How good was Zlatan Ibrahimovic really?
Jonas Olsson disagrees about his former teammate in the national team.
– You think you’ve seen everything – then comes a training session with Zlatan in the national team, says the Viaplay expert.
The big breakthrough came in Malmö FF for a young Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Dominating in the Superettan and Allsvenskan was just the beginning for the well-travelled Swede, who for over two decades belonged to the absolute top of the world in the world’s biggest sport.
Incredible career
After his time in Malmö, Zlatan Ibrahimovic was bought to Ajax, and then many successful years followed in Italy, in the big clubs Juventus, Inter and Milan. Zlatan absolutely poured in goals in league after league, and big club after big club, and when he ended his career last year, he did so as one of modern football’s greatest strikers.
During his career, Zlatan Ibrahimovic also achieved success with the national team, although Sweden did not go very far in any championship during his time as an active player. Ibrahimovic is the leading scorer in Swedish football ever, but during his career there were still discussions – mainly when Zlatan had resigned but continued his career in the club team – whether he would have actually made the national team better if he came back. But according to Jonas Olsson, former Premier League player and now expert in Viaplay, there is no doubt about his greatness.
The words about Ibra
When he was asked a few years ago who the best player he has played with is, he did not hesitate in the answer.
– It’s Zlatan. Point. It starts and ends there, Olsson said.
He then continued:
– You think you’ve seen everything – then comes a training session with Zlatan in the national team. He did things so the rest of us were just amazed. He really thinks about football in a different way to everyone else.
Fierce competition, however, Jonas Olsson believes, is when he names the toughest opponent of his career.
– I always land in Ronaldo. Then Didier Drogba was very good, he had everything – technique, physique, speed. And even though I watched TV clips all week before I met him, something else came up. He was so irrational, he says.
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