Inzaghi became the first striker to score in all international club competitions after his double against Boca Juniors during the FIFA Club World Cupfinal in 2007.
Inzaghi currently is the most prolific goal scorer (68 goals) in European club competitions, and is renowned for his inability to stay on-side during attacking moves.[4][5].
Club career
The brother of fellow footballer Simone Inzaghi, Inzaghi 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 Leffe, with whom he scored an impressive 13 goals in 21 matches. In 1993, Inzaghi moved to Serie B club Verona and scored 13 goals in 36 appearances. Upon his return to Piacenza, he scored 15 times in 37 games and proved himself as an exciting young prospect.
Inzaghi made his Serie A debut when he transferred to Parma in 1995, but scored only twice in 15 matches. He moved on to Atalanta 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. He formed a formidable attacking partnership along with Alessandro Del Piero and Zinédine 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 in which Inzaghi scored a decisive, Scudetto winning hat trick against Bologna, but lost 1-0 in the Champions League final to Real Madrid.
Milan
Despite a solid tally of 58 goals in 122 games for the Bianconeri, Inzaghi was soon benched in favor of David Trézéguet, and he was bought by 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.[6]
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 in a rematch of the 2005 final. He declared 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. 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 24 February 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, he agreed for a contract extension to June 2010.[7] On 8 March 2009, Inzaghi scored his first hat-trick of the season against Atalanta when they won by 3-0 home at San Siro. His 300th career goal came in the 4-1 thrashing of Siena away from home. He then went on to score three goals against Torino, his second professional hat-trick in as many months. With this new triple 'Super Pippo' breaks a new record, the player with the most registered hat-tricks in Serie A during the last 25 years. With 10 hat-tricks, Inzaghi is ahead of Giuseppe Signori (9), Hernan Crespo (8), Roberto Baggio, Marco van Basten , Gabriel Batistuta and Abel Balbo (7).
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 Hamburg on 13 September 2000; his first was in a 4-1 victory over Dynamo Kyiv during the 1997-98 quarterfinals.
As of September 21, 2009 Inzaghi is the all time leading scorer in European Cup competitions.
Playing Style
Inzaghi has received praise and criticisms for his playing style. He is a penalty box specialist as his style of play revolves around the shoulders of the defenders which means he gets called for offside as much as he score goals. Super Pippo is also known for his excellent positioning as well as expertise in breaking the offside trap against the most disciplined defenders. The greatest praise that he gets is his strong knack of scoring goals which are often decisive in crucial matches.
His playing style has received criticisms because of his lack of teamwork. Critics pointed out that he doesn't track back and he also has a knack for falling down easily. Despite these criticisms, he has become one of the most feared strikers in all of football and despite his veteran years, he is still regarded as The Predator.
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. Due to the abundance of other top strikers such as Alessandro Del Piero, Francesco Totti and Luca Toni, Inzaghi made his only appearance (subbing on for Alberto Gilardino) in a group stage match against the Czech Republic on 22 June 2006, scoring his only in the tournament, rounding Petr Čech in a one-on-one encounter to net in Italy's second goal.
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."
