Filippo Inzaghi

Filippo Inzaghi
Personal information
Date of birth	August 9, 1973 (1973-08-09) (age 36)
Place of birth	Piacenza, Italy
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Forward
Club information
Current club	Milan
Number	9
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1991–1992 1992–1993 1993–1994 1994–1995 1995–1996 1996–1997 1997–2001 2001–	Piacenza Calcio S.C. Leffe Hellas Verona Piacenza Calcio Parma Atalanta Juventus Milan	002 0(0) 021 (13) 036 (13) 037 (15) 015 0(2) 033 (24) 120 (57) 145 (57)
National team2
1993–1996 1997–2008	Italy U-21 Italy	014 0(3) 057 (25)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23 November 2008. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 8 September 2007. * Appearances (Goals)

Filippo "Pippo" Inzaghi, Cavaliere Ufficiale OMRI^[1][2] (born August 9, 1973 in Piacenza) is a World Cup-winning footballer who currently plays for Italian Serie A club AC Milan. He is the all-time leading scorer in official UEFA competition with 65 goals.^[3]

Club career

The brother of fellow footballer Simone Inzaghi, "Pippo" got his start playing for hometown club Piacenza Calcio as a teenager in 1991, but made only two appearances before being loaned to Serie C1 side S.C. 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 appearances. Upon his return to Piacenza, he netted 15 times in 37 games and proved himself as an exciting young prospect.

Inzaghi made his Serie A debut when he transferred to Parma F.C. in 1995, but scored only twice in 15 matches. He moved on to Atalanta B.C. the following season, finishing as the Capocannoniere (Serie A's top scorer) with 24 goals.

Juventus

However, he was soon on the move once again to his seventh team in seven seasons, this time to Juventus F.C. He formed a formidable attacking partnership along with Alessandro Del Piero and Zinedine Zidane, a tandem which would last for four seasons, marking Inzaghi's longest stint with one team at the time. Juventus won the Scudetto in the 1997-98 season, but lost 1-0 in the Champions League final to Real Madrid.

AC Milan

Despite a solid tally of 57 goals in 120 games for the Bianconeri, Inzaghi was soon benched in favor of David Trézéguet, and he moved to A.C. Milan for the 2001-02 campaign by Fatih Terim, but 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 racked up an impressive trophy count with the Rossoneri, among them the 2002-03 Champions League (in which Milan defeated his previous team, Juventus, in the final on penalties), along with the 2003 Coppa Italia and the 2003-04 Scudetto. He signed a contract extension in November 2004.^[4]

Inzaghi was able to fully recover from persistent knee injuries that had dogged him for two years, as he also regained his predatory goalscoring form by scoring 12 goals in 22 Serie A matches in 2005-06, along with four scores in five CL appearances. On May 23, 2007, in the 2007 Champions League final in Athens, he scored both of Milan's goals in their 2-1 victory over Liverpool F.C. in a rematch of the 2005 final. He said after the match, "It's a dream since I was a child to score twice in the final, and the ones I scored yesterday evening were the most important in my life. It was an unforgettable game. It's something that will stay with me all my life and two goals in the final speaks for itself." At the start of the 2007-2008 season he picked up where he left off in Athens, scoring the equalizer in the Super Cup in Milan's 3-1 victory over Sevilla, a game in which he controversially celebrated his goal despite all the others goal scorers of the game Renato, Marek Jankulovski and Kaká not doing so out of respect for the recently departed Sevilla player Antonio Puerta. Inzaghi capped off the year by scoring two goals in the final of the 2007 Club World Cup, helping Milan win 4-2 against Boca Juniors to take revenge for the defeat on penalties in 2003.

On February 24, 2008, Inzaghi scored the matchwinning goal in Milan's 2-1 win over Palermo with a diving header; it marked his first Serie A goal in over a year. This was followed by ten more goals in the league, the last against Udinese. This strike against Udinese was his goal number 100 for the club in official games.

In November 2008, his contract was extended to June 2010.

European competition records

Inzaghi 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 September 13, 2000; his first was in a 4-1 victory over Dynamo Kiev during the 1997-98 quarterfinals.

He scored his 62nd career European goal, and 33rd overall for Milan, in a 3-0 CL group stage win over FC Shakhtar Donetsk on November 6, 2007. This achievement put him level with Bayern Munich legend Gerd Müller on UEFA's all-time scoring list. [1] Inzaghi surpassed Müller after netting his 63rd career goal during Milan's final group stage match against Celtic FC on December 4, 2007. [2]

International career

Inzaghi earned his first cap for Italy against Brazil on June 8, 1997, and has since scored 25 goals in 57 appearances. He was called up for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Euro 2000, the 2002 FIFA World Cup and the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Inzaghi was Italy's top goalscorer during the qualifying rounds of the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004, but missed the latter due to injury.

His persistent knee and ankle injuries put a halt to his international play for almost two years before his resurgence at the club level, which resulted in his being called up by Italy coach Marcello Lippi for the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals. Inzaghi made his only appearance in a group stage match against the Czech Republic on June 22, 2006, scoring his one goal in the tournament against Petr čech in a one-on-one encounter.

He is currently the sixth-highest goalscorer in team history with 25 goals, which ties him with Adolfo Baloncieri and Alessandro Altobelli.

Inzaghi is noted for his ability to play off the shoulders of the last defender, leading Sir Alex Ferguson to quip: "Pippo Inzaghi was born in an offside position."[3]

Honours

Juventus

• Serie A: 1997-98

Milan

• Serie A: 2003-04
• Coppa Italia: 2002-03
• UEFA Champions League: 2002-03, 2006-07
• UEFA Super Cup: 2003, 2007
• FIFA Club World Cup: 2007

International

• FIFA World Cup: 2006

Individual

• Serie A Young Footballer of the Year: 1997
• Serie A top scorer: 1996-97

Orders

5th Class / Knight: Cavaliere Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana:

Career statistics

Updated to games played 24 November 2008.^[5]

Club

¹European competitions include the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup, UEFA Intertoto Cup and UEFA Super Cup
²Other tournaments include the Supercoppa Italiana and FIFA Club World Cup

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	October 18, 1998	Salerno, Italy	Spain	2–2	Draw	Friendly
2.	October 18, 1998	Salerno, Italy	Spain	2–2	Draw	Friendly
3.	December 16, 1998	Rome, Italy	World Stars	6–2	Win	Friendly
4.	March 27, 1999	Copenhagen, Denmark	Denmark	1–2	Win	UEFA Euro 2000 Qualification
5.	March 31, 1999	Ancona, Italy	Belarus	1–1	Draw	UEFA Euro 2000 Qualification
6.	June 5, 1999	Bologna, Italy	Wales	4–0	Win	UEFA Euro 2000 Qualification
7.	June 11, 2000	Arnhem, Netherlands	Turkey	1–2	Win	UEFA Euro 2000
8.	June 24, 2000	Brussels, Belgium	Romania	2–0	Win	UEFA Euro 2000
9.	September 3, 2000	Budapest, Hungary	Hungary	2–2	Draw	FIFA World Cup 2002 Qualifcation
10.	September 3, 2000	Budapest, Hungary	Hungary	2–2	Draw	FIFA World Cup 2002 Qualifcation
11.	October 7, 2000	Milan, Italy	Romania	3–0	Win	FIFA World Cup 2002 Qualifcation
12.	March 24, 2001	Bucarest, Romania	Romania	0–2	Win	FIFA World Cup 2002 Qualifcation
13.	March 24, 2001	Bucarest, Romania	Romania	0–2	Win	FIFA World Cup 2002 Qualifcation
14.	March 28, 2001	Trieste, Italy	Lithuania	4–0	Win	FIFA World Cup 2002 Qualifcation
15.	March 28, 2001	Trieste, Italy	Lithuania	4–0	Win	FIFA World Cup 2002 Qualifcation
16.	September 6, 2003	Milan, Italy	Wales	4–0	Win	UEFA Euro 2004 Qualification
17.	September 6, 2003	Milan, Italy	Wales	4–0	Win	UEFA Euro 2004 Qualification
18.	September 6, 2003	Milan, Italy	Wales	4–0	Win	UEFA Euro 2004 Qualification
19.	September 10, 2003	Belgrade, Serbia	Serbia and Montenegro	1–1	Draw	UEFA Euro 2004 Qualification
20.	October 11, 2003	Reggio Calabria, Italy	Azerbaijan	4–0	Win	UEFA Euro 2004 Qualification
21.	October 11, 2003	Reggio Calabria, Italy	Azerbaijan	4–0	Win	UEFA Euro 2004 Qualification
22.	June 22, 2006	Hamburg, Germany	Czech Republic	0–2	Win	FIFA World Cup 2006
23.	September 2, 2006	Naples, Italy	Lithuania	1–1	Draw	UEFA Euro 2008 Qualification
24.	June 2, 2007	Tórshavn, Faroe Islands	Faroe Islands	1–2	Win	UEFA Euro 2008 Qualification
25.	June 2, 2007	Tórshavn, Faroe Islands	Faroe Islands	1–2	Win	UEFA Euro 2008 Qualification

References

External links

• Profile and career statistics - Football Database
• On a whinge and a prayer - soccernet.com

Filippo Inzaghi - Navigation boxes and awards Italy squad – 1998 FIFA World Cup 1 Toldo • 2 Bergomi • 3 P. Maldini • 4 Cannavaro • 5 Costacurta • 6 Nesta • 7 Pessotto • 8 Torricelli • 9 Albertini • 10 Del Piero • 11 D. Baggio • 12 Pagliuca • 13 Cois • 14 Di Biagio • 15 Di Livio • 16 Di Matteo • 17 Moriero • 18 R. Baggio • 19 Inzaghi • 20 Chiesa • 21 Vieri • 22 Buffon • Coach: C. Maldini Italy squad – UEFA Euro 2000 Runners-up 1 Abbiati • 2 Ferrara • 3 Maldini • 4 Albertini • 5 Cannavaro • 6 Negro • 7 Di Livio • 8 Conte • 9 Inzaghi • 10 Del Piero • 11 Pessotto • 12 Toldo • 13 Nesta • 14 Di Biagio • 15 Iuliano • 16 Ambrosini • 17 Zambrotta • 18 Fiore • 19 Montella • 20 Totti • 21 Delvecchio • 22 Antonioli • Coach: Zoff Italy squad – 2002 FIFA World Cup 1 Buffon • 2 Panucci • 3 Maldini • 4 Coco • 5 Cannavaro • 6 Zanetti • 7 Del Piero • 8 Gattuso • 9 Inzaghi • 10 Totti • 11 Doni • 12 Abbiati • 13 Nesta • 14 Di Biagio • 15 Iuliano • 16 Di Livio • 17 Tommasi • 18 Delvecchio • 19 Zambrotta • 20 Montella • 21 Vieri • 22 Toldo • 23 Materazzi • Coach: Trapattoni Italy squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup Winners (4th Title) 1 Buffon • 2 Zaccardo • 3 Grosso • 4 De Rossi • 5 Cannavaro • 6 Barzagli • 7 Del Piero • 8 Gattuso • 9 Toni • 10 Totti • 11 Gilardino • 12 Peruzzi • 13 Nesta • 14 Amelia • 15 Iaquinta • 16 Camoranesi • 17 Barone • 18 Inzaghi • 19 Zambrotta • 20 Perrotta • 21 Pirlo • 22 Oddo • 23 Materazzi • Coach: Lippi Sporting positions Preceded by Giuseppe Signori Igor Protti Serie A top scorer 1996-97 Succeeded by Oliver Bierhoff Awards Preceded by None Serie A Young Footballer of the Year 1997 Succeeded by Alessandro Nesta