This article pretty much sums up Mr. Pippoman.
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Italy fuelled by 'SuperPippo' power
By AFP, 2000-06-26
Filippo Inzaghi has a mixed time in Euro 2000 but he is still Dino Zoff's preferred key striker.
BRUSSELS, June 26 (AFP) - Love him or loathe him, Filippo Inzaghi is the key figure in an Italian attack which has taken Dino Zoff's men all the way to a place in the semi-finals at Euro 2000.
The tournament has probably seen the best and the worst of Juventus' lanky centre-forward, who was widely accused of diving when he earned - and then converted - the penalty winner against Turkey.
Inzaghi has a reputation in the Serie A as being tumble-prone and even he admitted after the Turkey match, "It was the kind of penalty that a referee could have given - but might not have done."
However, Inzaghi's other speciality is the predator's sense of being in the right place at the right time, and it is no coincidence that he is a self-confessed admirer of Gary Lineker.
The man from Piacenza, dubbed "SuperPippo" by his fans, has poached an average of 25 goals in each of his three seasons for Juventus between league and Cup duty, and was the Serie A's top scorer in 1996-97 for lowly Atalanta.
Curiously, for one of the most prolific strikers in the world's toughest league, Inzaghi can't shoot the ball from any distance, he can't dribble and his heading ability could be generously described as limited.
However, he can do two things better than anyone else in Italian football - the blind side run to the edge of the six-yard box, where he scores most of his goals, and jumping the off-side trap by one centimetre.
Inzaghi offered a rare insight into his game as he prepared for Juventus' Champions League semi-final first leg against Manchester United in 1999.
Asked about his fondness for living on the wafer-thin line between on - and off - side, he said, "It's true, my presence keeps the linesmen extremely busy for the whole 90 minutes. But that's the way I play."
"I'm always at the very edge of the off-side line waiting for a defender to make a mistake, to lose me for a split-second or to stay one step behind his teammates and keep me on-side."
"For me, the important thing is not to get demoralised," he said. "I might be caught off-side 10 times in a match. But in the end, something almost always goes my way. The thing is to wait for it and believe it will happen."
That belief is also shared here by Zoff, who has stuck by his number 9 despite a mixed time at Euro 2000.
Inzaghi could easily have scored a hat-trick in open play against Turkey but fluffed every chance that came his way.
It was little different in the 2-0 over Belgium with the 26-year-old missing two clear chances - offset though by working the one-two which enabled Stefano Fiore to hammer Italy's second past Filip de Wilde.
Zoff stuck by his man and although the Italy coach never discusses team tactics, he has evidently told Inzaghi to keep just on-side and instructed the midfielders to keep trying the long ball forward for him.
AC Milan's Demetrio Albertini managed it three times against Romania, with an encouraging result - one goal, one shot deflected onto the post by the goalkeeper and one shot rifled narrowly wide.
Inzaghi had waited a year to score for the national side in open play and Zoff admitted on Sunday, "I hope the goal helps him to move forward."
Hours earlier, Inzaghi had been basking in the glory of victory and trying to win over the hearts of Italians even further, deflecting his personal success onto the team, saying: "The important thing is that Italy won... the dream continues."
Inzaghi's public image certainly needed a lift.
Just four months earlier, he was castigated in the national press for having selfishly converted scoring chances that he could have passed onto struggling teammate Alessandro Del Piero, who hadn't scored in open play since October 1998.
"Inzaghi is the most opportunistic and egotistical goal poacher in the league," said the Corriere dello Sport, while the Gazzetta dello Sport headlined: "But Ale needed a hand, to help him out of his goal nightmare."
Inzaghi may not be everybody's favourite footballer. But at Euro 2000, he has shown what's he capable of doing - and it's taken Italy into the semi-finals.
All rights reserved. © 2000 Agence France-Presse.
============================
Italy fuelled by 'SuperPippo' power
By AFP, 2000-06-26
Filippo Inzaghi has a mixed time in Euro 2000 but he is still Dino Zoff's preferred key striker.
BRUSSELS, June 26 (AFP) - Love him or loathe him, Filippo Inzaghi is the key figure in an Italian attack which has taken Dino Zoff's men all the way to a place in the semi-finals at Euro 2000.
The tournament has probably seen the best and the worst of Juventus' lanky centre-forward, who was widely accused of diving when he earned - and then converted - the penalty winner against Turkey.
Inzaghi has a reputation in the Serie A as being tumble-prone and even he admitted after the Turkey match, "It was the kind of penalty that a referee could have given - but might not have done."
However, Inzaghi's other speciality is the predator's sense of being in the right place at the right time, and it is no coincidence that he is a self-confessed admirer of Gary Lineker.
The man from Piacenza, dubbed "SuperPippo" by his fans, has poached an average of 25 goals in each of his three seasons for Juventus between league and Cup duty, and was the Serie A's top scorer in 1996-97 for lowly Atalanta.
Curiously, for one of the most prolific strikers in the world's toughest league, Inzaghi can't shoot the ball from any distance, he can't dribble and his heading ability could be generously described as limited.
However, he can do two things better than anyone else in Italian football - the blind side run to the edge of the six-yard box, where he scores most of his goals, and jumping the off-side trap by one centimetre.
Inzaghi offered a rare insight into his game as he prepared for Juventus' Champions League semi-final first leg against Manchester United in 1999.
Asked about his fondness for living on the wafer-thin line between on - and off - side, he said, "It's true, my presence keeps the linesmen extremely busy for the whole 90 minutes. But that's the way I play."
"I'm always at the very edge of the off-side line waiting for a defender to make a mistake, to lose me for a split-second or to stay one step behind his teammates and keep me on-side."
"For me, the important thing is not to get demoralised," he said. "I might be caught off-side 10 times in a match. But in the end, something almost always goes my way. The thing is to wait for it and believe it will happen."
That belief is also shared here by Zoff, who has stuck by his number 9 despite a mixed time at Euro 2000.
Inzaghi could easily have scored a hat-trick in open play against Turkey but fluffed every chance that came his way.
It was little different in the 2-0 over Belgium with the 26-year-old missing two clear chances - offset though by working the one-two which enabled Stefano Fiore to hammer Italy's second past Filip de Wilde.
Zoff stuck by his man and although the Italy coach never discusses team tactics, he has evidently told Inzaghi to keep just on-side and instructed the midfielders to keep trying the long ball forward for him.
AC Milan's Demetrio Albertini managed it three times against Romania, with an encouraging result - one goal, one shot deflected onto the post by the goalkeeper and one shot rifled narrowly wide.
Inzaghi had waited a year to score for the national side in open play and Zoff admitted on Sunday, "I hope the goal helps him to move forward."
Hours earlier, Inzaghi had been basking in the glory of victory and trying to win over the hearts of Italians even further, deflecting his personal success onto the team, saying: "The important thing is that Italy won... the dream continues."
Inzaghi's public image certainly needed a lift.
Just four months earlier, he was castigated in the national press for having selfishly converted scoring chances that he could have passed onto struggling teammate Alessandro Del Piero, who hadn't scored in open play since October 1998.
"Inzaghi is the most opportunistic and egotistical goal poacher in the league," said the Corriere dello Sport, while the Gazzetta dello Sport headlined: "But Ale needed a hand, to help him out of his goal nightmare."
Inzaghi may not be everybody's favourite footballer. But at Euro 2000, he has shown what's he capable of doing - and it's taken Italy into the semi-finals.
All rights reserved. © 2000 Agence France-Presse.
Please, get lost and don't come back before Inter has won "lo zoo-detto"!
