Charting the Managerial Journeys of the Inzaghi Brothers
By Lee Bushe
For only the second time in their managerial careers, the Inzaghi brothers will face each other off in the dugout next season when Simone's Lazio take on Filippo's newly-promoted Benevento.
Despite the obvious similarities in appearance and even style-of-play, the career trajectories of the brothers couldn't have been more different. Filippo, the elder brother, was considered to be one of the world's best strikers during his playing career, having scored over 300 goals for both club and country and picking up a multitude of trophies, including a World Cup. His managerial record has been mixed though, having had failed spells in Serie A with Milan and Bologna but success in Serie B with Venezia and Benevento.
Simone, the younger brother, had an unremarkable career as a striker, often failing to hit double digits for the season. He has forged himself a successful managerial career, however, and is now considered to be one of the most promising coaches in Europe thanks to his achievements with Lazio.
With the two now arguably accomplished as coaches, we at 90min decided to chart their managerial journeys.
Filippo Inzaghi
Known for being a poacher rather than an exceptionally skilled footballer (something which made him the occasional subject of criticism), Filippo enjoyed a prolific career with Juventus, Milan and the Italy national team, winning nearly every trophy available to him.
The signs that Filippo would go on to be a successful manager were present during his playing career, with Milan teammate Gennaro Gattuso noting: "Inzaghi used to get videos of opponents and study them for days on end. He knew everything about them. He was obsessed."
So there wouldn't have been much surprise when, having just retired at the age of 38, Filippo was appointed as coach of Milan's Allievi Nazionale coach in 2012. A year later, he was promoted to manager of I Rossoneri's Primavera team, leading them to a Viareggio Cup victory.
The following year, he was promoted again, this time to manager of Milan's first-team, succeeding his former I Rossoneri teammate Clarence Seedorf. Despite a promising start 2014/15 would prove to be a disastrous season for Filippo and Milan, with the club finishing in tenth place, their lowest finish since 1998.
The opportunity clearly came too soon for Filippo and he was dismissed after just a year in charge. After a break in 2015/16, he was appointed as manager of American-owned third-division side Venezia. I Lagunari had suffered three bankruptcies in the decade preceding the American takeover in 2015, but now had ambitions to reach Serie A and build a modern stadium.
In his first season at the Pierluigi Penzo, Venezia won their third-division group by a landslide, finishing ten points above second-placed Roma (not that Roma) and sealing a place in Serie B for the first time in over a decade. Filippo continued to do a stellar job at I Lagunari, leading them to fifth spot - a play-off place - in their first season back in the second-tier.
Having now seemingly earned his managerial stripes, Serie A side Bologna decided to appoint him as their new coach. He struggled with the demands of top-flight football, however, winning just two league games during his tenure at the club. With I Rossoblu in the relegation zone, Filippo was sent packing in January 2019.
Despite his reputation taking a hit, Serie B's Benevento chose him as the man to lead them back into the top-flight. Under his management, Gli Stregoni have led the league for most of the season and won promotion to Serie A with seven games to spare. Having now achieved this, the elder Inzaghi has earned his way back into the top-flight and one hopes he can be successful there this time around.
Simone Inzaghi
Simone began his career at Piacenza in 1994, before earning a move to Lazio in 1999. He spent the rest of his career - bar a couple of loan spells with Sampdoria and Atalanta - with Le Aquile, despite the fact his appearances become more sporadic as he got older.
Like his brother, Simone was known for his attention to detail during his playing career and made the natural transition to Lazio's Allievi Regionali coach when he retired in 2010. He was promoted to Allievi Nazionale coach a year later, before being promoted once again to Le Aquile's Primavera coach in 2014.
He showed promise during his spell at Lazio's Primavera side, leading them to two Coppa Italia Primavera's and a Primavera Super Cup. Just a season-and-a-half after taking charge of the Primavera Simone was drafted in as Lazio's caretaker manager following the sacking of Stefano Pioli.
2015/16 was a chaotic season for Le Aquile. After having finished in a Champions League spot the previous season under Pioli, they were struggling to even reach the Europa League places. A 4-1 derby trashing to Roma was the final straw for Pioli, who was sacked with seven games to go.
The atmosphere around the club was sour; Lazio's ultras had boycotted their derby defeat to Roma and protested at Le Aquile's training ground after it. Simone and the Lazio squad decided to speak with the ultras, who demanded that their team play with more passion.
This translated onto the pitch somewhat, with Simone winning four of Lazio's remaining seven games. Despite the turnaround in form, Simone was not given the job permanently, with the hierarchy opting for the experienced Marcelo Bielsa.
In a twist, the Argentine tactician resigned two days after his appointment, citing that the club hadn't backed him in transfer market. So they turned once again to Simone, giving him the manager's job on a permanent basis. At this time, the club was in disarray and its future seemed bleak.
Simone kept the core of the squad - though added key players such as Ciro Immobile and Luis Alberto - and played a more a more offensive style of football than Pioli. He steadied the ship in the first season, leading Lazio to the Coppa Italia final and to fifth place in the league. Lazio slowly improved the following season, finishing just outside the Champions League places and winning the Supercoppa Italiana.
Lazio seemed the regress somewhat in 2018/19 - finishing eighth - but won their first major honour under Simone, the Coppa Italia. This victory spurred Le Aquile on the following season, with Simone's side currently competing with Juventus for the Scudetto - far beyond what anyone would've predicted for them at the beginning of the season.