There was a revealing vignette about Inter Milan’s status in European football earlier this month.

As the CBS Sports panel debated Liverpool’s Champions League elimination at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona’s steamrolling of Benfica, Thierry Henry switched the focus on the Nerazzurri. Or, to be exact, on their manager.

“Inter gets all the attention, but Simone Inzaghi’s tactical brilliance is often overlooked,” the former Arsenal striker said.

“Inzaghi is exceptional in terms of tactical innovation. I’ve seldom seen such tactical ingenuity in football, especially in Italy.”

Henry’s words struck a note for several reasons. First and foremost, having played for some of the greatest managers in the history of the game, the Frenchman is well placed to recognise a brilliant coach when he sees one.

And Inzaghi is undoubtedly one of the best in Europe at the moment, capable of getting results without sacrificing the aesthetics.

Inter have been brilliant to watch this season, attacking with intent while being resolutely hard to break, flexible and fluid.

Players are perfectly clear about what is asked of them and when, midfielders switch out wide, as the forwards drop deep and so on.

When it comes off, and it has come off more often than not, it is brilliantly efficient and brilliant to watch. It is no surprise that Inter are considering extending Inzaghi’s deal by two years until 2028, which would make him the second-longest serving manager in the club’s history behind the great Helenio Herrera.

But Henry’s remarks provided long overdue recognition for the Nerazzurri and Inzaghi, who led them to their 20th Scudetto in triumphant fashion last season.

The Serie A title was the sixth major trophy the Beneamata lifted since the 48-year-old took over from Antonio Conte in the summer of 2021 and by far the most prestigious.

Over the past three-and-a-half years, Inter have never finished lower than third in Serie A and have qualified for the knockout stages of the Champions League for four consecutive seasons, reaching the final in 2023 when they lost to Manchester City.

Those may seem the minimum requirements for a club of Inter’s stature, but they are far from a foregone conclusion.

In three years under Conte, the Nerazzurri never made it out of the group in the Champions League. 

Before that, they missed out on the competition altogether between 2012 and 2018 when they never finished higher than fourth in Serie A.

Domestic and continental success, in short, is not guaranteed.

It may seem heresy now, but Inzaghi’s arrival at the San Siro was met with a hefty dose of skepticism.

After all, Conte had delivered the first Scudetto in a decade and he had big shoes to fill.

But the former Lazio manager has already surpassed his predecessor who, incidentally, poses the biggest threat to his chances of winning a second Scudetto in a row. 

In that respect, Jose Mourinho’s Treble winners are a more adequate benchmark for Inzaghi and his team.

It is now 15 years since the Portuguese guided Inter where no Italian team had been before or has been since. Champions of Italy, winners of the Coppa Italia and champions of Europe. 

Inter, to paraphrase Clive Tyldesley’s famous line from Manchester United’s own Treble in 1999, achieved everything their hearts desired.

“The Champions League was our dream and winning the Scudetto was a must,” Mourinho recalled to La Gazzetta dello Sport four years ago.

Inzaghi sang from a similar hymn sheet when he signalled the number three with his fingers in the press conference after Inter beat Feyenoord 2-1 in the second leg of the Round of 16 of the Champions League.

The message was clear, Inter were still competing on three fronts.

“This team has it in its DNA to fight in all competitions,” he said. 

Mourinho’s Inter may remain the standard-bearers for those of a Nerazzurri persuasion, but the numbers suggest the current vintage has all it takes to match them.

In fact, they are already statistically better.

In the 2009-10 season, Inter led the league with 60 points after 29 matches, one clear of Milan.

Following their win over Atalanta in Bergamo just before the international break, Inter have 64 points from 29 matches, sit three points clear of Napoli at the top of Serie A and six ahead of Gian Piero Gasperini’s men.

With 65 goals scored, Inzaghi’s men have the best attack in Serie A and have found the net 11 times more than their 2009-10 counterparts, who had conceded 26 goals in 29 matches, one fewer than this season.

There is work to do before they can celebrate another Triplete, but they have given themselves a great chance. 

Top of Serie A, they can reach a third Coppa Italia final in four seasons if they can get past AC Milan in a two-legged Derby della Madonnina in the semi-final.

Paradoxically, this may prove harder than winning the league as Inter have lost two of their three meetings against their city rivals this season and needed a last-minute equaliser to salvage a point in the other.

And there would be no better way for Milan to salvage a dismal season than to stop their rivals’ Treble bid.

The Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich will test Inter’s credentials in Europe, but while still a brilliant side the Bundesliga giants are not the relentless winning machine of years gone by.

Over 10 games in the Champions League this season, Inter have conceded just two goals and been behind for just 285 seconds, scoring 14 in the process.

The Treble winners had scored 12 and conceded five after their first 10 European outings. If that isn’t a big enough reason to be confident, then nothing is.

Get past Bayern and a tantalising semi-final with Barcelona could be in store, exactly as it was 15 years ago. 

Whisper it, but history may just repeat itself.