PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Football profile Peter Antoine has died, aged 79.
During his lifetime, the former soccer coach gave many memorable quotes – like the time he didn’t hold back in criticizing Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
– The problem with Zlatan is that everything is so magnified when it comes to him, Antoine told Expressen.
During Friday, the news came that the former soccer coach and television profile Peter Antoine dead, something Aftonbladet was the first to report. The newspaper writes that he died on Thursday night in the aftermath of pneumonia. Antoine was 79 years old.
Hero in Mjällby
Antoine was born in Germany but moved to Sweden as an adult. As a younger man, he was a soccer player, and followed that career up by becoming a coach. Antoine became most famous when, as a coach for Mjällby AIF, he achieved great success and took the club up from division 2. He also coached clubs such as Assyriska FF and Gefle IF.
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Several sports editorials noticed Antoine’s mood and personality during his time as a coach. When his coaching career was over, he was recruited by TV4 as an expert commentator. Antoine was nicknamed “The German”, and was both loved and hated by the viewers at home on the TV sofas.
The criticism against Zlatan
Much of that was probably due to the fact that “The German” was never afraid to speak his mind. We’ll never forget when he sawed Zlatan Ibrahimovic along the shins in a 2013 interview.
– He is a good footballer, but as a person I want to kick his ass. How many times has he not been sent off for losing his temper? He is still the same as he was when we lost against Malmö with Assyriska up in Södertälje. He ran and scoffed in front of our bench so I stood up and gave him the finger. The problem with Zlatan is that everything is so magnified when it comes to him. I just go and wait for teletext or TV4 to tell me which toilet paper Zlatan uses when he wipes his ass, Antoine told Expressen 10 years ago.
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At the time, “Ibra” was playing for Paris Saint-Germain in France. Zlatan was an important player there, but Antoine didn’t think the striker would have been at another top European club.
– So, Zlatan is a good soccer player, but if he had been in Bayern Munich, he wouldn’t even have been in the starting eleven. No, he had been allowed to sit on the bench to see how a team works. The Bayern Munich midfielder would have kicked his ass if he was standing there playing Maradona.
Antoine’s self-criticism
But Antoine didn’t just dish out criticism, he also had some self-awareness.
– Fifty percent of everyone I’ve met probably thinks I’m a piece of shit. The other fifty percent have seen that there is also something soft, tender and loving in Peter Antoine. Many are probably right. I’m a piece of shit but what bothers me is that people don’t understand that even a piece of shit can be right many times, he told the evening newspaper.
READ MORE: Peter Antoine became “the German” with the entire Swedish people – the football profile’s life after the coaching career
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