Simone Inzaghi, Head Coach of FC Internazionale, reacts during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and Bologna at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on January 15, 2025 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)
Simone Inzaghi thanked the Inter supporters, directors, owners, coaching staff and players after receiving the Panchina d’Oro for 2023-24 on Monday, and insists that ‘we wanted to be in this situation’ despite having to play every three days from now until the end of the season.
Inzaghi was crowned the winner of the 2023-24 Panchina d’Oro on Monday, an annual award given to the best coach in Italy, voted for by peers across Serie A, B and C, plus Serie A and Serie B femminile and the men’s and women’s Futsal leagues.
This is Inzaghi’s first victory and Inter’s first winner since Antonio Conte in 2020-21. Jose Mourinho was the most recent recipient before Conte, in 2009-10.
Inzaghi beat Gian Piero Gasperini to first place this year, although Gasperini was recognised with an individual award for winning the Europa League with Atalanta at the end of last season.
Inzaghi reacts to 2023-24 Panchina d’Oro victory
Inzaghi found a brief moment to discuss the award with the press on Monday.
“The whole Inter family should be with me on stage when there is an award like this. Starting with our fans who are always with us, as well as my staff who have been following me since I began coaching. I wouldn’t be here without them. And also the management, the owners, and of course the players who are the essential part of everything,” Inzaghi said, reported via TMW.
Inter are still in the running for a treble in 2024-25. They currently sit at the top of the Serie A table, will play against rivals Milan over two legs of the Coppa Italia semi-final in April, and are due to take on Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals in the coming weeks.
“Now we’ve got the last three months of the season. I’m not going to say which games will be important, there will be a lot, but they will all be exciting,” Inzaghi said in assessment of Inter’s remaining fixtures this season.
“We will play every three days in Italy and Europe, but we wanted to be in this situation by the end of March. We are playing for everything and we will do it with a lot of enthusiasm.”
Inzaghi was also asked if he would have preferred if journalists were able to vote on the Panchina d’Oro rather than just coaches.
He replied: “No, the votes were made by my colleagues this morning and I thanked them publicly. It’s because of them that I always try to improve, we challenge each other every Sunday on the pitch.
“The club knows the work I do, I feel appreciated and I’m happy at Inter. My family is doing well in Milan, too. We have to continue, knowing that us coaches are, rightly, under scrutiny every 72 hours.”
