Filippo Inzaghi

Early career Inzaghi's favourite footballers as a child were Paolo Rossi and Marco van Basten. The elder brother of fellow footballer Simone Inzaghi, he got his start playing for hometown club Piacenza as a teenager in 1991, but made only two league appearances before being loaned to Serie C1 side Leffe, with whom he scored an impressive 13 goals in 21 matches. In 1993, Inzaghi moved to Serie B club Hellas Verona and scored 13 goals in 36 league appearances. Upon his return to Piacenza, he scored 15 times in 37 games helping his team win Serie B and proving himself to be an exciting young prospect. Inzaghi made his Serie A debut when he transferred to Parma in 1995, but scored only twice in 15 league 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 the following season, he moved on to Atalanta, finishing as the Capocannoniere (Serie A's top scorer) with 24 goals after scoring against every team in the league. He was crowned Serie A Young Footballer of the Year and served as team captain in the last game of the season. He formed a formidable attacking partnership along with Alessandro Del Piero and Zinedine Zidane, a tandem which would last for four seasons, under managers Marcello Lippi, and subsequently Carlo Ancelotti, marking Inzaghi's longest stint with one team at the time. During his time with the Bianconeri, he scored two Champions League hat-tricks – against Dynamo Kyiv and Hamburger SV – becoming the first player to do so. During his first season with the club, Inzaghi scored two goals as Juventus beat Vicenza 3–0 in the 1997 Supercoppa Italiana. Juventus won the Scudetto during the 1997–98 season, in which Inzaghi scored 18 goals, including a decisive, Scudetto-winning hat-trick against Bologna. He also scored six goals to help Juventus reach the Champions League final, although they were defeated 1–0 by Real Madrid. The 1998–99 season was less successful for Juventus, as they were defeated in the 1998 Supercoppa Italiana by Lazio 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; Six of his goals came in the Champions League, as Juventus were eliminated in the semi-finals by eventual champions Manchester United. During the second leg of the semi-finals in Turin, Inzaghi scored two goals in the first ten minutes, but Manchester United eventually managed to come back and win the match 3–2. Inzaghi helped Juventus win the 1999 UEFA Intertoto Cup, scoring five goals in the semi-finals against Rostov, and two in the finals against Rennes, qualifying Juventus for the UEFA Cup that season. Inzaghi scored 15 goals in Serie A as Juventus narrowly missed out on the title to Lazio, defeated on the final matchday. The following season, Inzaghi managed 11 goals in Serie A as Juventus finished second in the league for the second consecutive season; he also scored five goals in the UEFA Champions League, including a hat-trick in a 4–4 draw against Hamburger SV, 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. for a reported 70 billion lire, (Sky Sports reported a smaller total figure, £17 million) for the 2001–02 campaign by coach Fatih 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. 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 with Andriy Shevchenko, and he soon earned many trophies with the Rossoneri under new manager Carlo Ancelotti, among them the 2002–03 Champions League (in which Milan defeated his previous team, Juventus, in the final on penalties), along with the 2002–03 Coppa Italia (scoring in a 2–2 draw in the second leg), the 2003 UEFA Super Cup, the 2004 Supercoppa Italiana, and the 2003–04 Scudetto. triumph with his Milan teammates 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 in 2005–06, along with four goals in five Champions' League appearances; two against Lyon in the quarter-finals and another two against Bayern Munich in the first knockout stage. He scored the decisive goal against the Bavarians in the 2007 quarter-finals, helping Milan to reach the semi-finals of the competition. On 23 May 2007, in the 2007 Champions League final in Athens, 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: with David Beckham and Mathieu Flamini in 2009 On 8 March 2009, Inzaghi scored his first hat-trick of the season for Milan against Atalanta, leading his team to a 3–0 victory at the San Siro. His 300th career goal came in the 5–1 thrashing of Siena away from home. He then went on to score three goals against Torino, his second professional hat-trick in that season. Scoring this hat-trick enabled him to set a record for the player with the most hat-tricks in Serie A over the last 25 years. With ten hat-tricks in Serie A, Inzaghi is ahead of Giuseppe Signori (9), Hernán Crespo (8), Roberto Baggio, Marco van Basten, Gabriel Batistuta, Abel Balbo, Vincenzo Montella (7), Antonio Di Natale and David Trezeguet (6). Inzaghi scored one hat-trick for Atalanta, four for Juventus, and five for Milan. In the 2009–10 season, under manager Leonardo, 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. On 3 November 2010, in the UEFA 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's Ryan Giggs, now surpassed by Inzaghi's compatriot Francesco Totti. With these two goals, Inzaghi went ahead of his idol Marco 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 the anterior 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. He played his final game for Milan against Novara on 13 May 2012 and marked his performance by scoring the winning goal. On 24 July 2012, Inzaghi announced his retirement from professional football to start a coaching career. European competition records With 70 goals, Inzaghi is the sixth-highest scorer in European club competitions, behind only Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski, Raúl and Karim 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 over Dynamo 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 by Michael Owen, who scored two hat-tricks for Liverpool and a third for Manchester United. == International career ==

Between 1993 and 1996, Inzaghi made 14 appearances for the Italy under-21 team, scoring three goals; he was also a member of the Italy under-21 squad that won the 1994 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. Inzaghi earned his first senior cap for Italy in the Tournoi de France, He scored his first goal for Italy on 18 November 1998, in a 2–2 friendly draw against Spain; he has since scored 25 goals in 57 appearances. Italy were knocked out in the quarter-finals on penalties to hosts and eventual champions France. At Euro 2000, he was one of Italy's starting strikers under the new Italy manager Dino Zoff. He scored two goals throughout the tournament; his first came from a penalty, in Italy's 2–1 opening group win over Turkey, in which he was named man of the match, while his second came in a 2–0 win over Romania in the quarter-finals of the competition; he also set up Stefano Fiore's goal in a 2–0 win over co-hosts Belgium in his nation's second group match of the tournament. His performances helped Italy reach the final, where they were defeated by France once again, on a golden goal. Along with Francesco Totti, he was Italy's top-scorer throughout the tournament. Under Zoff's replacement, Giovanni Trapattoni, Inzaghi was Italy's top goalscorer during the qualifying rounds of the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004, scoring his first and only international hat-trick in a 4–0 home win over Wales on 6 September 2003, although he missed the latter tournament due to injury. He went scoreless throughout the 2002 World Cup, making two appearances, as Italy were controversially eliminated in the round of 16 to co-hosts South Korea; in Italy's 2–1 loss to Croatia 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 referee Graham Poll claimed that Inzaghi had grabbed an opponent's shirt. Inzaghi also had a goal wrongly disallowed in Italy's final group match against Mexico, which ended in a 1–1 draw. 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 coach Marcello Lippi for the 2006 World Cup final tournament. Due to the abundance of other top strikers such as Alessandro Del Piero, Francesco Totti and Luca Toni, Inzaghi made his only appearance – subbing on for Alberto Gilardino – in Italy's final group stage match against the Czech Republic on 22 June 2006, scoring his only goal in the tournament, rounding Petr 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, after Daniele Massaro. Italy went on to win the tournament, defeating France on penalties in the final. Following Italy's fourth World Cup victory, Inzaghi made six appearances under new manager Roberto Donadoni in Italy's UEFA Euro 2008 qualification campaign, scoring three goals, two of which came in a 2–1 away win against the Faroe Islands on 2 June 2007. He was not called up for the final 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 in Milan. Inzaghi is currently the sixth-highest goalscorer in the Italian national team's history, with 25 goals, alongside Adolfo Baloncieri and Alessandro Altobelli. == Style of play ==

Inzaghi was an intelligent, extremely fast, agile, and opportunistic player, with excellent reactions and a lanky, slender physique; although not very technically gifted, 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, 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. When he was first called up to the national team, the other Italian players were surprised at his lack of technical accomplishment, the Italian name for Super Goof, the superhero alter ego of cartoon character Goofy (Pippo being a common hypocorism of his first name Filippo). Tactically, Inzaghi was noted for his vision and ability to read the game, 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, 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, for not participating in the build-up of plays, and for going to ground too easily, Due to his opportunistic playing style, Inzaghi was frequently compared to Paolo Rossi throughout his career. == Managerial career ==

AC Milan Inzaghi started his coaching career at the beginning of the 2012–13 season, signing a two-year deal as the manager of AC Milan's Allievi (under-17) team. On 9 June 2014, Inzaghi was named manager of Milan's first team after the dismissal of his former Rossoneri teammate Clarence Seedorf. In Inzaghi's first match as a manager in Serie A on 31 August, Milan defeated Lazio 3–1 at the San Siro. Inzaghi then led Milan to a second consecutive win in a match that ended with a 5–4 Milan win against Parma. On 4 June 2015 Adriano Galliani, the CEO of Milan, announced that Inzaghi would not be the coach for next season. He was officially dismissed on 16 June 2015. Venezia On 7 June 2016, Inzaghi was appointed as the new coach of ambitious Lega Pro club Venezia. On 19 April 2017, after beating Parma to top spot, he won promotion to Serie B as champions. He also won the Coppa Italia Lega Pro in the same season. Bologna On 13 June 2018, Inzaghi was announced as the new head coach of top-flight Bologna, taking over from Roberto Donadoni. He faced a Lazio side coached by his younger brother Simone in an eventual 0–2 defeat on 26 December. Following a record of two wins in 21 games, he was dismissed on 28 January 2019 and replaced by Siniša Mihajlović. Benevento On 22 June 2019, Inzaghi was appointed manager of Benevento in Serie B. 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. On his Serie A debut for the team, they won 3–2 at Sampdoria on 26 September, having been losing 2–0. Benevento ended the 2020–21 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. Brescia On 9 June 2021, Inzaghi was appointed manager of Brescia in Serie B. On 16 August, Inzaghi made his debut for Brescia in the first round Coppa Italia match losing 4–2 in the penalty shoot-out after a 2–2 draw in the extra-time. On 23 March 2022, Inzaghi was dismissed by club chairman Massimo Cellino, leaving the club in fifth place in the league table. After his successor Eugenio Corini was eliminated in the promotion playoff semifinals by Monza, 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. Reggina On 12 July 2022, Inzaghi was appointed manager of Reggina in Serie B, signing a three-year deal with the Calabrians. 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. Salernitana On 10 October 2023, relegation-struggling Serie A club Salernitana announced the appointment of Inzaghi in place of outgoing Paulo Sousa. He was sacked on 11 February 2024 and replaced by Fabio Liverani. Pisa On 3 July 2024, Inzaghi signed for Serie B club Pisa. In his debut season with the club, Inzaghi led Pisa to promotion to Serie A, marking their return to the top flight after a 34-year absence. He left Pisa on 13 June 2025. Palermo On 17 June 2025, Inzaghi was confirmed as the new head coach for Palermo. == Media ==

Inzaghi features in EA Sports' FIFA video game series; he was on the cover for the Italian edition of FIFA 2001, and was named in the Ultimate Team Legends in FIFA 14. In 2015, the arcade game company Konami announced that Inzaghi would feature in their football video game Pro Evolution Soccer 2016 as one of the new myClub Legends. == Career statistics ==

Club International :''Scores and results list Italy's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Inzaghi goal.'' Managerial == Honours ==

Player Piacenza • Serie B: 1994–95 Juventus • Serie A: 2003–04, 2010–11 • Coppa Italia: 2002–03 • UEFA Champions League: 2002–03, 2006–07 • UEFA Super Cup: 2003, 2007 • FIFA Club World Cup: 2007 Italy U21 • Capocannoniere: 1996–97 • 2007 UEFA Champions League final: Man of the Match • Italy's top goal scorer under UEFA club competition records • AC Milan's top goal scorer in Europe • Premio Nazionale Carriera Esemplare "Gaetano Scirea": 2007 • AC Milan top goalscorer (2002–03 Season) • AC Milan AC Milan Hall of Fame • Player Career Award in the Globe Soccer Awards: 2014 Manager Venezia • Lega Pro: 2016–17 • Coppa Italia Lega Pro: 2016–17 Benevento • Serie B: 2019–20 Pisa • Serie B runner-up: 2024–25 Individual • Panchina d'Argento: 2020 Orders : 5th Class / Knight: Cavaliere Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana: 2000 : 4th Class / Officer: Ufficiale Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana: 2006 : CONI: Golden Collar of Sports Merit: ''Collare d'Oro al Merito Sportivo'': 2006 == See also ==