Filippo "Pippo"InzaghiUfficiale OMRI (Italian pronunciation:[fiˈlippoˈpippoinˈdzaːɡi];[3] born 9 August 1973) is an Italian professionalfootball manager and formerplayer who played as astriker. He is the head coach ofSerie B clubPalermo. Nicknamed "Superpippo" ("Super Goof") or "Alta tensione" ("High Tension") by fans and commentators during his playing career, Inzaghi is regarded as one of the greatest strikers of his generation.[4] In theUEFA Champions League, he is the all-time Italian top goalscorer, scoring 46 goals.[5]
At international level, Inzaghi earned 57 caps for theItaly national team between 1997 and 2007, scoring 25 goals. He represented his country at threeFIFA World Cups, winning the2006 edition, and he also took part inUEFA Euro 2000, where he won a runners-up medal.
His younger brother,Simone Inzaghi, is also a football manager and former Italian international player.
Inzaghi's favourite footballers as a child werePaolo Rossi andMarco van Basten.[6] The elder brother of fellow footballerSimone Inzaghi,[7] he got his start playing for hometown clubPiacenza as a teenager in 1991, but made only two league appearances before being loaned toSerie C1 sideLeffe, with whom he scored an impressive 13 goals in 21 matches. In 1993, Inzaghi moved toSerie B clubHellas Verona and scored 13 goals in 36 league appearances. Upon his return to Piacenza, he scored 15 times in 37 games helping his team winSerie B and proving himself to be an exciting young prospect.[8][9][10]
Inzaghi made hisSerie A debut when he transferred toParma in 1995, but scored only twice in 15league matches. One of these two goals came against one of his former clubs, Piacenza, literally "making him cry". He added another two goals in European competitions that season. In thefollowing season, he moved on toAtalanta, finishing as theCapocannoniere (Serie A's top scorer) with 24 goals after scoring against every team in the league. He was crownedSerie A Young Footballer of the Year and served as team captain in the last game of the season.[8][9][10]
Inzaghi, however, was soon on the move once again to his sixth team in seven seasons, this time toJuventus for a reported 23 billionlire.[11] He formed a formidable attacking partnership along withAlessandro Del Piero andZinedine Zidane, a tandem which would last for four seasons, under managersMarcello Lippi, and subsequentlyCarlo Ancelotti, marking Inzaghi's longest stint with one team at the time. During his time with theBianconeri, he scored twoChampions League hat-tricks – againstDynamo Kyiv andHamburger SV – becoming the first player to do so.[12]
The1998–99 season was less successful for Juventus, as they were defeated in the1998 Supercoppa Italiana byLazio and finished the season seventh place in Serie A. Inzaghi still managed 20 goals in all competitions, finishing the season as the club's top-scorer;[16] Six of his goals came in theChampions League, as Juventus were eliminated in the semi-finals by eventual championsManchester United. During the second leg of the semi-finals inTurin, Inzaghi scored two goals in the first ten minutes, but Manchester United eventually managed to come back and win the match 3–2.[17]
Inzaghi helped Juventus win the1999 UEFA Intertoto Cup, scoring five goals in the semi-finals againstRostov, and two in the finals againstRennes, qualifying Juventus for theUEFA Cup that season.[18] Inzaghi scored 15 goals inSerie A as Juventus narrowly missed out on the title to Lazio, defeated on the final matchday. The following season, Inzaghi managed 11 goals inSerie A as Juventus finished second in the league for the second consecutive season; he also scored five goals in theUEFA Champions League, including a hat-trick in a 4–4 draw againstHamburger SV,[19] although Juventus were eliminated in the first round. With 16 goals in all competitions, he was Juventus's top goalscorer for the third consecutive season. However, his once-effective partnership with Del Piero had become less effective in recent seasons, due to their lack of understanding, individualism, and their strained relationship both on and off the pitch.[20][21][22]
Despite scoring a high 89 goals in 165 games for theBianconeri, Inzaghi was soon benched in favour ofDavid Trezeguet and on 2 July 2001 signed forAC Milan[23][24] for a reported 70 billion lire,[11] or 45 billion lire cash plusCristian Zenoni[25][26][27][28] (Sky Sports reported a smaller total figure,£17 million[29]) for the2001–02 campaign by coachFatih Terim. Juventus announced that the sale of Inzaghi produced a capital gain of €31.1 million to the club, making the actual transfer fee much exceed that figure.[30] Inzaghi, however, suffered a knee injury and missed the first half of the season. Upon his return, he was able to forge a strong goalscoring partnership withAndriy Shevchenko, and he soon earned many trophies with theRossoneri under new managerCarlo Ancelotti, among them the2002–03 Champions League (in which Milan defeated his previous team, Juventus, in the final on penalties), along with the2002–03 Coppa Italia (scoring in a 2–2 draw in the second leg),[31] the2003 UEFA Super Cup, the2004 Supercoppa Italiana, and the2003–04Scudetto.[10] In the2002–03 Champions League campaign, he scored his record third Champions League hat-trick againstDeportivo de La Coruña in the Group Stage and a decisive goal in quarter-finals againstAjax, totalling 12 European goals in that season. In November 2004, he signed a contract extension with the club.[32]
Inzaghi fully recovered from the persistent knee injuries that had dogged him for two years and regained his predatory goalscoring form by scoring 12 goals in 22 Serie A matches in2005–06, along with four goals in five Champions' League appearances; two againstLyon in the quarter-finals and another two againstBayern Munich in the first knockout stage. He scored the decisive goal against theBavarians in the 2007 quarter-finals, helping Milan to reach the semi-finals of the competition. On 23 May 2007, in the2007 Champions League final in Athens, he scored both of Milan's goals in their 2–1 victory overLiverpool in a rematch of the2005 final. He declared after the match:[10]
It's a dream since I was a child to score twice in the final, and the ones I scored yesterday evening were the most important in my life. It was an unforgettable game. It's something that will stay with me all my life and two goals in the final speaks for itself.
— Filippo Inzaghi
At the start of the2007–08 season, he picked up where he left off in Athens, scoring the equalizer in theSuper Cup in Milan's 3–1 victory overSevilla. Inzaghi capped off the year by scoring two goals in the2007 FIFA Club World Cup final, helping Milan win 4–2 againstBoca Juniors to take revenge for the defeat on penalties in 2003.[10]
On 24 February 2008, Inzaghi scored the match-winning goal in Milan's 2–1 win overPalermo with a diving header after coming into the game from the bench; it marked his first Serie A goal in over a year. This was followed by ten more goals in the league, the last againstUdinese. This strike against Udinese was his 100th goal for the club in official games. But despite incredible form,Italy national team managerRoberto Donadoni declined to call him forEuro 2008. In November 2008, Inzaghi agreed to a contract extension with Milan until June 2010.[33]
In the 2009–10 season, under managerLeonardo, Inzaghi was relegated to the role of backup player with his contract set to expire in June 2010. On 21 May 2010, he was offered a new one-year contract which would last until 30 June 2011.[35]
On 3 November 2010, in theUEFA Champions League 2010–11 Group Stage campaign, with Milan trailing by 1–0 to Real Madrid, Inzaghi came off the bench in the second half and scored a brace to give Milan a 2–1 lead.Pedro León, however, equalized in the 94th minute, with the final score ending 2–2. On that occasion, he became the new all-time top scorer of all European club competitions with 70 goals. He also became the second-oldest player to score in the Champions League, aged 37 years and 85 days, behind only Manchester United'sRyan Giggs, now surpassed by Inzaghi's compatriotFrancesco Totti. With these two goals, Inzaghi went ahead of his idolMarco van Basten on the club list of the all-time top goalscorers with 125 goals.
On 10 November 2010, Inzaghi suffered a serious injury while playing for Milan against Palermo. A statement on the official Milan club website confirmed that Inzaghi had suffered a lesion of theanterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and an associated lesion to the external meniscus of the left knee. It was thought he would be out for the rest of the season.[10] Due to his age, this injury could have ended his career; nonetheless, Inzaghi was optimistic. On 7 May 2011, with Inzaghi still out recovering from his injury, Milan won the2010–11 Serie A title. After being sidelined by injury for six months, he came off the bench for the first time since his injury on 14 May, with Milan defeatingCagliari 4–1. He extended his contract till June 2012 during the2011–12 pre-season.
Just like withAndrea Pirlo in 2011, Milan decided not to renew the contracts of several veteran players at the end of the season and Inzaghi was one of those, along withGennaro Gattuso,Clarence Seedorf,Alessandro Nesta andGianluca Zambrotta.[36] He played his final game for Milan againstNovara on 13 May 2012 and marked his performance by scoring the winning goal.[37] On 24 July 2012, Inzaghi announced his retirement from professional football to start a coaching career.[38]
With 70 goals, Inzaghi is the sixth-highest scorer in European club competitions, behind onlyCristiano Ronaldo,Lionel Messi,Robert Lewandowski,Raúl andKarim Benzema. He became the first player to score two Champions League hat-tricks – both with Juventus – when he netted a treble during a 4–4 group stage draw with Hamburger SV on 13 September 2000; his first was in a 4–1 victory overDynamo Kyiv during the 1997–98 quarter–finals. Inzaghi scored a record third Champions League hat-trick in a 4–0 win against Deportivo de La Coruña in the 2002–03 season, while playing for Milan. This record would later be tied byMichael Owen, who scored two hat-tricks for Liverpool and a third for Manchester United.
Although Inzaghi went scoreless throughout the 1998 World Cup, as he was mainly deployed as a substitute, he came off the bench to set up a goal forRoberto Baggio in Italy's final group match againstAustria, which ended in a 2–1 win, and allowed Italy to top their group;[41] Italy were knocked out in the quarter-finals on penalties to hosts and eventual championsFrance.[42] At Euro 2000, he was one of Italy's starting strikers under the new Italy managerDino Zoff. He scored two goals throughout the tournament; his first came from a penalty, in Italy's 2–1 opening group win overTurkey,[43] in which he was named man of the match,[44] while his second came in a 2–0 win overRomania in the quarter-finals of the competition;[45] he also set upStefano Fiore's goal in a 2–0 win over co-hostsBelgium in his nation's second group match of the tournament.[46] His performances helped Italy reach thefinal, where they were defeated by France once again, on a golden goal.[47] Along with Francesco Totti, he was Italy's top-scorer throughout the tournament.[48]
Under Zoff's replacement,Giovanni Trapattoni, Inzaghi was Italy's top goalscorer during thequalifying rounds of the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004,[49] scoring his first and only international hat-trick in a 4–0 home win overWales on 6 September 2003,[50] although he missed the latter tournament due to injury.[51] He went scoreless throughout the 2002 World Cup, making two appearances, as Italy were controversially eliminated in the round of 16 to co-hostsSouth Korea;[52] in Italy's2–1 loss toCroatia in their second group match, Materazzi played a floating ball over the top from just over halfway to Inzaghi in the 90th minute, but everyone missed the ball and it rolled into the back of the net, although the goal was disallowed after refereeGraham Poll claimed that Inzaghi had grabbed an opponent's shirt.[53] Inzaghi also had a goal wrongly disallowed in Italy's final group match againstMexico, which ended in a 1–1 draw.[54]
Inzaghi's persistent knee and ankle injuries put a halt to his international play for almost two years before his resurgence at club level, which resulted in being called up by Italy coachMarcello Lippi for the 2006 World Cup final tournament.[55] Due to the abundance of other top strikers such as Alessandro Del Piero, Francesco Totti andLuca Toni, Inzaghi made his only appearance – subbing on forAlberto Gilardino – in Italy's final group stage match against theCzech Republic on 22 June 2006, scoring his only goal in the tournament, roundingPetr Čech in a one-on-one encounter to net Italy's second goal, which made him the oldest player to have scored for Italy in a World Cup, afterDaniele Massaro.[56] Italy went on to win the tournament, defeating France on penalties in thefinal.[57]
Following Italy's fourth World Cup victory, Inzaghi made six appearances under new managerRoberto Donadoni in Italy'sUEFA Euro 2008 qualification campaign, scoring three goals, two of which came in a 2–1 away win against theFaroe Islands on 2 June 2007.[58] He was not called up for thefinal tournament, however, where Italy were eliminated by eventual champions Spain in the quarter-finals on penalties, and he made his last appearance for Italy on 8 September 2007, in a 0–0 draw against France inMilan.[59]
Inzaghi was an intelligent, extremely fast, agile, and opportunistic player, with excellent reactions and a lanky, slender physique;[9][62][63][64][65][66][67][68][69] although not very technically gifted,[70] he was known for his great skill in taking advantage of the carelessness of his opponents, his excellent positional sense in the area, and his eye for goal,[70] making a name for himself as a "goal poacher", due to his style of play and tendency to operate mainly in the penalty box,[67] as well as his timing and ability to find spaces and anticipate opponents to get on the end of passes.[71] These qualities, along with his finishing ability with both his head and feet, made him one of the most prolific strikers of the past decades.[65][66] Inzaghi was described as a player who lived on theoffside line.[63][64][72]
When he was first called up to the national team, the other Italian players were surprised at his lack of technical accomplishment,[69] but came to accept him because he scored so frequently.[9]Johan Cruyff described this contrast—"Look, actually he can't play football at all. He's just always in the right position."[9] Fans nicknamed himSuperpippo,[73] the Italian name forSuper Goof, the superhero alter ego of cartoon character Goofy (Pippo being a commonhypocorism of his first nameFilippo). Tactically, Inzaghi was noted for his vision and ability to read the game,[74] as well as his outstanding offensive movement off the ball, ability to play off the shoulders of the last defender, and to time his attacking runs to beat the offside trap,[9] which allowed him to get on the end of passes, but also to provide depth to his team,[71] leading long-time Manchester United managerSir Alex Ferguson to quip: "That lad must have been born offside."[75]
Although in the past, due to his poor defensive work-rate and lack of notable technical skills, strength in the air or long range striking ability, he was initially accused by some in the sport for being a limited striker or a "lucky" player,[22][62][69] and also drew criticism at times for being selfish,[22][69][20][21][76][77] for not participating in the build-up of plays,[78] and forgoing to ground too easily,[9] he has been praised by several of his former managers and teammates for his prolific goalscoring.[9][62][69] Despite his lack of significant talent, Inzaghi and others attribute his success, aside from technical prowess, to personal drive, intelligence, and determination.[9][69][79] Due to his opportunistic playing style, Inzaghi was frequently compared toPaolo Rossi throughout his career.[22][78] Despite his prolific goalscoring, Inzaghi was often considered injury-prone throughout his career.[80]
Inzaghi started his coaching career at the beginning of the 2012–13 season, signing a two-year deal as the manager ofAC Milan'sAllievi (under-17) team.[81]
On 9 June 2014, Inzaghi was named manager of Milan's first team after the dismissal of his formerRossoneri teammateClarence Seedorf.[82] In Inzaghi's first match as a manager in Serie A on 31 August, Milan defeated Lazio 3–1 at theSan Siro.[83] Inzaghi then led Milan to a second consecutive win in a match that ended with a 5–4 Milan win against Parma.[84]
On 4 June 2015Adriano Galliani, the CEO of Milan, announced that Inzaghi would not be the coach for next season.[85] He was officially dismissed on 16 June 2015.
On 7 June 2016, Inzaghi was appointed as the new coach of ambitiousLega Pro clubVenezia.[86] On 19 April 2017, after beatingParma to top spot, he won promotion toSerie B as champions.[87] He also won theCoppa Italia Lega Pro in the same season.[87]
During the 2017–18 season, Inzaghi guided the Venetians to a fifth-place finish in Serie B, finishing in the playoffs positions to earn promotion toSerie A. After eliminatingPerugia (coached by his former teammateAlessandro Nesta) in the preliminary round, his team was defeated byPalermo in the semi-finals.[88]
On 13 June 2018, Inzaghi was announced as the new head coach of top-flightBologna, taking over fromRoberto Donadoni.[89] He faced aLazio side coached by his younger brotherSimone in an eventual 0–2 defeat on 26 December.[90] Following a record of two wins in 21 games, he was dismissed on 28 January 2019 and replaced bySiniša Mihajlović.[91]
On 22 June 2019, Inzaghi was appointed manager ofBenevento in Serie B.[92] On 30 June the following year, his club achieved promotion as champions with seven games remaining, reaching Serie A for the second time in their history.[93] On his Serie A debut for the team, they won 3–2 at Sampdoria on 26 September, having been losing 2–0.[94] Benevento ended the2020–21 Serie A season in eighteenth place, being relegated back to Serie B after only one season; as a consequence of the events, Inzaghi was not offered a new contract and left Benevento afterwards.
On 9 June 2021, Inzaghi was appointed manager ofBrescia in Serie B.[95] On 16 August, Inzaghi made his debut for Brescia in the first roundCoppa Italia match losing 4–2 in thepenalty shoot-out after a 2–2 draw in theextra-time.[96]
On 23 March 2022, Inzaghi was dismissed by club chairmanMassimo Cellino, leaving the club in fifth place in the league table.[97] After his successorEugenio Corini was eliminated in the promotion playoff semifinals byMonza, on 25 May 2022 Cellino formally reappointed Inzaghi as head coach, due to a clause that was legally forbidding his sacking if Brescia were placed in one of the top eight league places.[98]
On 12 July 2022, Inzaghi was appointed manager ofReggina in Serie B, signing a three-year deal with the Calabrians.[99] After guiding Reggina to a spot in the promotion playoffs, he was released together with all players and staff as Reggina were excluded due to financial issues, thus finding himself without a job by the beginning of the 2023–24 season.
On 10 October 2023, relegation-struggling Serie A clubSalernitana announced the appointment of Inzaghi in place of outgoingPaulo Sousa. He was sacked on 11 February 2024 and replaced byFabio Liverani.[100]
On 3 July 2024, Inzaghi signed for Serie B clubPisa.[101] In his debut season with the club, Inzaghi led Pisa to promotion toSerie A, marking their return to the top flight after a 34-year absence.[102] He left Pisa on 13 June 2025.[103]
In 2015, the arcade game companyKonami announced that Inzaghi would feature in their football video gamePro Evolution Soccer 2016 as one of the new myClub Legends.[107]
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^Silvestri, Riccardo (3 July 2024)."Filippo Inzaghi nuovo Tecnico del Pisa!".Pisa Sporting Club - Il sito ufficiale del Pisa Sporting Club (in Italian). Pisa SC. Retrieved4 July 2024.
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