The Inzaghi' saga, brother versus brother

Both Inzaghi brothers will still be in Serie A next season. Filippo has just won promotion with Pisa and Simone is in the midst of a multi-front sprint with Inter. In a few months' time, the two will find themselves as opposing coaches, either at the Arena Garibaldi or the San Siro. This will not be the first time; they have already faced each other four times before, the first time in 2018 and most recently last season, with three wins for Simone and one draw. The regularity of these situations could explain the reason why the story of the Piacenza brothers, who are both high-level coaches, no longer catches us off guard. Or perhaps it is simply because it has been almost thirty years since at least one of them has been 'active' in Serie A, either on the pitch or on the bench. Yet this is an absolute rarity, both in Italy and beyond.

Exception proves the rule

History does not provide too many examples regarding this matter. In Italy, the Filippini twins (Antonio and Emanuele) spring to mind, but they have never reached top levels. Then there are Fabio and Paolo Cannavaro, who have coached together and in very different contexts. The former Ballon d'Or has coached Guangzhou in China, Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, Benevento in Serie B and Udinese in Serie A; his brother Paolo has occasionally been his deputy, before spending a few months at the helm of Serie C team Pro Vercelli.

Zooming out further, we can mention the de Boer brothers, Frank (who also coached Inter Milan) and Ronald, who both worked at Ajax in Netherlands for a few years. Then there are the Englishmen Gary and Phil Neville. The former had a brief stint in Spain with Valencia, while the latter moved to the MLS in the United States four years ago, first with Inter Miami and then with the Portland Timbers. Finally, there are the Ivorian brothers Kolo and Yaya Touré. The former defender was assistant manager at Leicester City and now holds the same position at Manchester City, having coached Wigan Athletic in the second tier for one season. The former midfielder, on the other hand, has played in Ukrainian, Russian and Belgian football and is now part of the Saudi national team staff. While they are all well-known names in good, if not excellent, positions, no pair has reached — let alone simultaneously — the stages, international visibility and professional rewards of Inzaghi.

Divergent paths

Filippo and Simone Inzaghi were both footballers who enjoyed long careers in Serie A, but their paths never really crossed. The former was a legendary striker for Juventus and Milan, winning the World Cup and two times the Champions League; the latter was a clever, perhaps underrated, forward who enjoyed his best years at Lazio. As coaches, however, their trajectories diverged, and in terms of 'status', it seems they have reversed.

Filippo made his Serie A coaching debut at AC Milan in 2014, after just one year with the Primavera team — two seasons earlier than his brother. The Rossoneri management chose him for continuity rather than for a technical project, and the tenth-place finish that year left the feeling that 'Pippo' had skipped a few steps. It was the classic big chance that came too soon. Over the following years, he established his own identity in the lower leagues, taking Venezia from C to B and enjoying two successful seasons in Brescia and Reggio Calabria, followed by two promotions with Benevento and Pisa. In short, 'Pippo' has won, convinced and relaunched struggling teams, but he has not yet experienced his consecration in Serie A. His mission now is to put behind him his experiences with Milan (10th place), Benevento (relegated), Bologna and Salerno (sacked), and to shed the uncomfortable label of 'category coach'.

Simone, on the other hand, started later but took a different path. In 2016, he was coaching Lazio's Primavera team when he found himself in charge of the first team after Bielsa's resounding turnaround. In retrospect, this proved to be the defining moment of his career. Initially intended as a transitional solution, he soon became a pillar of the biancoceleste project. In the following five years, Lazio returned to winning trophies and participating continuously in the Champions League. Then, when he took over from Antonio Conte at Inter, he made the definitive leap in quality, establishing himself as one of the best coaches in Europe. He drove the team two times to the Champions League's final and achieved a series of domestic successes.

As well as their respective paths to this point, the results and categories, the differences between the two are also reflected in their playing philosophy and communication style. In this case, they are more similar to the years in which they took the field.

Different styles

Simone's use of the 3-5-2 formation gives off a sense of rigidity, as he has reliably implemented it over the past few years. However, it is actually an incredibly fluid structure due to the principles on which it is based, particularly with regard to the players' positions on the pitch. Today, Europe widely acknowledges his influence and merits in the Nerazzurri's exponential growth in recent seasons. 'Inter is a very well-built team with a clear structure that is difficult to unhinge,' said Pep Guardiola in 2023, before the final in Istanbul. Last week, after the latest win against Barcelona in Champions League, the Catalan coach praised his colleague again: 'He has done an extraordinary job. He has created an incredible team in many phases of the game: defending, transitions, physicality and organisation.'

Simone is appreciated for his ability to forge a strong technical and tactical identity, his attention to detail, his ability to prepare matches and his internal development of talent. He is also recognised for straightening out — and in some cases resurrecting — the careers of many players who have passed through his hands. He is a figure historically loved by the owners, the dressing room and the fans for these aspects too.

Filippo works with a variety of ideas. He has no fixed formation or system, adapting to the players available and the context. However, he has consistently delivered solid defensive performances with almost all his teams. At Benevento, he won Serie B by a wide margin, conceding just 24 goals — record for the league — and with Venezia, he conceded 29 goals, again achieving the best defense in the league. With Pisa, he finished the season with the second-best defense.

Pippo's tactical inspiration is Xabi Alonso, with his short and compact teams that move well together with balance between the lines. In terms of character, he looks to Jürgen Klopp for 'the mentality he knows how to transmit: courage, intensity, hunger and the strength to never give up'. He also mentions an Italian legend who coached him for many years: Carlo Ancelotti, 'for the way he manages the locker room and talks to the players, valuing each one without creating jealousies.'

While we are still waiting to find out the exact dates on which Inter and Pisa will play each other in the Serie A calendar, we do know that the 2025/26 season will once again see Simone and Filippo Inzaghi go head to head. Brother versus brother. If that doesn't sound absurd, it's because we've seen them every weekend for three decades, whether on the sidelines, in press conferences, television studios or on the front pages of newspapers. In short, what would Serie A be without the Inzaghi family?