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In the beginning, there was Super Pippo. Through him all goals were scored, and without him there was nothing. He was the one player to light up Italian football’s darkness. And it sometimes feels as if he has been answering our prayers since the beginning of time.
The opening skirmishes of the Champions League confirmed one of the first rules of calcio – expect the unexpected. Nobody would have bet a bean on Milan coming out as Serie A’s only victors in the first round of group games. Instead, courtesy of Mr Inzaghi, of course, they pulled off a morale-boosting win. And Ronaldinho was nowhere to be seen. Coincidence? Maybe.
Their city rivals, so full of quadruple Scudetto-winning swagger, seemed more than happy with a goalless draw at home to Barcelona. To be fair, Inter are still in the construction phase but they always looked a bit short of the quality of the reigning European champions. They will need to up their game as the competition progresses. Otherwise, all Jose Mourinho’s talk will begin to have an empty ring. For some it has already done so.
There was a share of the points, too, for Juve. Their side has been crushed by injuries at such an early stage in the season and Sebastian Giovinco was a poor replacement for Diego. Even an old-stager like ADP might have done the job in such circumstances. After all, it was his old sparring partner who saved Milan.
And then there was Fiorentina. Things looked to be going swimmingly for them away to Lyon as they approached half-time with the better of the play in a game without goals. Unfortunately, Alberto Gilardino was harshly ruled to have elbowed an opponent and saw red before the interval. It gave the Viola a mountain to climb and in the end they succumbed.
The points haul of Serie A sides looked all the more stark when compared with England’s poker of wins – although none of those was overwhelming. Even German sides gathered more victories. For now all we can do is cling on to Super Pippo – and hope for a few more of his divine interventions.
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Your assessment of Inzaghi is quite over-the-top. The words you chose seem to put him on a level with the original Ronaldo, Henry, Van Basten or Romario. Those players changed football forever. I don't think Inzaghi is anywhere near as great as them.
Yes, he's scored plenty of goals but I still remember the number of chances he missed in the 1998 European Cup Final against Real Madrid. Of course, he delivered in the 2007 Final. Anyway, he has achieved big things so I cannot sit here and begrudge him.
AR
Inzaghi was a fantastic player and hugely underrated. I believe in the history of football, he is up there with the best ever forwards. It is true he doesn't offer much apart from scoring goals, but that is a strikers’ job and he does it better than most. Inzaghi is a big game player and has proved this many times over the years. True he doesn't have the best skills but his skill is being in the right place at the right time. Inzaghi = true legend.
Dino
Spot on commentary. Without Inzaghi and Seedorf's moments, Milan were basically dominated by Marseille. Nesta and Zambrotta were total liabilities. Pirlo and Ambrosini were completely overrun by Marseille and ACM never possessed the ball for any appreciable consecutive periods of time.
Jose V, USA
Sorry AR but you sound just like the British tabloids. Even though Inzaghi is not the greatest player or dribbler in the world, he has scored more goals in European competition than the players you have mentioned. Henry hardly played in Italy and scored a lot of goals in a weak Premiership at that time. Romario would not have scored so many goals had he played in Italy. Il Fenomeno and Van Basten had their careers cut short due to injuries. So, to score as many goals as SuperPippo and stay relatively fit at this age and still have the same passion of scoring goals, you have to give it to SuperPippo.
Gino, London
I watched both Milan teams playing and there is only one major difference between them – one lacks European class, that is Inter. I am not fan of Milan, but they proved themselves again and again when it comes to European competition. Saying that Inter is a team in “construction” is nice but don’t do them any favours, their play was the old fashion catenaccio and nothing more. 65 per cent possession Barca? If this is what Mourinho is doing as a ‘special one’ somebody is wasting a tonne of money on paying his salary, a real PR guy would cost a lot less. While AC Milan man was the eternal Super Pippo, Inter man was Chivu?? That says it all.
Mihail
It’s a fact that Italian clubs are on the slide. Super Pippo was awesome again but at 36 years old it only raises my eyebrow to think that he should be a bit part player and not the leading frontline player for Milan. Pirlo was again poor and I just can’t understand why Milan are insisting that Zambrotta, Oddo, Gattuso etc are going to win things.
I thought Inter looked decent with Milito and Eto’o up front and the introduction of Santon and Balotelli made me happy. Italian football is worlds apart from the modern day game and in terms of stadium, crowds and popularity the English game is in far better shape. The only thing the Italian game as at the moment is the history of the game which still stands as the best in Europe when you consider both club and country. I hope the Italian federation will pull its finger out soon because if we don’t rectify it now then we will fall further behind.
Davide, Wakefield
Gino, I'm not just talking about football skills. I'm talking about charisma, the number of times Inzaghi gets caught offside (it's laughable, Trezeguet is similar but he doesn't get caught so often) and the whining.
I don't care about the EPL or British tabloids. Skills are skills whatever league we talk about. Is Larsson a lesser player because he made his name in the SPL? I don't think so. I used to love the Italian game because it had quality in the past. But now it seems boring compared to La Liga and EPL.
Serie A has had real (goalscoring) legends like Eto'o, Shevchenko, Weah, Batistuta, Vialli, Baggio, Salas, Crespo, Careca, Caniggia, Silenzi and Hubner. How do you know Romario and Henry would not have scored so many in Serie A. I tend to think they would have because they did well everywhere they played.
The biggest mistake Juventus made was to let Henry go prematurely. As Wenger said, he was the best striker in the world at one point and he deserved to be World & European Player of the Year. Plus, he has destroyed teams in Europe. Teams like Juventus, Roma, Inter, Real Madrid & numerous others.
AR
Nice article, well written and spot on analysis too! Anyone doubting Pippo Inzaghi only needs to look at the scoring charts for European competition since it began over 50 years ago. At the top, you wont find Henry, Raul, Van Nistlerooy, Del Piero or Van Basten. It’s Inzaghi, just one goal away from topping the chart.
No, of course his passing, vision, dribbling, pace and technique is nowhere near the level of the players I mentioned. Yes, he contributes absolutely zero to the play of his team. I hate him just as much as you, for his constant diving, off-sides, moaning, looking like he's about to cry. But look at his record, he flat out gets the job done.
Need a goal? Call Pippo. Big games in Europe against giants like Liverpool or Marseille? Call Pippo. Small games on a wet cold night in say, Siena? Call Pippo. Time after time he annoys the hell out of the football world, yet bags the winner.
Adam Digby
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