Simone Inzaghi’s father acknowledges the coach had to walk away from Lazio, but Romelu Lukaku and Christian Eriksen transformed his original Inter plans.
The coach spent five years at Lazio, having already been there for much of his career as a striker, but took the giant leap this summer to replace Antonio Conte at Scudetto winners Inter.
“Lazio was his home, but he realised it was the time to break away and he has settled in really well at Inter,” Giancarlo Inzaghi told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“He tells me that he’s happy and the directors are really good, knowing how to react to the economic difficulties as well as personality.”
Within weeks of taking over, Inzaghi had to deal with a diplomatic incident, as Lukaku demanded a transfer to Chelsea.
“Mone was by the beach at Milano Marittima when his phone rang and it was Lukaku, but he already knew what was about to be said. My son tried to convince him he’d be a King in Milan, whereas London is different, but there was simply no chance of changing Lukaku’s mind.
“It was like losing three players all at once, but it put more responsibility onto the shoulders of the other Inter players, to prove they are competitive even without Lukaku.”
Another star of the Scudetto-winning campaign is not available for Inzaghi, as Eriksen won’t be able to play for Inter with a defibrillator implanted following his cardiac arrest during UEFA EURO 2020.
“He was so disappointed for Eriksen’s health issues, especially as he wanted the Dane to be a real pillar of the team. Mone adores him and I hope he can get back to the playing field.”
Some have said Inzaghi is too soft on his players, but the father assures this is no pushover.
“Wesley Hoedt made him so angry one time, the next day the defender asked for a meeting so he could apologise, but my son left him stewing for four days.”