As I sit here and watch AC Milan defeat Celtic 1-0 in Champions League group stage play (both teams advanced to the next round), one must ponder Filippo Inzaghi.

You see, Super Pippo scored the winning goal for AC Milan tonight. This in itself is nothing new. Inzaghi has scored buckets of important goals at both the club and national level in his career. What was remarkable was that Inzaghi scored his 63rd tournament goal thus passing Bayern Munich's great German striker Gerd "Der Bomber" Muller.

Though it should be noted that Inzaghi achieved the record in 105 games while Muller did it in 71 games. 

To many soccer fans - English ones in particular - the success of Filippo Inzaghi is perplexing. He certainly does not look or act like a great striker. He possesses average ball skills and speed, he tends to dive a little too easy, is built more for tennis and exhibits little elegance. That's why when discussing the great strikers of the modern game Inzaghi's name is hardly - if ever - mentioned. No wonder Dutch legend Johan Cruyff once said that Inzaghi can't play but that "he's always in the right position." Manchester United manager Sir Alex Fergurson remarked that "Inzaghi was born in an offside position."

Oh, but how managers would love to have him! 

There is no doubt that Inzaghi is the supreme poacher; one of the games purist goal scorers. For you hockey fans, think of him as a Tim Kerr or Phil Esposito in terms of being opportunistic. The guy just knows how to score and it matters little how he does it.

Inzagol may never be considered among the all-time greats in Serie A or international play but surely he deserves some measure of respect. Afterall, he must be doing something right. Right? 

Filippo Inzaghi current statistics:

127 goals in 293 appearances in Serie A. The bulk of his goals coming with Juventus and AC Milan.

25 goals in 57 appearance for the Italian national team. He is sixth all-time.  

Rest of All-time top scorers list:

Raul 60 goals in 121 games.

Andriy Shevchenko 60 goals in 111 games

Ruud van Nistelrooy 57 goals in 77 games

Eusebio 56 goals in 75 games

Thierry Henry 52 goals in 113 games

Alfredo di Stefano 50 goals in 60 games

Carlos Santillana 47 goals in 87 games

Henrik Larsson 47 goals in 90 games

Juup Heynckes 45 goals in 55 games

Alessandro Del Piero  45 goals in 79 games