The Legend of Inzaji Brothers

Filippo and Simone, the Inzagi brothers who are well-known in Italian football, surprised the whole world this week: their elder brother Filippo Inzagi led Pisa, which has missed the top league for 34 years, to successfully compete for Serie A. Three days later, their younger brother Simone Inzagi led Inter Milan to the final of the Champions League this season.

The Inzagi brothers have become hot spots in various football news since entering the football world. The difference is that the brother leads the first half and shows off his popularity in the player era; the younger brother catches up in the second half of his career, and becomes the number one celebrity in Italian football as the head coach of Inter Milan. Their lives are full of dramatic reversals, and their trajectories will overlap next season.

Reporter Yin Chengjun reported that I can be allowed to be young again

52-year-old Filippo and 49-year-old Simone are no longer young, but in the legend of Italian football, there has always been a young figure as fast as lightning. No one thought Filippo would grow old, his handsome face and flowing long hair were once the symbol of the Italian Blue Legion.

Piacenza, the birthplace of the Inzagi brothers, more than 40 years ago, Filippo, three years older, took Simone to play football on the street, and the two entered the Piacenza echelon one after another.

Filippo's football talent was revealed very early, while his younger brother was much slower. As he grew older, Piacenza could no longer satisfy his brothers' football dreams. His brother went to Parma first, then Atlanta, and became famous in Juventus, eventually becoming AC Milan's most famous "opportunity" striker. Throughout his career, he scored more than 300 balls, each of which embodies his talent and hard work. In AC Milan, he witnessed the final glory of the "Milan Dynasty", won the Grand Slam including the Champions League, and was also a member of the 2006 World Cup championship. What else can the player do?

But his younger brother Simone's player journey is even more tortuous. His talent is far less than his brother. He has made up for this shortcoming with diligence and hard work. He has found his own home in Lazio, and has also won important awards such as Serie A, Italian Cup, and Italian Super Cup.

The life trajectory of the two brothers after they met in their hometown Piagen for a period of time, became two parallel lines. Although brotherhood is always there, in the first half of their career, the two did not have much social interaction. His brother is the super shooter at the peak, an Italian superstar as famous as Baggio, Vieri, Toti and Pirlo, while Simone is too dull. Even in his prime, Lazio was not an important core player. People label him "the younger brother of Inzagi".

Time flies, youth will eventually grow old. In May 2012, Filippo scored his last goal at San Siro Stadium. Since then, he has retired. The former "Son of the Wind" of AC Milan has become a passing cloud, but he is not willing to give up. In an interview, he said: "I didn't want to retire at that time, and I felt that I could continue playing."

This was a grand curtain call, and Filippo enjoyed the cheers of fans. At this time, Simone, a younger brother who was three years younger than him, had already chosen to retire two years ago and started coaching in the Lazio echelon.

If the spring breeze is pity for flowers, can I be young again? But the spring breeze does not understand the charm, and the Inzaji brothers must face the "second half" of their career.

Jun Xiang Xiaoxiang I and Qin

Maybe I can't give up on football, or it may be influenced by my younger brother. After retiring in 2012, Filippo chose to be the coach. His starting point is still much higher than his younger brother. His first coaching job was the head coach of the AC Milan Youth Team.

Two years later, Filippo replaced Seedorf, who had a poor record and became the head coach of AC Milan's first team. This period was actually the most difficult day for the "Red and Black Legion". Philippo, an old minister of the "Milan Dynasty", could not shoulder the heavy responsibility of reconstruction. He was defeated by the continuous setbacks and was eventually dismissed by the club in 2015.

At this time, Simone was still working hard in the Lazio Youth Team. Even though he had been coaching for five years, he was still mediocre.

The fate of the two men had a dramatic reversal in 2016. This year, after leaving Milan, where he had been there for 15 years, Filippo had to condescend to coach the Serie C team Venice. Simone began to receive attention from the club and became the head coach of Lazio's first team.

From 2016 to 2025, these nine years are completely different lives for the two brothers, and the differences are much greater than when they were in the player era. My brother worked hard in Venice for two years and was later noticed by Bologna, but he only won two games in the 21 games he led the team. During this period, he also fought with his younger brother Lazio, which ended in failure. Finally, Bologna fired Filippo, and his career line was getting lower and lower.

Since then, Filippo wandered between small teams such as Benevento, Brescia, Regina, Sarenitana, etc., and was fired in advance due to poor performance. He was even questioned by some fans for "do you understand football"? At this time, Filippo had lost all the halo on his body and became a mediocre and low-level team coach. His handsome and handsome face in the past has also been sharpened by time.

The life of his younger brother Simone began to "cheat". In Lazio, from transition to formality, from a one-year short appointment to a four-year long appointment, Simone lets everyone know how a coach should coach. In Lazio's five years, Simone brought the team a Italian Cup and two Italian Super Cup championships, and led the team to the Champions League. After the contract expired, he did not renew his contract because there was a higher platform waiting for him.

In 2021, Simone became the head coach of Inter Milan. He gradually brought the team back to normal from the crisis and reached the Champions League final in 2023. Since then, Italian football has been filled with Inzaghi's name, and Inzaghi is no longer the younger brother who is unknown and needs to rely on his brother's reputation to gain a foothold..

On the contrary, Filippo was labeled as "Brother Simone", and the two brothers' coaching careers were reversed.

Where will never meet in life

On May 7 this year, Simone led the team to the Champions League final for the second time, and his coaching career once again achieved a bumper harvest. Just before Inter Milan reached the Champions League final, his brother Filippo had good news in advance, and he helped Pisa club return to the Serie A again after 34 years.

This is the first time that my brother has achieved satisfactory achievements in his coaching career. Although it is still far behind my younger brother, as a coach who has been coaching the Serie B League for many years and has been criticized by fans as a coach with its own "relegation" attributes. This time it is not easy to lead the team to the top league.

On the return bus after the successful upgrade, Filippo sang with Pisa players: "Anyway, I already know that we will play in the Olympics by next season!" This is the dream of Pisa clubs for many years. They hope to play at the Olympic Arena in Rome, and they also hope to meet the big scenes at San Siro Stadium, where Filippo has been in 15 years, Maradona Stadium in Naples, and Allianz Stadium in Turin. Of course, Filippo can also reunite with his younger brother at Meaccha Stadium next season. Will the two brothers recall this extraordinary nine years together?

Filippo has been passionate since his player age, and he will celebrate with unscrupulous results when he scored any goal. Simone is very restrained and no big scene can arouse his inner turmoil. Such a contrasting personality also leads to a huge difference between the two brothers' situations in the player age and coaching period. But they have one thing in common, that is, they all speak with their strength and do not use external forces to apply makeup on their faces. Filippo fell from Milan's highest palace, and Simone was almost dismissed by Inter Milan, but they all endured all this and gradually enriched their strength as they grew up. These results are not accidental when they upgrade from Pizza to Inter Milan entering the Champions League final. They worked hard in Italian football, and they never gave up, whether in good or bad times. They were full of passion and desire for victory.

Where will never meet in life? In the Italian football world in 2025, the story of Inzagi brothers is still being written. Filippo needs to prove his coaching ability in Serie A, while Simone aims at the Champions League trophy and moves towards a world-class coach. Regardless of the result, the brothers have spent half their lives leaving a unique mark on world football.

As the younger brother said: "We are both brothers and opponents, but most importantly, we always support each other."