Inter coach Simone Inzaghi has praised former Sampdoria and Juventus striker Gianluca Vialli ahead of his side’s Serie A match against Monza.

Vialli passed away yesterday after a battle against cancer, leading to an outpouring of grief from across Italian football, and Inzaghi was the latest to offer his own tribute to him.

Speaking ahead of kick-off at the U-Power Stadium, and as reported by FCInterNews.it, Inzaghi pointed to Vialli as an inspirational figure and felt that the courage shown in the manner in which he went about his career and his battle against his illness was a lesson to others.

“Luca Vialli was an inspiration for my generation, also for my role as a striker,” Inzaghi declared.

“But beyond what he did as a footballer and coach, I remember him for the person he was, for the courage he had facing this battle, passing it on to those who were with him.”

Vialli enjoyed great success as a player with Sampdoria, Juventus, and Chelsea, whilst he was also a hugely popular coach with the latter.

The former Italy international worked alongside ex-Sampdoria teammate Roberto Mancini at the Azzurri set-up, as they lifted the Euro 2020 trophy at Wembley in 2021.

Turning his attention towards this evening’s match, Inzaghi insisted that Inter could not pay attention to the table and had to focus on each game as it came to them.

“Let’s find a courageous, healthy and well-trained team, we’ll need an important match. I hear talk of tables, we have to look at things match by match. Tonight will be demanding, we’ll need to give our all.”

The former Lazio coach has opted for Lautaro Martinez to partner Edin Dzeko in attack, with Romelu Lukaku on the bench, and he revealed that he was happy with the way in which the Argentine had returned after winning the World Cup last month.

“He came back well, he worked for 10 days, he’s doing well. Romelu is on the bench initially, he played excellently in the first part of the match against Napoli and his condition improves.

“Together with the other forwards, I’ll manage them in the best way possible.

“We know what Dzeko represents for us, he’s having a great spell with us. I’m lucky to have a strong club behind me, who are always present. He will try to resolve the issues of all the players we have in the best way,” he concluded.

Inter can move up to third place in Serie A with victory this evening.