AC Milan’s Filippo Inzaghi celebrates scoring during the Italian Serie A match against Novara on May 13, 2012 in Milan. Inzaghi, Gennaro Gattuso and Alessandro Nesta end their AC Milan careers against Novara on Sunday as the end of an era is all but completed at the San Siro.
ROME - Filippo Inzaghi signed off from professional football in dream fashion as he scored the winning goal in his final appearance for AC Milan on Sunday before going into retirement.
The 38-year-old Inzaghi came off the bench mid-way through the second half of Milan’s 2-1 win over Novara when the scores were level.
Milan’s players seemed desperate to set up the popular forward to score on his farewell and his moment came eight minutes from time as he netted in typical fashion.
Hanging on the offside limit, he broke behind the backline onto Clarence Seedorf’s chip over the top, controlled the ball on his chest and spun before firing home.
It was a trademark goal for the man once described by Manchester United coach Sir Alex Ferguson as having been “born offside”.
It sparked a party atmosphere inside San Siro, where Gennaro Gattuso, who captained the side, and Alessandro Nesta were also making their final appearances for the club.
For Inzaghi it was his 300th appearance for Milan and his 156th goal in Serie A, including those he scored for Parma, Atalanta and Juventus.
While several players were taking their Milan bows — it could also have been Seedorf and Gianluca Zambrotta’s final games for the rossoneri — there was no doubt who the fans’ favourite was.
There were far more banners around the stadium bearing Inzaghi’s name than those for anyone else.
That was in no small part to his match-winning role in Milan’s last Champions League triumph in 2007, when he scored both goals in their 2-1 final win over Liverpool in Athens.
Such was his personal success in Europe that with 70 goals he is second only to Raul as the hottest shot in European competitions.
In fact his last goals for Milan before Sunday were in a 2-2 draw with Real Madrid in November 2010, making this last strike — in only his seventh appearance this season — all the more special.
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