Before I go on you have to understand that I've always wanted to be a striker; right from a young age playing kick about ("set" anybody) to this present day with my Sunday league team. I've always wanted to be the guy who puts the ball in the back of the net, the guy who won the match, stole the headlines ... you get the picture? The kicker is that I rarely ever get a chance to play upfront; as a kid I always got stuck in defence, either as a right back or in the center. As I got older I seemed to "progress" and got to play in midfield - in the center or out wide. All this has resulted in my secret adoration for the No. 9, the scorer who delivers, those who got the chance I hardly get.
Anyway I digress, to kick off my list I chose no other than "Pippo". Now here's a man who knows how to score and how to celebrate. I first caught glimpses of Inzaghi when he was at Atalanta and scored goals for fun whether or not his side won. He finished the season as top scorer and moved on to Juve and then Milan.
There are three reasons why he's top of my list. First I enjoy how he celebrates. He has the look of someone who is truly passionate about the game. Secondly he's a real poacher who is always willing to have a go. Most of the time he looks as if he's just a shade off-side and only comes alive when a scoring chance presents itself. I still hold our defeat in the UCL final in 2007 against him though and that is another reason why he tops my list because he stopped us from winning No 6.
Pippo's a sneaky devil though and many a goal he's scored has been followed by a quick glance at the assistant referee to confirm it wasn't disallowed for offside. I like that there's a touch of laziness about him as well. He doesn't seem to be involved in the build up, just sticking the ball in the net off a tap in, a rebound or whatever.
I always figured I could model my game after his. Conserve my energy for the short busts to create a one on one, spot an opportunity within a millisecond, the lazy retreating defender to play me onside, getting the maximum return for the most minimal effort. Don't get me wrong I'm not belittling his style or what he has achieved. It just doesn't look like he works hard even though I'm sure he does. His impeccable skill in timing his runs, in staying on the shoulder of the last defender and his ability to finish are purely world class. He doesn't get many games these days at Milan but if you ever get a chance, jump on YouTube, search for "Inzaghi" and learn a thing or two about how to score.
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