Simone Inzaghi has earned his place at the top of football’s control after clinching a first Serie A title of his coaching career in impressive fashion in the Milan derby on Monday.
Inter Milan’s Scudetto is arguably Inzaghi’s biggest honour since winning it as a Lazio player 24 years ago, and it comes after three years of off-field turbulence and serious monetary turmoil at the club, all of which he has triumphed with aplomb.
Inzaghi, 48, has had a shorter playing career than his older brother Filippo, a prolific goalscorer for AC Milan and Juventus, two-time European champions and World Cup winners.
The young Inzaghi, also a striker, has played most of his career at Lazio, where he is beloved by the fans despite a modest goal record and only one league title.
However, in the managerial sphere, it is Simone who leads at the helm of one of Europe’s classic powers.
He has already received plaudits, added by Pep Guardiola, for leading his team to the Champions League final last season, where they were narrowly beaten by super-rich Manchester City.
Inzaghi looked like a cup specialist before this season, having won three Italian Cups and five Italian Super Cups since starting his senior management career at Lazio in 2016.
But he once again made light work of off-season conflicts to lead Inter to their 20th league title, beating rivals AC Milan for a second star in the team’s jersey.
“It’s hard to imagine three years with six trophies and a Champions League final,” Inzaghi told reporters on Monday night.
“You have to take a look at the 3-year total. We’ve had a smart run this year, but it’s a win that’s been a long time in the making. “
Inzaghi is also one of five coaches (two-time European Cup winner Helenio Herrera, Roberto Mancini, Giovanni Trapattoni and Arpad Weisz) to have racked up 100 or more wins in the Inter dugout.
Humble Beginnings
Inzaghi took charge of Lazio eight years ago after emerging through the youth ranks and made an impact, leading the Roma club back to Europe and reaching the Coppa Italia final, only to lose to conquering Juventus.
Lazio are overshadowed by rivals Roma and hampered by a budget dwarfed by that of the Italian big three, Juve, Inter and Milan, all of whom are relatively deficient on the continent.
The 2019 Coppa Italia, two Super Cups (both won against Juve) and Champions League qualification in 2020 may not seem like much, but they are enough to lure cash-strapped Inter in following the departure of Serie A winner Antonio Conte.
Inzaghi arrived at Inter three years ago, just as the club was on the verge of entering a full-blown crisis following the departure of Conte and the sale of Romelu Lukaku and Achraf Hakimi, the two stars of that Scudetto-winning crusade, whose departures sparked fan protests outside the clubhouse.
However, accustomed to doing more with less at Lazio, and unlike Conte, he replaced the starting stars with reasonableness, rather than complaining about promoting them at home.
It’s something Inzaghi has become accustomed to, as Inter’s remarkable domestic crusade came after a pre-season in which big players left and serious financial problems hampered their summer move business.