Gianluca Di Marzio sees the irony in the fact that Simone Inzaghi went from a risk of being sacked by Inter Milan to international acclaim in one year.
The Sky Sport Italia transfer market expert commented on the 47-year-old’s situation on air, via FCInterNews.
In recent weeks, Inzaghi’s profile has been perhaps higher than ever.
The former Lazio coach has won praise as one of the top coaches in Europe. Legendary former Arsenal and Barcelona striker Thierry Henry recently singled him out for praise.
And there are reports of some of the Premier League’s top clubs starting to show an interest in Inzaghi.
Reports suggest that Manchester United and Chelsea both see the Inter boss as a future coach.
It is not hard to see why this is the case.
Inter are currently flying high at the top of the Serie A table. And they have been doing so playing a very attractive, high-tempo brand of football.
Inzaghi’s fingerprints are all over a team that is dominant domestically, and also at this stage one of the favourites to reach the final of the Champions League.
And the Champions League is a competition that had really brought Inzaghi to Europe’s attention last season.
Inter reached the final of that competition last campaign. They did so by dumping the likes of Barcelona, Porto, Benfica, and AC Milan out of the competition.
And in the final, the Nerazzurri did not look second-best to Manchester City.
And they owed a lot of that to their coach.
Di Marzio: Inzaghi From Risking Sacking To International Acclaim In One Year
The months leading up to that Champions League final appearance had not been easy ones for Inter, however. Or for Inzaghi.
The Nerazzurri’s form in the spring of last spring was downright dreadful.
There had been a sequence of five matches in which Inter dropped a shocking fourteen points out of an available fifteen.
Inter did stick by their coach. But the rumours swirled that Inzaghi could be on the way out in the summer.
But Inter kept Inzaghi on. And they will surely be glad that they did.
“Inzaghi deserves the praise that he’s been getting from his fans,” Di Marzio said.
“But also the acclaim at an international level,” he went on. “Look at Thierry Henry, who defined him as the coach of the moment.”
“Just one year ago, Inzaghi’s future was in doubt and he was facing criticism. There was even talk of him being sacked.”
Di Marzio argued that “This makes me have to say that we need balance in the situations.”
“It’s vital that clubs protect their coach,” he said.
