"Flipper" - Jaap Stam

"Can't play football at all" - Johan Cruyff

" Born for offside” - Alex Ferguson

Philippe Inzaghi is a goal-scoring machine who has tasted the glory of the World Cup and Champions League, but there are still many people in football who do not Identify with him. Here, Super Pippo talks criticism, heroes and goals

By Dan Brennan/Libero Language Lab

Athens, May 2007. As the AC Milan squad celebrated their Champions League final victory over Liverpool in the middle of the Stadio Olimpico, one man was conspicuously absent. Filippo Inzaghi, the hero who scored 2 goals for the Rossoneri, also has other things running through his mind.

Standing firmly in his natural territory - the penalty area - Inzaghi shouted for the ball to Massimo Ambrosini who was holding the ball. He ran towards the ball and then, comically, missed the opportunity six yards in front of an empty goal. The moment perfectly captured both the good and the bad in this player. "Super Pippo" was a thin, graceless player who often messed up simple things, but his insatiable hunger for goals made him the most prolific player of the past decade. One of the forwards; became a player who was highly regarded by the club coach and put on the national team jersey, but was still considered by the outside world to be "born for offside" (Alex Ferguson) and "not able to do anything at all" The "kicker" (Johan Cruyff) and the "liar" (Jaap Stam).

“I remember the moment when Pippo was first called up to the national team,” a former Italy international revealed to FFT Italy correspondent James Richardson. "In training, we stood there dumbfounded because his technique was the worst we had ever seen. But despite this, he kept scoring goals."

While playing for Inter Milan Roberto Carlos, who often faced Inzaghi, said of the forward: "He is the kind of man who can solve anything - even if it is difficult to pinpoint exactly how he does it. Whenever Milan When trouble comes, he seems to be able to save the team."

So what's his secret? "I think it's my instinct for scoring goals, my ability to be in the right place at the right time. And (Sir Alex Ferguson said) my alertness in getting out of the offside trap," Inzaghi was preparing to fly with the team. Hours before heading to Scotland to face Championship rivals Celtic, he graciously agreed to a midnight interview and spoke to FourFourTwo. It's this instinct that makes him stand out: in a career that lasted 16 years, despite being plagued by injuries, he scored almost 250 club goals and 25 for the Italian national team. , twice the top scorer in Serie A and winning every title possible. Oh, and he also became the player with the most goals in European competitions. The two goals that scored against Sakda in the group stage brought his European goals to 62 (including an astonishing 41 goals in 49 Champions League games), tying his childhood idol Gaijin. De Muller's European goalscoring record.

Inzaghi believes he was born to be a striker. "As a child, I was lively, alert and decisive. Of course, obsessed with football," Pippo told FFT. "I was born with a ball on my head. I went to school just to fulfill my parents' wishes (which resulted in an accounting diploma), but I always knew my ambition was to be a footballer - —To be precise, a center forward."

In 1991, Inzaghi got his first chance, joining his hometown team Piacenza. But only got 2 playing opportunities. The next year he went to Serie C team Leif and scored 13 goals in 21 games. After bouncing around several clubs, he made his first Serie A appearance at Parma. But it wasn't until he moved to Atalanta in 1996 that he attracted attention, and that season he became Serie A's top scorer with 24 goals - a score that was enough to earn him a move to Juventus.

It might not be correct to say that he currently has the love from all over Italy, but Inzaghi has won praise from a wider area. And he has to work for it. After arriving at the Alpstadion in 1997, he joined the ranks of the masters Del Piero and Zidane to form the "Old Lady" trident. He is regarded by the outside world as a "rough brother" who is incompatible with the team's style. But he refuted outside criticism with 87 goals in four seasons. But this still could not prevent his position from being replaced by Trezeguet, who newly joined the team in 2000, so he defected to San Siro. Here, he must start all over again to conquer the naysayers. The 13 goals he scored in his second season made him the top scorer in the Champions League and silenced his opponents.

In the six years he has been in charge of AC Milan, Ancelotti’s trust in Inzaghi has never wavered.

"Great teams should have this type of killer striker," Ancelotti said, comparing Inzaghi's importance to Milan's legendary forwards George Weah, Van Basten and Gullit. Comparisons were made with Bierhoff. During his time at San Siro, Inzaghi was always a substitute for the more famous stars - Vieri, Shevchenko, Crespo - but he never stopped scoring goals. In Ancelotti's new 4321 "Christmas tree formation", Kaka and Seedorf were pushed behind a lone forward, and Inzaghi's position was even more unstable. But when Ronaldo is healthy, Inzaghi, although he has to play behind him, has always been ranked ahead of Gilardino, who is worth 15 million pounds. His popularity with fans is probably second only to Kaka. But for purists, the Rossoneri's reliance on a player with such obvious shortcomings is cause for alarm.

This reminds us of Cruyff's evaluation: "Look, the fact is, Inzaghi can't play football at all. He just always appears in the right position."

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Inzaghi dismissed the criticism. "Everyone has the right to say what's on their mind," he shrugged. It's possible that Inzaghi even took Cruyff's words as an unintentional compliment - after all, "being in the right place" is at the heart of what every forward should possess. Inzaghi not only did this many times, but also did it at critical moments. But there was a kind of ridicule he couldn't ignore. "I will respond to Ferguson's comment ("born for offside"), which I think is the most unfair: my strength is my anti-offside ability."

Inza Gee's keen sense of touch in front of goal has been compared to England's proud goalscoring machine Owen. Italians regard this as a high compliment. "I'm really happy to be compared to Irving," Inzaghi said. "When I first saw him in 1998, I said to myself: This young man is going to be the best striker in the world. Then injuries stopped him, but now he's back and I I wish him all the best."

Inzaghi is also a fan of Gary Lineker and has also chosen three AC Milan strikers (past, present and foreign) that he admires. "It used to be Van Basten. I am proud to wear his No. 9 jersey. Now, I think Ronaldo is still No. 1. As for the future, please pay attention to our new partner Pato: he has the ability to become The skills of a great striker."

Inzaghi often has the responsibility of being "too independent", and he himself admits this. "My independence is famous in Italy," he said. "The truth is, I live to score goals." But he added: "I must admit that sometimes I am too selfish."

At Juventus, Inzaghi greedily dominated The image of Del Piero raising his arms in despair and waiting in vain for the ball has become a common sight. This led to rumors of a rift between the two, but Inzaghi was desperate to avoid them.

"I am very happy to have the opportunity to say that Del Piero is my friend and a person I admire very much. Many journalists in Italy say that we have conflicts, which is nonsense," Inzaghi claimed. "If you are friends, no problem, but that is not the point. In football, my best friends are my brother Simon (now at Atalanta) and Vieri (who is rumored to have stolen his fiancée, the model and Actress Canalis), but unfortunately I never got the chance to play with them as long as I thought I would."

"Goals are like a good drug," because Zaki added. "I never feel like I have enough time." An incident from a few years ago proved this. In a meaningless league encounter between Milan and Torino, he scored Milan's fifth goal and then went berserk, roaring wildly as if he had scored to win the Scudetto. decisive goal. The Turin players were so angry that they tried to mob him. Inzaghi apologized and explained that for him, every goal was "like a mystical experience."

Inzaghi is now 34 years old. He won the World Cup and Champions League championship medals last year. But he still has no intention of retiring at all, and he wants to keep playing in this state for a few more years. "For me, playing for the country is the highest honor, so I have never considered retiring."

National team coach Donadoni may be focusing more on rookie Quagliare On La, Di Natale and Palladino. But Inzaghi's scoring rate of 25 goals in 57 national team games is now only inferior to Vieri and Baggio, and higher than Del Piero and Totti. This statistic becomes even more impressive when you consider that between 2003 and 2006 - the four years at the peak of his career - he was not selected for the national team. To be able to regain his peak form at the age of 32 fully illustrates his relaxed mentality and confidence. "I always hope I can get back to the top," Inzaghi said. "Especially because my absence was mainly due to injuries rather than lack of appreciation from the coach. Injuries have helped me become a stronger man and a more crafty player."

Despite all the criticism, Inzaghi is unfazed by the lack of plaudits from outside Serie A. "I guess the fact that I've never played for any foreign club explains it," Super Pippo explains, only half-jokingly.

"Or maybe it's because Italians are gourmets and they know how to appreciate football.

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