Filippo Inzaghi is a legend in Italian football; he was a World Cup winner in 2006 and a two-time Champions League winner with AC Milan. The former Italian forward is the first result in a Google search for Inzaghi.
But it is his brother, Simone Inzaghi, who has carved his own path in football management.
The 47-year-old took over the Inter Milan job from Antonio Conte and is on his way to fight for his team’s first Champions League title in 13 years.
Simone has moved out of his brother’s shadow and has the reputation of being called the ‘King of Cup Competitions’, having won the Coppa Italia and the Italian Super Cup with the Nerrazzuri this year.
In 2016, the Italian started his managerial career at Lazio, a club where he ended his club career as a legend, winning the Scudetto once (1999-2000), three Coppa Italia titles (1999-2000, 2003-2004, 2008-09), and the UEFA Super Cup in 1999.
Within a year, he had his first silverware—the Italian Super Cup—and the team started playing a more attacking brand of football. By July 2020, Lazio had 300 goals to its name, the most by a Serie A club under a single manager since Simone joined the club.
Under him, Lazio qualified for the Champions League for the second time ever in the 2020–21 season. The only other time it did was in the 1999–2000 season with Simone as a player.
When he arrived at Inter, two of the team’s pivotal first-team players, Achraf Hakimi and Romelu Lukaku, who had contributed to winning the Serie A title under Conte, left for Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea, respectively.
While the latter returned on loan soon, Simone had his cards ready in the final third, with Edin Dzeko and Lautaro Martinez leading the attack. In two years, he has become only the second Italian to lead Inter to the Champions League final and the first in 51 years.
Style of play
The quality of Simone at Inter has been instilling his philosophy without forcing major changes in shape. He has stuck to the 3-5-2 formation of Conte but has made tweaks that have made Inter one of the most attractive sides to watch in Europe.
After Ivan Perisic and Hakimi left San Siro, Denzel Dumfries and Federico Dimarco stepped up along the left and right flanks, respectively.
Dumfries, who impressed in the Nations League and the FIFA World Cup with the Netherlands, took up the wing-back position expertly, scoring seven assists and two goals in all competitions this season. Italy international Dimarco has 10 assists and six goals in all competitions.
In the midfield, Marcelo Brozovic became the pivot, with Henrikh Mkhitaryan playing a more fluid midfield role of getting the ball into the final third and combining with Hakan Calhanoglu.
It is here that two players reinvented themselves in a new role. Mkhitaryan, who often played along the right flank for Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund, and Calhanoglu, who played as a winger for AC Milan, were used effectively as midfielders by Simone.
In the front, while Dzeko and Lautaro led the attack, Lukaku often played as an impact substitute, playing as a secondary striker as opposed to the typical No. 9 he used to play under Conte.
In defence, Francesco Acerbi, Alessandro Bastoni, and Matteo Darmian kept the lower block solid, while a second line of defence was created with Dumfries, Dimarco, and Brozovic during counter-attacks.
One of Simone’s biggest achievements as a manager has been allowing players to excel in their second chances at the club—a platform to shine for outcasts of other clubs.
Be it Lukaku, Darmian, or Mkhitaryan, all former Manchester United players, have shone with the Nerrazzuri.
Andre Onana, the Ajax goalkeeper, tested positive for the prohibited substance furosemide in 2021 and was banned from football for nine months. He joined Inter in 2022 and replaced club legend Samir Handanovic, the seventh-most-capped player at the club.
And the Cameroonian has delivered, with 19 clean sheets in all competitions, including seven clean sheets in the UCL knockouts this season.
Eyes set for UCL final
While Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City is playing its second final in three years, Inter Milan has not reached the final in over a decade.
But with its form, having won the Coppa Italia and Italian Super Cup this year, Simone’s side will be equal against treble-chasing City, which has won the Premier League and the FA Cup this season.
Inter Milan has shown that the team’s close-knit defence can stop free-flowing attacks but will have to be cautious of not dropping its guard too soon—something that saw the team beat Benfica comfortably 2-0 in the first leg of the round of 16 but concede three in the return leg draw (it won the match 3-2 on aggregate).
For Simone, personally, it would be a chance to become the ‘bigger Inzaghi’ as a manager and, above all, cement the title of the ‘King of the Cups’.
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