AuthorSports Billy Now I realise this article is going to be polarising, but...is Zlatan Ibrahimović one of the most overrated players ever? I know he has won stuff everywhere he's been, but bear with me while I try and get my thoughts across. Yes, he's a trophy magnet having won the league (and more) at every team he's been at, but if you take a minute to look at that fact it becomes clear than he's normally playing for the biggest and best team in the league at any given time when he's there.
His time at Juve, Barca, Inter, Milan, Ajax and PSG were successes. These clubs, at the time he was playing for them, were the wealthiest, most star studded and dominant teams in their respective leagues, so there was always a good chance he would be successful with them. With the players in those sides around him to provide the passes for goals and do the hard graft of tackling and defending, big Zlats was able to provide the YouTube show reel skills and spectacular goals which ensured the legend of Zibra was cemented. I think this has lulled fans into thinking he was the greatest player ever. Despite the claims of many that he’s one of the world’s best players; does he ever feature in the yearly Ballon d’Or award? I don’t recall this being the case. Messi and Ronaldo don’t ever seem to be in any trouble of the big Swede taking their crown, nor have others before them like Zidane and Ronaldinho. Also he's never really "done it" on the international scene as unlike his league sides. The Swedish national team doesn't have the necessary players to allow him to swan about, do some skills and be the star of the show without the need for the hard graft. There's no denying he's scored some quality goals for Sweden (the bicycle kick against England immediately springs to mind), however do these blind people from the fact that's about all he has done on the international stage? Is he going to get found out now at Manchester United? Many will argue that he's now 35+ so his star should be dimming, especially with the side he's playing in which is far from a vintage United side, so if he doesn’t set the league on fire then that’s because he’s in the twilight of his career. Others will argue that he is currently still providing "the goods" in terms of goals, in what's widely regarded as the best league in the world, however the fact a player of his age is still able to score semi regularly probably says more about the standard of premier league defences he’s up against than how good Zlatan actually still is. While I can’t argue that he has been and still is a good player I don’t think in all my years of watching football I would have taken Zlatan over other strikers during this same period. I am interested in people's thoughts on the man & the legend that is Zlatan Ibrahimović! |
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June 2018
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