are left a little more envious.
Referring to his ability to play right on the line, Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson once said of Inzaghi that he was “born offside.” Alongside that cunning ability, Inzaghi was also born a winner, and he received the highest plaudits from Real coach Jose Mourinho, another unapologetically successful personality. He said that he would only fear Milan “if Inzaghi played.” The prescience and ability to notice a kindred spirit from football's best manager should be the perfect riposte to critics who fail to appreciate Inzaghi.
The second goal was vintage Inzaghi in that without even a replay it seemed offside. It was. However, Inzaghi somehow managed to squeeze the ball past a hapless Casillas, much to the dismay of the Real defence who must have been wondering how they withstood the threat of Ronaldinho and Pato for so long, but folded in the face of a player who many--primarily those outside of Italy--think should not even play professional football.
Like him or loathe him, Inzaghi is prolific. Statistics are notoriously misleading, but in Inzaghi’s case even the raw numbers are enough to dispel any doubts over his scoring ability. He has always scored a considerable amount of goals wherever he has played with the exception of Parma, where he only managed two goals in his one and only season with the club.
At Piacenza, where his career started, he scored fifteen goals in thirty-nine games, a handsome return for a player about to embark on his career. He was only eighteen at the time. At Atalanta he finished Capocannoniere, the highest scorer in Serie A, during the 1996-7 campaign. Those scoring exploits earned him a move to Juventus the following season, where he managed to net fifty-eight goals over the course of four years.
Yet Inzaghi’s most successful spell was to come at Milan, where he has been for the last nine years. As he was quick to remind everyone, his two goals against Real Madrid mean that he is tied with Raul, now at Schalke, in the all-time European goalscoring rankings. Those two goals have come after many at Milan, a club that he considers his second home. He has hit the back of the net seventy-two times for Milan since his arrival, and his two most memorable strikes came in the 2007 Champions League Final in Athens, which allowed the Rossoneri to claim Europe’s top prize by defeating Liverpool 2-1.
“It was a dream to score in the Champions League Final,” said Inzaghi a day after his triumph. “The goals I scored in the Final will stay with me forever.”
Even Inzaghi’s international career is relatively impressive. He has scored twenty-five times in fifty-seven appearances for Italy despite intermittent injury problems.
Inzaghi has also been criticized for precisely those attributes on which his success has been predicated. For example, while at Juventus, there were rumours that Alessandro Del Piero and Inzaghi did not get along because of the latter’s selfishness in front of goal. Journalists as well have always thought of Inzaghi as a disgrace, a player whose very status as a footballer is up for debate. After all, he does not possess the skill of Del Piero outside the box, nor the technique of Ibrahimovic inside it. Often in one-on-one situations, he looks completely clueless as to how to proceed, and his attempts at dribbles conclude in embarrassment.
However, it is important to notice that Milan appeared completely toothless before Inzaghi took the field on Wednesday. With him in attack, their shape completely changed as did their determination. Unsurprisingly, Ibrahimovic revealed that he “prefers to play with Inzaghi” because it gives him more freedom. Inzaghi is a fantastic player for whom to provide because he very rarely fails to read the play. While Milan starlet Pato starts ahead of the veteran, he would do well to learn from Inzaghi the value of doing the simple things correctly.
At thirty-seven Inzaghi only has perhaps three years left in him, but it is still remarkable that he can play at the top level. He owes that partially to his genetics, for he is a slight player, who has always relied on reflexes and instinct rather than physique and power to score. And on every occasion he does hit the back of the net and wheels away in unbridled happiness, his critics are left a little more envious.
Referring to his ability to play right on the line, Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson once said of Inzaghi that he was “born offside.” Alongside that cunning ability, Inzaghi was also born a winner, and he received the highest plaudits from Real coach Jose Mourinho, another unapologetically successful personality. He said that he would only fear Milan “if Inzaghi played.” The prescience and ability to notice a kindred spirit from football's best manager should be the perfect riposte to critics who fail to appreciate Inzaghi.
