Simone Inzaghi Earns The Respect Of Legendary French Striker With His Tactics
Written By Onyeka Daniel
One of the most in-form teams in Europe is Italian side, Inter Milan with the Nerazzurri beating Genoa yesterday, winning all twelve games that they’ve played in 2024. They’ve not just been winning, but have been winning in style, playing a scintillating brand of football that has got people talking.
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In fact, prior to the win against Genoa, the Nerazzurri have scored four goals past their opponents in their last four Serie A games, with Simone Inzaghi earning praises from different corners, (opponents, pundits, and legends).
Joining the bandwagon of people that are singing the praise of the former Lazio manager is legendary Arsenal striker, Thierry Henry, who explained why he’s a fan of Inzaghi and Inter, drawing attention to the smart tactical system on display and how it helps against top clubs like Manchester City or Arsenal.
The Nerazzurri secured a commanding 15-point lead in Serie A yesterday after edging out a tense 2-1 win over Alberto Gilardino’s Genoa, putting them in the driving seat for the Scudetto with just 11 matches left to play.
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Inzaghi’s Inter are also looking to complete some unfinished business in the Champions League, wanting to go one step further following their painful loss to Manchester City in the final in Istanbul last season, a match they could’ve won had things turned out a little differently. Speaking with Jamie Carragher on Sky Sports UK, Henry was asked to name a coach he’s a fan of.
“Inzaghi. I’ve been following him for a very long time, since his Lazio days. He was at one point known as a guy who if you meet him in a cup game, you’re in trouble. “As we saw with Manchester City struggling against his Inter in that Champions League final with their 3-5-2. What I like is with Inzaghi is that he plays with two centre forwards.” Carragher asked the former Arsenal star if he was a fan of Inzaghi’s system at Inter or simply that he plays two strikers.
“Let’s put it this way. If you are Arsenal or Man City, you have the ball so much, sometimes they play as a 3-7, if you’re not in possession as much, transition will happen. Especially if you play against a team with wingers high and wide, it becomes really tough. “I like the way his 5-3-2 looks; if we take Inter and you have Barella, Calhanoglu and Mkhitaryan, you have guys who can be three 6s.
“But when you have the ball, you have Lautaro Martinez who will come, and Marcus Thuram who’ll run into the channel when Federico Dimarco doesn’t, or Dumfries or Darmian doesn’t. “You can have a look, they scored two goals like that against Juventus away from home and Milan at home, Thuram goes on his bike and you have a striker already there.
“If you play a 5-4-1, like a lot of teams like to play without being in possession, with one striker and wingers high and wide, when you hit that ball to the striker he can only hold it.” He further added. Inter will now be looking forward to their next two games, a Serie A match away to Bologna (one of the two teams to defeat them this season, the other being Sassuolo) and of course, the second leg of their UCL Tie against Atletico Madrid in Spain.
Meanwhile…
Much of Atletico’s season could be defined by their Champions League second leg clash with Inter, as they look to progress to the quarter-finals. A goal down, they will be relying on their home record in order to get through, and hopefully Antoine Griezmann. The Frenchman twisted his ankle in the first leg two weeks ago, and has been absent since.
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According to Marca though, with a week to go before the Inter return leg, Griezmann is on track to be available. He could even be given game time against Cadiz this weekend in order to get him back up to speed. With Jose Maria Gimenez, there is less certainty. The injury-prone Uruguayan is set to face a tight race to be fit for the second leg, and as such Diego Simeone may have to take a decision in defence.
The return of Griezmann would be a game-changer for Simeone and Atletico on his own, given he is the creative hub for the side. He is the only player that is given freedom to interpret his position on the pitch within Simeone’s structure, and without him, they struggle to direct attacks into the right areas.
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