The man building a case to be the best coach in the world was not even the best footballer in his family.
But after taking Inter Milan agonisingly close to becoming Italy’s first Champions League winners since 2010, Simone Inzaghi has set his sights on taking the lot this season.
Though he had a decent playing career, including 11 years at Lazio and three caps for Italy, Simone was always destined to be known as ‘Filippo’s younger brother’ or ‘the other Inzaghi.’ When a reporter mistakenly called him ‘Filippo’ in the mixed zone at Chelsea after a Champions League clash in 2003, Simone turned and smiled: ‘If you call me Simone, I’ll speak to you.’
Mocked in Italy and beyond for his on-field antics and scruffy technique, ‘Superpippo’s’ tally of goals and medals were the ultimate riposte to those doubters.
Simone Inzaghi is one of the best coaches in world football having flourished at both Inter Milan and Lazio
As a player, he was in the shadow of brother Filippo. but he has shone as a top level manager
Having come close to winning the Champions League with Inter last season, he is targeting the lot this season
Simone had arguably more natural talent but lacked Filippo’s animal-like hunger. Yet while Filippo has never found his way as a coach, Simone has blossomed since retirement. No wonder Inter are keen to tie him to a new contract, with the current one expiring at the end of next season and the European manager market likely to shift significantly this summer.
The Inter starting XI that took Manchester City all the way in last season’s Champions League Final, eventually losing 1-0, cost less than Jack Grealish. Now Inter are no paupers and pay their players extremely well but it takes a coach with serious skill to do battle with the Pep Guardiola-led money machine and so nearly overcome it.
As is the case with Filippo Inzaghi, Thierry Henry’s coaching career has not come close to reaching the levels he achieved as a player. But the France and Arsenal great is a football obsessive and has recognised Inzaghi’s quality.
The Inter side that came close to beating Manchester City in last year’s Champions League final cost less than Jack Grealish
‘I have been following him for a very long time, since his Lazio days,’ Henry told Sky Sports. ‘He’s always been a guy where if you meet him in a cup game, you’re in trouble.’
Inzaghi is comfortable enough in his own skin to have developed his own tactical identity, rather than trying to mimic Guardiola or Jurgen Klopp as so many of his peers do. When he arrived at Inter from AC Milan on a free transfer, Hakan Calhanoglu was a wide forward or No10.
Now the Turk operates in an Andrea Pirlo-style midfield role and said recently he believes himself the best in the world at it. Lautaro Martinez is among the top No9s after going to another level under Inzaghi. Federico Dimarco has done the same at left wing-back. When their attempts to sign Nicolo Barella were knocked back, Newcastle went for AC Milan’s Sandro Tonali instead though sadly for Eddie Howe, Tonali is not even half the player Barella is.
Inzaghi prefers the 3-5-2 system but is constantly adapting. Sometimes Inter press high, sometimes they let the opponents have the ball. Sometimes goalkeeper Yann Sommer starts play with a short pass, sometimes a long one. There are many more such variations within games.
The likes of Hakan Calhanoglu (left) and Lautaro Martinez have improved dramatically under his stewardship
The modern coach at a top club cannot get by on tactical savvy alone, however. A keen feel for the politics of the club is also vital, as is the ability to manage a group of wealthy young men with egos to match. Inzaghi had a crash course in this at Lazio, where he worked for Claudio Lotito, one of the most demanding and unpredictable owners in the European game.
In that sense, Inzaghi is lucky to be working with a chief executive like Giuseppe Marotta, who has few equals worldwide.
Whereas Premier League suits are happy to let their managers take the heat, Marotta fronts up when there are delicate off-field issues to handle and, along with sporting director Piero Ausilio, plays the free transfer market as well as anyone. As well as Calhanoglu, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Marcus Thuram also cost nothing, with Piotr Zielinski and Mehdi Taremi to follow in the summer.
Inzaghi did not have such smart support at Lazio but still managed to succeed. Working initially with the youth teams, Inzaghi was elevated when Marcelo Bielsa left Lazio in 2016 without taking charge of a single game.
He was elevated to Lazio boss in 2016 when Marcelo Bielsa left and had success without much support
He has won five cup competitions and the league title will likely follow come the end of this season
Since Lazio’s golden era ended in the early 2000s amid huge financial realignment, circumstances have often been tough in the blue half of Rome. Learning on the job, Inzaghi won a single Coppa Italia and two Italian Super Cups during five seasons at Lazio, as well as delivering a top-four finish and two fifth places.
At Inter he has won five cup competitions and the league title – the first of Inzaghi’s career – will surely follow this season, with second-placed Juventus 15 points behind.
The next obstacle is a hugely tricky match at Atletico Madrid next week, for a place in the Champions League quarter-finals. Inter should be out of sight but lead only 1-0 after the first leg and Atletico are a much stronger side at home than away.
Inzaghi will need all his expertise to keep his season and his team’s prospects moving in the right direction. Win that, though, and Inter will believe anything is possible.
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