Before the Champions League final against Man City, Simone Inzaghi had lost just one of eight trophy-winning matches in his coaching career.
That only defeat came on Inzaghi’s first final appearance, in the 2016-17 season. The Italian was appointed Lazio manager in April 2016 and led the club to the final of the Italian Cup the following season.
In this match, Lazio with talents like Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Ciro Immobile were still underestimated compared to Juventus with stars like Gonzalo Higuain, Paulo Dybala and Claudio Marchisio. At the Olimpico stadium in Rome, Juventus won 2-0 thanks to goals from Dani Alves and Leonardo Bonucci to win the title for the 12th time.
But after that first defeat, Inzaghi won all seven of his title matches. Juventus and Lazio soon met again in the Italian Super Cup in August 2017. Dybala scored twice, but Lazio won 3-2 thanks to a brace from Ciro Immobile and a goal from Alessandro Murgia to give Inzaghi revenge.
Inzaghi won 7 titles, including 3 Italian Cups and 4 Italian Super Cups while leading clubs Lazio and Inter. Photo: Imagephotoagency.it
This victory helped Lazio win the Italian Super Cup for the fourth time and opened a period of success. In the 2018-2019 season, Inzaghi's team reached the final of the Italian Cup - where they easily beat Atalanta 2-0 thanks to goals from Milinkovic-Savic and Joaquin Correa to win the championship for the seventh time.
A few months later, in the 2019 Italian Super Cup in Saudi Arabia, Lazio shocked everyone by beating Juventus - a team that was considered to be the better team with Cristiano Ronaldo, Adrien Rabiot, Dybala, Rodrigo Bentancur and Leonardo Bonucci - with a score of 3-1. Luis Alberto, Senad Lulic and Danilo Cataldi were the ones who scored for Lazio, while Dybala scored the only goal for Juventus.
With his success with Lazio, Inzaghi took over Inter in the summer of 2021, replacing Antonio Conte - who left immediately after the Serie A championship due to disagreements with the board. He won a double in his debut season when he beat Juventus 2-1 in the 2021 Italian Super Cup thanks to a goal in the second minute of extra time by Alexis Sanchez.
Inter then went on to beat Juventus 4-2 in the Coppa Italia final in extra time. A brace from Ivan Perisic, along with goals from Hakan Calhanoglu and Nicolo Barella, helped Inter win the Coppa Italia for the first time since 2011.
This season, Inter continued to win the double despite finishing third in Serie A. Coach Inzaghi's team defeated Milan 3-0 in the Italian Super Cup match and then beat Fiorentina 2-1 in the Italian Cup final thanks to a double from striker Lautaro Martinez. The Milan representative will win the treble if they also beat Man City in the Champions League final at Ataturk Stadium, Istanbul, Türkiye on June 10.
Coach Inzaghi received congratulatory flowers when he and Inter arrived in Istanbul, Turkey on June 8 to prepare for the Champions League final against Man City. Photo: Inter.it
Opta statistics show that Man City's chances of winning the Champions League are up to 74%, nearly three times higher than Inter's. But as British newspaper Sportmail commented, Man City cannot underestimate Inter, especially with Inzaghi's impressive record in finals.
Hong Duy
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