New star on the bench

(Baonghean.vn) - This season, Lazio is the team that has made the most impression on football fans with impressive achievements in both Serie A and Europa League. The person who created that interesting phenomenon is head coach Inzaghi.

Get Out of Your Brother's Shadow

Many people who don't follow Italian football much will mistake him for Filippo Inzaghi - the famous striker who played for Juventus, AC Milan and the "blue" national team in the late 90s of the last century - until the end of the first decade of the 20th century.

And Filippo Inzaghi also led AC Milan for a season in 2014/2015, but was unsuccessful. The Inzaghi family not only has Filippo pursuing a football career but also has his younger brother Simone - who is less famous for his footballing ability.

For most of his career, Simeone Inzaghi played for Lazio (1999 - 2010). During the Serie A period filled with outstanding stars such as Vieri, Totti, Del Piero, Filippo Inzaghi (Italy), Ronaldo (Brazil), Shevchenko (Ukraine), Batistuta, Crespo (Argentina), Trezeguet (France)... Simone Inzaghi could not be classified as a star.

The most impressive achievement of the Inzaghi brother was the poker against O.Marseille in the 1999/2000 Champions League.

Simone Inzaghi when he played for Lazio nearly a decade ago. Photo: Internet

It was not until he retired and turned to coaching that Simone Inzaghi really caught the attention of football fans. After a series of poor performances for Lazio, coach Stefano Pioli was fired by the team's board of directors.

The person sitting in the hot seat at the Olympico stadium is none other than the youth team coach, Simone Inzaghi (April 3, 2016). Under the guidance of the coach born in 1976, Lazio won 4/7 of the last matches in Serie A 2015/2016 and finished in 8th place on the rankings.

However, the Lazio club's leadership still did not really trust Simone Inzaghi's coaching ability, he continued to return to work in the youth team. The reversal right before the new season of coach Marcelo Bielsa, forced the owners at the Olympico stadium to hand over the title to Simone Inzaghi to lead the Lazio ship to compete in Serie A and Coppa Italia in the 2016/2017 season.

Despite not having the best squad, the 41-year-old strategist still helped the team nicknamed I Biancocelesti win 5th place in Serie A and reach the Coppa Italia final (lost to Juventus 0-2).

Journey to overcome the "gate of heaven"

The above impressive achievements were recognized by the Lazio leadership and Simone Inzaghi was rewarded by continuing to lead the team in the 2017/2018 season. Success came to coach Simone Inzaghi and Lazio when in the Italian Super Cup match, the team at the Olympico Stadium defeated Juventus with a score of 3 - 2.

Lazio's four-year title drought has been ended by coach Simone Inzaghi and his team. This is a worthy reward for the young strategist's tireless efforts.

Besides the success in the cup tournament, Simone Inzaghi's Lazio is still playing very impressively in Serie A. After round 12 (Lazio has only played 11 matches), I Biancoceleti has won 28 points (9 wins, 1 draw, 1 loss) - standing in 4th place on the rankings, exactly 4 points behind the leading team Napoli.

Under the guidance and brain of coach Simone Inzaghi, Lazio is a well-rounded team (good attack - solid defense) and balanced in all lines. Just look at the number of goals scored (31 goals) and the number of goals conceded (12 goals). If anyone still doubts Lazio's strength, just watch the Juventus - Lazio match (1 - 2) carefully.

In his new position, coach Simone Inzaghi is achieving certain successes. Photo: Internet

Along with playing well in Serie A, coach Simone Inzaghi and his team also played extremely well in the Europa League. In Group K, with the presence of Nice, Zulte Waregem, Vitesse, Lazio won absolutely after 4 matches and officially entered the knockout round.

Not possessing a squad of quality players like Juventus, Inter Milan, Napoli, AS Roma, AC Milan, but with Simone Inzaghi's ability to "cut one's coat according to one's cloth", Lazio is still a truly powerful team.

Admittedly, the Inzaghi brother is not only good at tactics, but also very good at helping players "revive". Just look at the faces that seemed to have passed their prime like Immobile, Nani, Radu, Parolo, Leiva, Caicedo, Luis Alberto... playing brilliantly in the fifth season and it's clear.

If anyone is still hesitant, just look at the wonderful "revival" of main striker Immobile in Lazio's shirt recently to see how good Simone Inzaghi is. With 12 goals, Immobile surpassed famous strikers such as Higuain, Dybala, Icardi... to lead the list of Serie A top scorers this year.

With the same momentum as in the past, it would not be surprising if Simone Inzaghi would lead a famous team in Europe in the coming years. It seems that Lazio is getting smaller and smaller compared to Simone Inzaghi's talent.

The doors of AC Milan, Juventus, Dortmund... are waiting for the strategist born in 1976. Simone Inzaghi deserves to be the new star on the coaching bench that Italian football has just produced.

Thanh Hung