Filippo Inzaghi’s tactical philosophy at Bologna

Filippo Inzaghi needs no introduction to football fans across the world. The archetypal poacher scored goals for some of Italys biggest clubs, won the Champions League, Serie A and most importantly the 2006 World Cup. Inzaghi was one of the greatest goalscorers of the modern era, with 313 goals in total, including 70 in European competition. That European tally is only bettered by Raul, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. In this tactical analysis, however, well look closely at Inzaghi the coach and specifically his tactics at Bologna this season.

Filippo Inzaghis coaching career to date

After such an illustrious playing career Inzaghi made the move across the touchline to start coaching. His first senior role was leading a very weak Milan squad through the 2014/15 season, where they finished tenth. Inzaghis contract didnt get renewed and he resurfaced in the summer of 2016 when he took charge of ambitious Lega Pro club Venezia. Inzaghi led them to promotion in his first season and to the Serie B playoffs in the next, but Venezia lost to Palermo in the semi-finals and missed the chance to return to Serie A. Inzaghis stock was high in the summer though and Bologna won the race to his signature.

Tactical analysis: Filippo Inzaghis tactics at Bologna

Inzaghi has used a 3-5-2 in each game so far at Bologna. In certain games, when things havent gone to plan, Inzaghi has been willing to change his setup to both 4-3-3 and 4-3-1-2. The home game against Torino is the prime example where Bologna found themselves 2-0 down but Inzaghis half-time change to replace central defender Danilo with central midfielder Mattias Svanberg to move into a 4-3-1-2 proved inspirational as Bologna rescued a 2-2 draw.

Compact defending with some clear issues

Bolognas defending so far has been their strength. Despite finding themselves in 17th their defensive stats tells the story of them belonging in mid-table. Inzaghis men are tenth for shots conceded with an average of 14.2 shots faced. They have conceded 14 goals, with eight teams having conceded more or the same amount. Inzaghis defensive setup is based on a mix of positional defending and some slight man-orientations. The shape is 5-3-2 with a clear focus on defending the central areas and force opponents wide. A nice view of their shape against Inter can be seen below.

The below image comes from the away game at Juventus and again shows how Bologna prioritise defending the central spaces and leaving the wings free. Bologna rarely press high and instead opts for a more passive, positional setup where they drop back, as seen both below and above, before starting their press.

Bologna always try to keep the distances between their back-five and the midfiel