Inzaghi: I prefer to be called coach now

Posted Saturday, August 18, 2012 by ESPNSTAR.com

AC Milan hero Filippo Inzaghi began life as the club's new youth-team coach on Friday greeted by over 150 fans at Pinzolo training centre.

Inzaghi, or Pippo as he is affectionately known as, took charge of a double training session where he drilled into the Allievei Nazionali youth the Rossoneri mantra.

Inzaghi scored 126 times in 300 appearances for Milan before retiring in the summer and it was clear from Friday's training that the 38-year-old is taking his new role at the club for what it is - a serious job where he acts as the guardian of Milan's future stars from the academy.

"I prefer to be called coach now rather than Pippo because that is what everyone calls me," Inzaghi said on the club's website.

"This morning I was quite nervous. To tell the truth, I didn't expect a welcome quite like this - there were so many supporters."

He added: "Of the coaches I've worked with the two that have made the biggest impression have been [Luigi] Cagni and [Bortolo] Mutti, but also [Carlo] Ancelotti taught me a lot. This morning he called me at 8.30 to tell me I had training (laughs)."

"I'll play with four defenders, which is dogma at Milan, and three forwards; so, on paper, it'll be a very attack-minded team," he said.

"I have seen two or three interesting strikers in my squad, but it's difficult to pinpoint anyone who shares my characteristics. My dream as a player was to win the Champions League, as a coach it is the same."

Inzaghi ended his career second on the all-time goalscoring charts in European competition with 70, bettered only by Raul's haul of 77 goals.