Filippo Inzaghi did not hold back in his new autobiography, opening up about his relationship with football, how Massimiliano Allegri pushed him to retirement and his life off the pitch.
The former striker spent the early stages of his career bouncing around various provincial teams before breaking through at Juventus, where he scored 89 goals in 165 matches across all competitions from 1997 to 2001.
After impressing in Turin, Inzaghi joined Milan in 2001, where he spent the final 11 years of his career, helping the team win two Scudetti, two Champions League titles and the Coppa Italia, amongst other honours. He was also part of the team that won the 2006 World Cup.
Writing in his autobiography ‘The Right Moment’, Inzaghi first reflected on his last goal at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza and what it meant to him.
“Dictating the pass is like a long-distance dance step with your partner, you have to work well in pairs, he has to serve you at the right moment and you have to be in the right place. I’m all there in this action.
“I started on the offside line. Seedorf had understood in advance, his pass was perfect, I stopped it with my chest and deflected it slightly to the right. But I didn’t need to look at the goal, I never needed to, I ‘felt’ it.
“Fontana, the Novara goalkeeper, came out to meet me promptly and closed the door, at least that’s what he thought. I made a right turn and the ball ended up in the net. I went crazy. I ran under the curva, the first to embrace me was Nesta. The last shot of my life was a goal.
“I had no more doubts, I wouldn’t be tempted by any offer, this was my last game. It’s over. Before returning to midfield I stopped, turned towards the fans, knelt down, lifted my shirt and kissed it. An emotional kiss, sweet, swollen with eternal gratitude.
“The referee blew his whistle, I saw my nephew Tommaso running to me. I squeezed him tight, my heart closed. I look at my team and waved goodbye to them…. Goodbye Milan, goodbye San Siro. It was beautiful.”
The former striker remembered why he decided to hang up his boots in 2012.
“It was Allegri who ended my playing career. In fact, Milan and I had reached an agreement in the spring of 2012 to extend my contract by one year. I would have been an important glue in the locker room that had lost Maldini, Pirlo, Nesta, Gattuso, Seedorf in a short time.
“Substantial figures who had left a deep void. I wouldn’t have made any claims…. Galliani was happy to have found this solution with me.
“Allegri, on the other hand, rejected it, he didn’t want me in the dressing room anymore and told the directors, asking that my contract not be renewed. For me it was a blow.”
He spoke about his relationship with partner Angela Robusti.
“Angela was patient with me, entering gently into my complex life. I had had many relationships, but few serious ones. So, on relationship life I had a lot to learn. I would not be credible if I said now that everything was easy or that there were no dark moments.
“On the contrary, I believe that difficulties are essential to cement the union, to understand that one is ready to face life together. A love story is not a tree-lined avenue, all straight and without potholes.
“Rather, it is a mixed path, the kind that is all the more fascinating to explore because behind every bend there is a new discovery and when a bottleneck happens, and we have had a few, you have to slow down, consider carefully how to pass, and move on.
“And by slowing down, there is more time to look into each other’s eyes and find a way forward. Then, having passed the bottleneck, you can speed up again and enjoy the journey. I am proud that I deserved this great love, just as Angela deserved it.
“And it was the confirmation of what I had already learnt with football: through sacrifices come the sweetest and most beautiful joys. And so, we gradually adapted to each other with simplicity and pleasure.
“The pleasure of being together was so good that it erased every little difficulty. Everything fitted together perfectly. Yes, that between Angela and me is the perfect fit.”
Finally, Inzaghi was honest about his difficulties after retiring from playing.
“In the autumn of 2015 for the first time the ball was deflated, it no longer bounced. And I couldn’t absorb the distance from my world, from the smell of the grass, from the sanctity of the changing room. I would get up in the morning and not know how to get there in the evening.
“I would go to the gym, but without enthusiasm, just to pass the time, fill the day and prevent boredom and discouragement from taking over. My body was sending me unmistakable signals of malaise. I became frightened. In fact, I say it clearly and without shame: I got scared.
“I had four gastroscopies and other unpleasant tests, I always travelled with a bag full of CDs with ultrasounds and MRIs that I showed to various specialists. I feared I had something serious, even ALS. They were months of discomfort and suffering, in which I struggled to find a way out.
“Some call it sickness of living, some another way, I preferred to dribble away definitions and diagnoses and face reality.
“I understood what the problem was and overcame it little by little, surrounding myself with the love of family. My parents were exceptional: they understood what I needed.”