Zlatan Ibrahimovic vs Edinson Cavani - Comparing their United careers

I prefer Cavani. His goalscoring, passing and movement. His movement is exceptional. I never really appreciated Cavani's qualities before his time at United. I always thought of him as a goal machine, nothing else. I would be delighted to see Cavani stay for another year.

That said, I have nothing against Ibrahimovic.
 
People romanticise Zlatan a bit too much for me. He was a decent striker for us, not great and often detrimental to our build up. By no means was he a poor player but people can go overboard with his performances for us, possibly due to his persona.

That being said Cavani hasn't had the impact over the season that
Withnail said:
I'd definitely agree with that. I felt Zlatan while he was here, though he got goals, slowed the play down and we didn't always get the best out of other players.
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My thoughts exactly.
 
It's quite odd that PSG had both these legends together but still failed dismally to achieve anything meaningful outside of France.
 
Gavinb33 said:
If you offered me either one in their prime I'm taking Cavani.

For us it's arguable I think, Zlatan scored more but he was fit when he started and Edinson had just had 7 months with no football so it took him a minute to get going, since Christmas he has been incredible and if he pushes us to EL and 2nd he'd have done better than Zlatan for me
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Individually he hasn't. We have been trending 2nd much of the season from as early as week 16, without his goals so he is just playing for the 2nd best team. We aren't 2nd because of him. He himself has hardly been a defining factor in the league position this season and only scored in a few games. he has scored in 7 matches this season out of 33 matches we have played as a team, yet we are 2nd. It is certainly not because of him. He is a small factor much like a super sub who has chipped in with a few key goals here and there. basically Ole's role. Now that he is starting he is being elevated as the savior when in fact we have done this mostly in spite of him. He has hardly even scored in the Europa (his 2nd and 3rd goals came vs Roma) so again we are already the best team in the competition without him, having swept aside all opps. We also won the EL in the Zlatan season. There is little to argue that he as an 'individual' has been better as he has 12 goals but he clearly plays for a much better team with better players and more positive manager. That's all.
 
A-man said:
Isn’t it a little bit the taste of fresh memories? How big impact has Cavani had on our season? PL, CL, EL, domestic cups?Would we be worse with another striker? IMO not a big impact.
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We have been trending 2nd much of the season from as early as week 16, without his goals. he has scored in 7 matches this league season out of 33 matches. He has hardly even scored in the Europa (his 2nd and 3rd goals came vs Roma).
 
For how he fits into our play and what we actually need right now, Cavani is better suited to this team. I think Zlatan was better suited to us when we were playing under Jose and he became the leader in the dressing room from day one.

Both were excellent additions having an influence outside of the pitch too.

Sure, would have been great and all that about them in their younger days, but I've really enjoyed both these signings. And, to a lesser degree, but still loved him, Larsson.
 
Drygon said:
You're also ignoring Cavani spent as a winger until Zlatan left, which makes his numbers look worse in comparision. Context matters.
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I rate Ibra higher but yeah this comparison is weird. The same when people compare Rooney and Shearer goals etc. Rooney used to play left wing in big games to compensate for Ronaldo(which was right)and also dropped a lot into AM/CM. You can’t compare both to out and put Strikers like Ibra/Shearer
 
Stacks said:
We have been trending 2nd much of the season from as early as week 16, without his goals. he has scored in 7 matches this league season out of 33 matches. He has hardly even scored in the Europa (his 2nd and 3rd goals came vs Roma).
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I agree as impact overall. But what is his goals per minutes? I seen he only started 12 games this season. He has been good but Martial has made him better and more important due to being gash this season
 
TheReligion said:
It's quite odd that PSG had both these legends together but still failed dismally to achieve anything meaningful outside of France.
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It’s even more strange they continued to fail when they replaced Zlatan with Mbappe and Neymar.


Stacks said:
We have been trending 2nd much of the season from as early as week 16, without his goals. he has scored in 7 matches this league season out of 33 matches. He has hardly even scored in the Europa (his 2nd and 3rd goals came vs Roma).
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This was also my opinion. He has been ok overall but even in his best game, vs Roma, I think we would have won without him.
 
A-man said:
It’s even more strange they continued to fail when they replaced Zlatan with Mbappe and Neymar.



This was also my opinion. He has been ok overall but even in his best game, vs Roma, I think we would have won without him.
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This is what I never understood about failing though only 1 team can win the CL yet Bayern,PSG,City, Real don’t win it they fail. PSG lost in the final last year to the best team in the world and are about to lose in SF to the best team in the world. They are there near the level to win it just a bit off.

Also I don’t think we win it without him he scored the equaliser the one to go ahead and won the peno with a run none of strikers would make.Us 2-1 down can turn into snorefests he turned that around
 
roonster09 said:
Zlatan had better year but I would pick Cavani. Best thing about Cavani is, he works hard from min 1 to 90. Always on the move. Zlatan is very static and wants everything to flow though him.

I would pick peak Cavani ahead of peak Zlatan but Zlatan had better season individually than Cavani.

Also people forgot how frustrating Zlatan was in 2016-17, this is the threadmark for the game he was injured, many were tired watching him kill any hope of counters by that time.

https://www.redcafe.net/threads/zlatan-ibrahimović-2016-17-performances.419581/page-226

Saying all that, individually Zlatan had very good year but for the team I would pick Cavani every single time.
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Totally agree!
 
As much as I like Ibra with his arrogance and backed up by goals, I prefer the grafting attitude and goal scoring exploits of Cavani.
 
Stacks said:
Much better team yet his rival CF scored like 7 goals this season. If you struggle to take that players place you have major issues. Zlatan scored close to 30 goals. Not a single CF in our team has done this, least of all this season. so we gonna play CF who score 7-10 goals over one who can bag 30? not a single manager would do this
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But then, we've already scored more goals than we did that season and it's not over yet.
 
432JuanMata said:
This is what I never understood about failing though only 1 team can win the CL yet Bayern,PSG,City, Real don’t win it they fail. PSG lost in the final last year to the best team in the world and are about to lose in SF to the best team in the world. They are there near the level to win it just a bit off.

Also I don’t think we win it without him he scored the equaliser the one to go ahead and won the peno with a run none of strikers would make.Us 2-1 down can turn into snorefests he turned that around
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If winning the CL is your realistic goal but you never win, that’s a failure.
 
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Zlatan was the better player, even with the inconsistency.

Cavani brings things he didn't though, like the work rate and link up play. Zlatan I always thought of as an individualist. He'd try something every time he got the ball but most of the time it wouldn't come off, but you'd accept it because he'd score or create at some point nearly every game. Like a striker version of Fernandes really. You put him in any team and he can bring it up a level.

Cavani its more just classy forward play and hard work. He might have games where he's ineffective and rarely does anything spectacular, but he gives the team a different way to play and even when he's not involved will put a shift in. Plus has enough experience that you don't have to worry about him making erratic decisions or having prolonged spells where he fecks everyting up by trying too hard. Obviously he's pretty good at football as well which always helps.
 
Zlatan took penalties and free kicks, so you can't just compare their goals stats.

When they were playing together, Cavani was the main striker while Zlatan was the number 10, so I think Cavani is more complete striker.

I'd take Cavani in a team that want to develop, but I'd take Zlatan for an instant success. Zlatan would've won us the games againts Leeds and WBA, a proper title challenger.
 
Cavani is better for United. Zlatan's time with United is over rated like hell. He was not great at any point at United.

Just lucky that United were in transition so he got a chance to be a main player.

Cavani suits the team better. Hopefully he experiences Old Trafford with the crowd cheering his name.
 
Are we talking about the same Ibrahimovich that missed more (18) big chances than he scored (17) in the Premier League? The same season he was our absolute focal point which resulted in us finishing six points behind Arsenal in 6th; drawing 15 times?

Cavani has been a totally different level.
 
It’s easy to say Cavani because he’s the here and now but I genuinely think his impact is greater and he’s more a Manchester United type of player. They both miss chances that Kane would gobble up with his eyes shut but Cavani‘s swashbuckling, workmanlike attitude is a better fit in my opinion.
 
With Bruno, Greenwood, Pogba and Rashy, Cavani is playing with much better players. I wonder how Zlatan would do with Bruno feeding him.
 
Number32 said:
Zlatan took penalties and free kicks, so you can't just compare their goals stats.

When they were playing together, Cavani was the main striker while Zlatan was the number 10, so I think Cavani is more complete striker.

I'd take Cavani in a team that want to develop, but I'd take Zlatan for an instant success. Zlatan would've won us the games againts Leeds and WBA, a proper title challenger.
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Cavani was shunted to the wing when they played together at PSG. They played a 433.
 
Drygon said:
You're also ignoring Cavani played as a winger until Zlatan left, which makes his numbers look worse in comparision. Context matters.
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Zlatan played 180 games for PSG with some of them as a 10 (often with Cavani ahead of him), so Zlatan had maybe 150/180 games as CF while Cavani, who played 120 games more at the club, had 150/300 as CF. So the only real difference between them is that on top of those 150-ish games each as CF Cavani played 100+ games as a fluid wing forward in a 4-3-3 while Zlatan played 20-30 games as a 10.

In that context it's not that shocking that the guy who played 120 games more scored more goals.
 
Manya.para.siempre said:
Cavani was shunted to the wing when they played together at PSG. They played a 433.
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4-3-3 on paper but they actually played a diamond formation when attacking. Cavani had less defensive responsibility while Zlatan had to battle in midfield area, that's why Zlatan got more red cards.
 
I think Zlatan was more important for us then Cavani is
 
devilish said:
I think Zlatan was more important for us then Cavani is
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This is why I find Cavani better.

Everything had to go through Zlatan due to the type of striker he was and the manager we had. He stood out more but that made us only ever as good as Zlatan.

Cavani doesnt effect the speed and technique of the players around him as much as Zlatan did in my opinion and we feel like we have much more amount of players influencing the game all the time.
 
finneh said:
Are we talking about the same Ibrahimovich that missed more (18) big chances than he scored (17) in the Premier League? The same season he was our absolute focal point which resulted in us finishing six points behind Arsenal in 6th; drawing 15 times?

Cavani has been a totally different level.
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Good points.
 
Bebestation said:
This is why I find Cavani better.

Everything had to go through Zlatan due to the type of striker he was and the manager we had. He stood out more but that made us only ever as good as Zlatan.

Cavani doesnt effect the speed and technique of the players around him as much as Zlatan did in my opinion and we feel like we have much more amount of players influencing the game all the time.
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Maybe it has to do with the fact that the current team has better players than the team Zlatan was in. Back then it looked like Pogba was the only one who understood Zlatan's movement and was capable of linking up well with him.

Cavani currently links perfectly great with Pogba as well, alongside Bruno and Greenwood. Meanwhile whenever he played alongside Martial and Rashford it felt for me the entire three are incapable of linking with each other, because Rashford and Martial want to go straight for the goal rather than building up unlike Pogba and Bruno. Even against Rome, Rashford felt like an outlier in comparison to what Cavani, Pogba and Bruno were doing together.
 
el3mel said:
Maybe it has to do with the fact that the current team has better players than the team Zlatan was in. Back then it looked like Pogba was the only one who understood Zlatan's movement and was capable of linking up well with him.

Cavani currently links perfectly great with Pogba as well, alongside Bruno and Greenwood. Meanwhile whenever he played alongside Martial and Rashford it felt for me the entire three are incapable of linking with each other, because Rashford and Martial want to go straight for the goal rather than building up unlike Pogba and Bruno. Even against Rome, Rashford felt like an outlier in comparison to what Cavani, Pogba and Bruno were doing together.
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I mean you got it right & its exactly what I remember - our inverted forwards looked out of balance with Zlatan. However we have players like Rashford and Greenwood who have played in an around Cavani and in a weird good way - it feels like Cavani is never there unless he needs to be.

I find this Zlatan thing to happen with the England national team aswell. Kane is our best striker and happens to be a striker that has great passing abilities too - yet I feel like he doesnt blend in with Sterling, Rashford, Greenwood, Sancho or whoever the wider forwards may be. There seems a lack of cohesion that necessary and our game becomes slower or easier to sometimes defend against than needed to be. Kane however has to start because he is England's best striker.


We do have better players now (or improved players like Shaw) - some fans have said that we play like 11 individuals.

This is why I cant particularly see Zlatan coming here and playing like this 11th individual. We would need much more of a tactic to focus on getting the best of him because that's how he plays. Would Shaw be focusing on crossing to him all game rather than having a variety of crosses to the back post, centre box or pulled back?

Maybe it's just Ole that could get better out of Zlatan than we saw with Mourinho- however I'm not so sure.
 
Is it possible to dig out Zlatan’s player performance thread? It’d be an interesting read, I think people are drunk with nostalgia due to his cult personality.
 
finneh said:
Are we talking about the same Ibrahimovich that missed more (18) big chances than he scored (17) in the Premier League? The same season he was our absolute focal point which resulted in us finishing six points behind Arsenal in 6th; drawing 15 times?

Cavani has been a totally different level.
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Cavani can barely start once a fortnight. He looks good when he plays, but he’s essentially a part-time footballer.
 
Cavani all day. I wish we got him instead when he got Zlatan. His team play, workrate, off the ball movement, ghosting on defenders, range of finishes, hunger and determination even at the day end of his career is remarkable. He makes us so unpredictable in the final third and encourages through balls and crosses into the box more than any striker we had since RVN.
 
TMDaines said:
Cavani can barely start once a fortnight. He looks good when he plays, but he’s essentially a part-time footballer.
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The manager has started him once a fortnight but I've seen no evidence that he couldn't start more often. He's looked less tired at 80 mins than Rashford recently at minute one.
 
People on here are forgetting the amount of stick Zlatan would get for the ridiculous amount of chances he missed for us.

That's not to say Canavi doesn't miss chances, he does.

What they both brought to us, Cavani every single day. I've always thought Zlatan is massively over-rated. Yeah, he's played for the biggest teams, in the biggest leagues, but all too often particularly in the Champions League he's gone completely missing.

Cavani gives us far more, and is not an utter bellend in the process.
 
I only saw Zlatan play live at Old Trafford once, I was shocked by how little he moved. Completely static the entire match and everything had to go through him, so he dictated our style of play. Cavani on the other hand is so mobile, intelligent movement, workhorse attitude and works into a style of play to suit the team. Obviously I've not seen him live but looks so much better for the team.

Plus as entertaining as Ibrahimovic attitude was I'd prefer to have a player who is for the good of the team, not for the Glory of the almighty Zlatan.
 
DULLAGHAN said:
I only saw Zlatan play live at Old Trafford once, I was shocked by how little he moved. Completely static the entire match and everything had to go through him, so he dictated our style of play. Cavani on the other hand is so mobile, intelligent movement, workhorse attitude and works into a style of play to suit the team. Obviously I've not seen him live but looks so much better for the team.

Plus as entertaining as Ibrahimovic attitude was I'd prefer to have a player who is for the good of the team, not for the Glory of the almighty Zlatan.
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He is the world class lump up front to play high balls to for the flick-ons and knock downs.

That style suited Mourinho's long ball direct game. Hence why he did so well for him.
 
BFernandes said:
Cavani gives us far more, and is not an utter bellend in the process.
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This: it’s his class which I like along with his goals. If he stays and we’re back at OT I’ll get a shirt with his name on
 
432JuanMata said:
I agree as impact overall. But what is his goals per minutes? I seen he only started 12 games this season. He has been good but Martial has made him better and more important due to being gash this season
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pretty much and Cavani lack of availability has made him have minimal impact as you pointed out. this was highlighted as a concern the moment we signed him as he missed all the previous season. He has been great as a back up squad rotation CF but not reliable.
 
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