10 Surprising Facts About Pippo Inzaghi

Everything you need to know about Filippo Inzaghi, from his obsession with Zizou to his unusual toilet superstition—rediscover “Super Pippo.”

The best facts about Pippo Inzaghi

1️⃣ He lied to his coach to play! On the bench of the Squadra Azzurra, Inzaghi tells Trapattoni that Vieri, who is on the pitch, has adductor pain. The result? The Italian coach decides to substitute Vieri with… Inzaghi! Vieri, who is perfectly fine, doesn’t understand this change in the 55th minute and goes absolutely crazy. Pippo wasn’t just a goal poacher.

2️⃣ Inzaghi played for the Italian military football team. He even combined military service during the week with weekend matches in Verona.

3️⃣ He refused to have any dietary slip-ups. A true professional, he followed a strict diet of plain pasta and bresaola, allowing himself no indulgences, as his friend Camine recalls. “During birthday parties, the gin and tonic flowed freely, and he drank nothing, not a single drop. Even a monk wouldn’t follow the rules as strictly as he did.”

4️⃣ In 2000, Super Pippo became the first player to score two hat-tricks and then three hat-tricks in the Champions League. He is also the 6th top scorer in European Cup history with 70 goals, behind a few not-so-unknown guys like Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi, Lewandowski, Raúl and Benzema.

5️⃣ In his autobiography, Andrea Pirlo explains that before every match, Pippo went to the bathroom 3 or 4 times every ten minutes. According to Inzaghi, this ritual brought him luck, to which his teammates replied: “Not to us!” and “Did you eat a corpse or what?” 

10 Things You Didn't Know About Pippo Inzaghi

6️⃣ He was shocked by Zidane’s level. When he arrived at Juventus in 1997, Pippo discovered the incredible talent of Zinedine Zidane. During his first weeks, he spent most of his training sessions watching Zizou in awe like a child and trying to copy him. But according to Inzaghi, it was impossible, because for him the Frenchman was the best player in the world.

7️⃣ Pippo was, as you know, a true goal poacher. Sir Alex Ferguson once said he was “born offside.” His former Italy teammate Vincenzo Montella also said about him: “Even today I still can’t explain how he managed to score so many goals. He couldn’t dribble or shoot from distance, he had half the talent of players who had half his success.”

8️⃣ Like many footballers, he also appeared in commercials. Our favorite? The one for a karaoke. 

9️⃣ Carlo Ancelotti recalls that the day before the 2007 Champions League final against Liverpool, Inzaghi was out of form and had been terrible in training. Ancelotti’s assistant suggested replacing him with Gilardino, who was in much better shape. But Ancelotti still took the risk of starting Inzaghi. He scored a brace and almost single-handedly overturned Liverpool, giving AC Milan the victory.

🔟 He never played with his brother. Between them, they played for 14 different clubs and only had one club in common: Atalanta Bergamo — 1996 for Super Pippo and 2007 for Simone Inzaghi.

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