Filippo Inzaghi

Filippo Inzaghi, Ufficiale OMRI (Italian pronunciation: [fiˈlippo inˈdzaɡi]; born 9 August 1973) commonly known as Pippo, is a World Cup and UEFA Champions League-winning Italian professional footballer who plays for Serie A club Milan.
Inzaghi became the first striker to score in all international club competitions open to European teams after his double against Boca Juniors during the FIFA Club World Cup final in 2007.
Filippo Inzaghi is currently the second all time most prolific goal scorer in European club competitions with 70 goals only beaten by Raúl's 77 goals. He is also Milan's top international goal scorer in the club's history with 43 goals. He also holds the record for most hat-tricks in Serie A (10), and the UEFA Champions League (three – tied with Michael Owen and Lionel Messi).
 

Club CArrer
The brother of fellow footballer Simone Inzaghi, Inzaghi got his start playing for hometown club Piacenza Calcio as a teenager in 1991, but made only two league appearances before being loaned to Serie C1 side Leffe, with whom he scored an impressive 13 goals in 21 matches. In 1993, Inzaghi moved to Serie B club Verona and scored 13 goals in 36 league appearances. Upon his return to Piacenza, he scored 15 times in 37 games helping his team win Serie B and proving himself to be an exciting young prospect.
Inzaghi made his Serie A debut when he transferred to Parma A.C. in 1995, but scored only twice in 15 Serie A matches. One of these two goals came against Piacenza Calcio, making him cry. He added another two goals in European competition. The following season he moved on to Atalanta B.C., finishing as the Capocannoniere (Serie A's top scorer) with 24 goals, and scored against every team in the league. He was awarded Serie A Young Footballer of the Year, and was the team captain in last game of the season.
JUventus.
 ut, he was soon on the move once again to his sixth team in seven seasons, this time to Juventus F.C. for a reported 23 billion Italian lire.^[2] He formed a formidable attacking partnership along with Alessandro Del Piero and Zinedine Zidane, a tandem which would last for four seasons, marking Inzaghi's longest stint with one team at the time. During his time at Juventus F.C. he scored two Champions League hat tricks (against Dinamo Kiev and Hamburger SV), and he was first player to do so. Juventus won the Scudetto in the 1997–98 season in which Inzaghi scored a decisive, Scudetto winning hat trick against Bologna, but lost 1–0 in the Champions League final to Real Madrid.

AC Milan

Milan

Despite a very good tally of 89 goals in 165 games for the Bianconeri, Inzaghi was soon benched in favour of David Trézéguet, and later signed for A.C. Milan for reported 70 billion Italian Lire,^[2] or 45 million lire cash plus Cristian Zenoni.^{[citation needed][3]} (Sky Sports reported a smaller total figure, £17M^[4]) for the 2001–02 campaign by coach Fatih Terim. Juventus announced that the sale of Inzaghi produced a net profit of €31M to the club.^[5] However, Inzaghi suffered a knee injury and missed the first half of the season. Upon his return, he was able to forge a strong goalscoring partnership with Andriy Shevchenko, and he soon racked up an impressive trophy count with the Rossoneri, among them the 2002–03 Champions League (in which Milan defeated his previous team, Juventus, in the final on penalties), along with the 2003 Coppa Italia and the 2003–04 Scudetto. In the 2002–03 Champions League campaign he scored his record third Champions League hat-trick against Deportivo La Coruna in the Group stage and decisive goal in quarter-finals against Ajax, totalling 12 European goals in that season. In November 2004, he signed a contract extension.^[6]
Inzaghi was able to fully recover from persistent knee injuries that had dogged him for two years to the extent that he regained his predatory goalscoring form by scoring 12 goals in 22 Serie A matches in 2005–06, along with four goals in five Champions' League appearances; two against Olympique Lyonnais in the quarter-finals and another two against FC Bayern Munich in the first knockout stage. He scored the decisive goal against the 'Bavarians' in the 2007 quarter-finals. On 23 May 2007, in the 2007 Champions League final in Athens, he scored both of Milan's goals in their 2–1 victory over Liverpool in a rematch of the 2005 final. He declared after the match:

“	It's a dream since I was a child to score twice in the final, and the ones I scored yesterday evening were the most important in my life. It was an unforgettable game. It's something that will stay with me all my life and two goals in the final speaks for itself.	”
—Filippo Inzaghi

At the start of the 2007–08 season, he picked up where he left off in Athens, scoring the equalizer in the Super Cup in Milan's 3–1 victory over Sevilla. Inzaghi capped off the year by scoring two goals in the final of the 2007 Club World Cup, helping Milan win 4–2 against Boca Juniors to take revenge for the defeat on penalties in 2003. By scoring those two goals, he became the first striker to score in all international club competitions.

Filippo Inzaghi against Siena.

On 24 February 2008, Inzaghi scored the match winning goal in Milan's 2–1 win over Palermo with a diving header after coming in to the game from the bench; it marked his first Serie A goal in over a year. This was followed by ten more goals in the league, the last against Udinese. This strike against Udinese was his goal number 100 for the club in official games. But despite incredible form, Italy manager Donadoni rejected to call him for Euro 2008. In November 2008, Pippo agreed for a contract extension to June 2010.^[7]
On 8 March 2009, Inzaghi scored his first hat-trick of the season for Milan against Atalanta, allowing the team to win 3–0 at the San Siro. His 300th career goal came in the 5–1 thrashing of Siena away from home. He then went on to score three goals against Torino, his second professional hat-trick in that season. Scoring this hat-trick enabled 'Super Pippo' (his nickname in the media) to set a record for the player with the most hat-tricks in Serie A over the last 25 years. With 10 hat-tricks, Inzaghi is ahead of Giuseppe Signori (9), Hernán Crespo (8), Roberto Baggio, Marco van Basten, Gabriel Batistuta, Abel Balbo, Vincenzo Montella (7), and Antonio Di Natale and David Trezeguet (6). Inzaghi has scored one hat-trick for Atalanta, four for Juventus, and five for Milan.
In the 2009–10 season, under coach Leonardo, Inzaghi was relegated to the role of backup player with his contract set to expire in June 2010. On 21 May 2010, he was offered a new one year contract which lasts until 30 June 2011.^[8]
On 3 November 2010, in the UEFA Champions League 2010–11 Group Stage campaign, with Milan trailing by 1–0 to Real Madrid, Inzaghi came off the bench in the second half and scored a brace to give Milan a 2–1 lead. However, Pedro León equalized in the 94th minute, with the final score ending 2–2. On that occasion, he became the new all-time top scorer of all European club competitions with 70 goals. He also became the second oldest player to score in the Champions League behind Ryan Giggs, aged 37 years 85 days. With these two goals, Filippo Inzaghi went ahead of his idol Marco van Basten on the club list of the all time top goal scorers with 125 goals.
On 10 November 2010, Inzaghi suffered a serious injury while playing for Milan against Palermo. A statement on the official A.C. Milan website confirmed that Inzaghi had suffered a lesion of the anterior cruciate ligament and associated lesion to the external meniscus of the left knee. It was thought he would be out for the rest of the season. Due to his age, this injury could have ended his career, nonetheless Inzaghi was very optimistic. On 7 May 2011, with Inzaghi still out recovering from his injury, Milan won the Serie A. He came out from bench for the first time since his injury on 14 May, with Milan defeating Cagliari 4–1. He extended his contract till June 2012 during the 2011–12 pre-season.

European competition records

With 70 goals Inzaghi is the second highest scorer in European club competitions behind Raúl. He became the first player to score two Champions League hat tricks (both with Juventus) when he netted a treble during a 4–4 group stage draw with Hamburg on 13 September 2000; his first was in a 4–1 victory over Dynamo Kyiv during the 1997–98 quarterfinals. Inzaghi scored a record third Champions League hat-trick in a 4–0 win against Deportivo in the 2002–03 season, while playing for Milan. This record would later be tied by Michael Owen, who has scored two hat-tricks for Liverpool and a third for Manchester United.

International career

Inzaghi earned his first cap for Italy against Brazil on 8 June 1997, and provided an assist to Del Piero. Italy went on to tie 3–3. He has since scored 25 goals in 57 appearances. He was called up for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Euro 2000, the 2002 FIFA World Cup and the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Inzaghi was Italy's top goalscorer during the qualifying rounds of the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004, but missed the latter due to injury.
His persistent knee and ankle injuries put a halt to his international play for almost two years before his resurgence at the club level, which resulted in his being called up by Italy coach Marcello Lippi for the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals. Due to the abundance of other top strikers such as Alessandro Del Piero, Francesco Totti and Luca Toni, Inzaghi made his only appearance (subbing on for Alberto Gilardino) in a group stage match against the Czech Republic on 22 June 2006, scoring his only goal in the tournament, rounding Petr Čech in a one-on-one encounter to net in Italy's second goal, which made him the oldest player to have scored for Italy.
He is currently the sixth-highest goalscorer in team history with 25 goals, which ties him with Adolfo Baloncieri and Alessandro Altobelli.
Inzaghi is noted for his ability to play off the shoulders of the last defender, leading Sir Alex Ferguson to quip, "That lad must have been born offside
 

The Legend Of AC Milan

In this post, i'm tell you about the legend of AC Milan.His name is Clarence Seedorf. He could give AC Milan many trophies like Serie A, Champions League,etc.
Clarence Clyde Seedorf
 born 1 April 1976 in Paramaribo, Suriname is a Dutch professional footballer who currently plays as an attacking midfielder for Serie A club Milan. Seedorf is the first player to have won the Champions League four times and with three different clubs – Ajax in 1995, Real Madrid in 1998 and Milan in 2003 and 2007.

Club Career.

Early career

Seedorf started his career as a right midfielder for Ajax during the early 1990s. He made his professional debut on 29 November 1992 against Groningenat the age of 16 years and 242 days, making him the youngest debutant for Ajax ever.^[In his early career, he played a role in Ajax's Eredivisie winning years of 1994 and 1995. He was also a key member during Ajax's 1995 UEFA Champions League winning campaign. After making his name in the Ajax side, Seedorf had one season with Sampdoria,^[3] scoring three goals.

REAL MADRID

Seedorf moved to Real Madrid in 1996, where he was "virtually ever present in the Blancos team for the first three seasons".^[3] In his first season he helped that team regain the La Liga title; in his second season (1997–1998), he played a major role in the team's Champions League success, as Real Madrid secured a 1–0 victory over Juventus in the final. It was the second Champions League title of his career.

At the end of the 1998–1999 season Real Madrid and Juventus wanted to swap Seedorf with the French playerZinedine Zidane, but the deal didn't go through.While playing for Real Madrid, Seedorf scored a notable long range goal against Atlético Madrid

Zidane had to wait two more years before he could join Real Madrid.

Starting from the summer of 1999, Seedorf's role at Real Madrid became less prominent during the short term of Dutch coach Guus Hiddink at the club, and he was eventually transferred back to Italy during the 1999–2000 season – this time to Internazionale, for a fee about 44 billion Italian lira (about €23M).

INTER MILAN 

Despite helping the team to the Coppa Italia final in 2000, a game that was eventually lost, Seedorf could not help bring any major silverware to the club. However, he will be remembered by many Inter fans for his two goals against Juventus in a 2–2 draw on the 9 March 2002, both of which were superb long-range efforts.

AC MILAN

Milan

Seedorf with Milan against Arsenal.

After two years with Internazionale, Seedorf moved to city rivals Milan in 2002, exchanged with Francesco Coco. He won the Coppa Italia with Milan in 2003, which was the first time they had won the competition in twenty-six years. In the same season, Seedorf gained his third Champions League medal, to become the first player to win the Champions League with three different clubs. The all Italian final saw Milan beat Juventus on penalties after a 0–0 draw, despite Seedorf failing to convert his own penalty.

The following season, 2003–2004, Seedorf played a role in the Milan side that won Serie A. It was also Seedorf's fourth national league title win of his career, after his two Dutch title wins with Ajax and his one Spanish win with Madrid.

Seedorf played a major role as Milan reached the Champions League final again in 2005. He started the Istanbul tie against Liverpool in which Milan contrived to lose a 3–0 lead, eventually losing on penalties after a 3–3 draw. Seedorf did not take any of those spot-kicks. Milan also finished runners-up in theScudetto to Juventus in 2005.

A match-fixing scandal tarnished Serie A and Milan were weakened by the scandal but were allowed to continue in Europe the following season, which led to their best players staying at the club. Seedorf's role as foil to Kaká became increasingly impressive as the pair combined in style to score and supply the goals which drove Milan past Bayern Munich and Manchester United to another Champions League final, again against Liverpool, beating them 2–1 in Athens, with Seedorf collecting his fourth UEFA Champions League medal. In that same year, Seedorf was a part of a Milan squad which won the FIFA Club World Cup, becoming the first European player to win the trophy with three different clubs (Ajax in 1995 and Real Madrid in 1998). He ended up winning the Silver Ball for the competition.

At the end of the 2006–07 season, Seedorf was voted best midfielder of the Champions League. He played his 100th game in the Champions League on 4 December against Celtic.

In Milan, Seedorf has formed a formidable midfield partnership with Gennaro Gattuso and Andrea Pirlo, which began since the 2002–03 season. This midfield trio was still used in the starting line-up until the 2011–2012 season (Pirlo left the rossoneri in the summer of 2011), although their form had been declining. Under the guidance of coach Carlo Ancelotti, their role was to support an attacking midfielder, whether it be Rivaldo, Rui Costa, Kaká, or Ronaldinho.

Seedorf became the foreigner with the most appearances for AC Milan following a game against his former club, Sampdoria, which he scored in. At 395 appearances, he passed Nils Liedholm for this historic milestone. During the Sampdoria game, he also became the ninth highest scoring foreigner for AC Milan at 58 goals.

On 29 March 2010, Seedorf was the target of racist chants from Lazio fans in Saturday's 1–1 draw, which led to the Rome club being given a 15,000 Euro fine by THE Italian. This led the Italy's players' union want racism stamped out in Serie A

He won his second Scudetto with Milan in the 2010-11 Serie A season, where he once again played a vital role. No longer a starter, coach Massimiliano Allegri got the best out of Seedorf by using him sparing, but often and usually subbed him on late in games as an impact player where his lack of speed and agility would not detriment his game as much. In this role he thrived and the fans reignited their love for him. He scored four goals and made thirty six appearances in the 2010–11 season, very impressive for a thirty-five year old midfielder.

Seedorf added yet another medal to his trophy cabinet in the first official game of the 2011–12 season where he played the full 90 minutes in a 2–1 comeback win over rivals F.C. Internazionale in theItalian Supercup. He scored the winning goal of Milan's first win of the 2011-12 Serie A campaign.

Seedorf was ranked 7th of the 20 best players of the Champions League, since it started 20 years ago. Although many say^{[citation needed]} that he should be ranked much higher than that, because he is the player with the most Champions League titles. The ranking was done by Champions, the official magazine of UEFA.

INTERNATIONAL CAREER

Despite born in Suriname, his Nationality is Netherlands.

Due to Surinamese rules against dual citizenship, players who take Dutch citizenship are no longer eligible to represent the Netherlands' former colony. Because of this Seedorf, then of Ajax, played international football for the Netherlands national football team. He received his first call up in 1994, at the age of 18.

Seedorf was in the Netherlands' squad for the UEFA European Championships in 1996, (where his penalty miss proved decisive in the quarter final shootout defeat to France), 2000 and 2004, as well as the 1998 FIFA World Cup.

On 12 November 2006, Seedorf was recalled for the first time since June 2004 as a replacement for the injured Wesley Sneijder. He started and played the full 90 minutes in a 1–1 friendly draw againstEngland. Seedorf won the last of his 87 caps for the Netherlands in 2008.^[3] In Euro 2008 qualifiers against Romania (0–0 at home) and Slovenia (1–0 away win), Seedorf played 4 and 6 minutes. There were doubts on his position within the national team, as Marco van Basten favoured younger players such as Rafael van der Vaart, Wesley Sneijder and Robin van Persie. On 13 May 2008, Seedorf announced that he would not take part in Euro 2008, due to his ongoing conflict with Van Basten.