Lazio midfielder Serge Milinkovic-Savic expects to find facing his former coach Simone Inzaghi will be strange experience when the Biancocelesti welcome Inter this evening.
Speaking in Lazio’s pre-match program for the Serie A clash, as reported by FCInterNews, the Serb gave his thoughts on his first match against the coach who left the capital club in the summer to join Inter.
Milinkovic-Savic joined the Biancocelesti in the summer of 2015, while Stefano Pioli was still manager, but during the 26-year-old’s first season with the club the Italian coach was sacked and in his place came youth team coach Inzaghi.
Inzaghi initially took over in the position on an interim basis but then was rewarded with a permanent contract, and he repaid the club’s faith with five successful years in which the team won the Coppa Italia and qualified for the Champions League while developing young players like Milinkovic-Savic into top talents.
Inzaghi’s work with Lazio is what inspired Inter to move for him when Antonio Conte left after last season, and he will now face off against a number of his former players of the past several seasons for the first time as he looks to defend the Scudetto with the Nerazzurri.
Milinkovic-Savic spoke of this, stating that “It will be a bit strange to face Inzaghi because we worked together for five years, but now he will arrive in Rome as an opponent and therefore for those ninety minutes we will try to take everything we can from the match. Then after the game I’ll give him a hug.”
Of his favourite match against Inter the 26-year-old said, “The match, and also the goal, that I remember with the most pleasure is Lazio-Inter on February 16, 2020 when we won 2-1. I remember we were going through a good moment, we had won many consecutive matches.”
“We prepared it like any other,” he stated of this evening’s match, “knowing that the Nerazzurri are in a great moment, but we will try to redeem ourselves after the away match in Bologna.”