Zlatan Ibrahimovic

[FranklyVulgar]

I said that in another thread, Milito was the pick of the strikers in that game.

Agree with Interista, you have to remember these teams have played a handful of games and are going through changes. I worry a little more about Barca at this stage more than Inter. They havent looked out of second gear in any game yet. I dont think Kieta is good enough, i think Henry is past it. Xavi has actually been well below his best so far. I hope they are starting slow. Iniesta cant get match fit soon enough.

 

[kouroux]

I said that in another thread, Milito was the pick of the strikers in that game.

Agree with Interista, you have to remember these teams have played a handful of games and are going through changes. I worry a little more about Barca at this stage more than Inter. They havent looked out of second gear in any game yet. I dont think Kieta is good enough, i think Henry is past it. Xavi has actually been well below his best so far. I hope they are starting slow. Iniesta cant get match fit soon enough.

Keita is out of his depth at Barca, not good enough to be starter or even on the bench.He was better at Sevilla because he had more freedom about his game

 

[AttackingFlair]

I remember someone telling me Keita was better than Toure a while ago, which is bolllocks.

 

[Ekeke]

Or Henry? Maybe there wasn't enough space for that. Henry and Messi will probably tell you that.

In fact Inter set out like Chelsea did and correct me if I'm wrong but Eto'o didn't do much against Chelsea.

Henry has always been one who likes to lay it on a plate as much as get on the scoresheet himself. If anything he's one of the ones who can be accused of often overplaying things.

Eto'o on the other hand picks the ball up around the edge of the box - a position Barcelona tend to be in for half of the match - and then maybe he'll have a quick look to see if someone is in a great position that he simply cant ignore, but really he just wants to hit it and score himself. And often he will pick it up and just hit it and sometimes it goes in.

It may not be as pretty as 30 backheel passes between Messi and Ibrahimovic before Henry scores with a scorpian kick, but the difference between 3 points and 1 doesnt have to be the world's most perfect goal.

Eto'o would take 3 ugly scrappy goals over 1 goal of the season, perfect goal. I doubt the same is true of Ibrahimovic.

 

[AttackingFlair]

The point is, Inter played like Chelsea last night. Eto'o did nothing against Chelsea and there's you claiming they needed a player like Eto'o. Ibra was at least involved in the game holding the ball up at times, good lay offs, good touch to bring down balls. OK he didn't score, but it's not like he didn't turn up. Even the world's best player didn't get any change.

 

[B20]

It may not be as pretty as 30 backheel passes between Messi and Ibrahimovic before Henry scores with a scorpian kick

Got a Youtube link for that?

 

[crappycraperson]

It may not be as pretty as 30 backheel passes between Messi and Ibrahimovic
.

 

[Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber]

The point is, Inter played like Chelsea last night. Eto'o did nothing against Chelsea and there's you claiming they needed a player like Eto'o. Ibra was at least involved in the game holding the ball up at times, good lay offs, good touch to bring down balls. OK he didn't score, but it's not like he didn't turn up. Even the world's best player didn't get any change.

Exactly. Ibra is just treated so unfairly by the likes of him.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

The point is, Inter played like Chelsea last night. Eto'o did nothing against Chelsea and there's you claiming they needed a player like Eto'o. Ibra was at least involved in the game holding the ball up at times, good lay offs, good touch to bring down balls. OK he didn't score, but it's not like he didn't turn up. Even the world's best player didn't get any change.

That's not the point. One game against Chelsea doesn't change a thing. He's already proven himself a hundred times in the biggest games. He has a unique habit of doing it and it's one of the rarest and best qualities a player can have. Ibrahimovic has the opposite habit, of disappearing in the big games. So it's his point to prove this season, not Eto'o's.

 

[Jacob]

His assist from yesterday, excellent.

 

[FranklyVulgar]

he was a constant threat when he was on. The assist was pure quality.

 

[Jacob]

target-man material right there, he's been doing alright up top on his own thus far.

 

[Devil_forever]

For the initial corner what are the defence doing? seriously?! Then they're 5 of them around him but leave a huge gap open for him to pull of a simple backheel (remember what the assists Berbatov was getting against similar abysmal defending on the pre season tour?) and in the mean time Pique's left open a few yards from goal, abysmal defending. Would love to see Zlatan even be given the opportunity to do that against a quality defence let alone pull it off.

 

[FranklyVulgar]

The team didnt look as much of a threat when he went off.

Any word on his ancle? didnt seem that bad really.

 

[Devil_forever]

The team didnt look as much of a threat when he went off.

Any word on his ancle? didnt seem that bad really.

Of course not, Barca are deprived of creativity.

 

[Brwned]

For the initial corner what are the defence doing? seriously?! Then they're 5 of them around him but leave a huge gap open for him to pull of a simple pass? and in the mean time Pique's left open a few yards from goal, abysmal defending. Would love to see Zlatan even be given the opportunity to do that against a quality defence let alone pull it off.

A simple pass? It wasn't great defending, but you wouldn't expect anyone to have the vision, awareness and initiative to try a backheel with so many people surrounding him.

You're being over critical, of both the attacker and the defenders.

 

[FranklyVulgar]

i wouldnt go that far but he was having a good game. Henry still looks out of sorts in my opinion too.

 

[Devil_forever]

A simple pass? It wasn't great defending, but you wouldn't expect anyone to have the vision, awareness and initiative to try a backheel with so many people surrounding him.

You're being over critical, of both the attacker and the defenders.

If you look at the replay, you can see that they leave a massive gap from Ibrahimovic straight through to Pique. I was just pointing out that it wasn't anywhere near "pure class"

 

[FranklyVulgar]

A simple pass? It wasn't great defending, but you wouldn't expect anyone to have the vision, awareness and initiative to try a backheel with so many people surrounding him.

You're being over critical, of both the attacker and the defenders.

He tries these things more often than most but he pulls them off more often than most. That is what makes him the player he is. His audacity to try but not just try to do.

He has made a very promising start to his Barca career and he is nowhere near his top level yet.

 

[Brwned]

If you look at the replay, you can see that they leave a massive gap from Ibrahimovic straight through to Pique. I was just pointing out that it wasn't anywhere near "pure class"

Pure class was over the top, yes, but then you went the other way and said it was a simple pass.

It makes no sense to point out that someone's going over the top with praise if you're going to go over the top with criticism.

You have to realise that it all happened very quickly, and very, very few other players would've done what Ibrahimovic did. The defending should've been better, but it still took a lot of individual skill and awareness to pull it off.

 

[B20]

It was a lovely piece of skill. Mostly so in the vision required to know there was even space there (he never looks behind, he can only estimate from how he himself is being crowded by defenders) to make the backheel into.

 

[FranklyVulgar]

I hate it when people bang on about shit defending to belittle a genuine peice of skill.

He had 5 guys around him, did anyone of us expect him to do a backheel? I certainly didnt, the defenders certainly were not and i doubt Pique was, he was probably thinking he might get a shot off and he was in looking for a rebound.

again, if it had been Berbatov or Rooney against some average prem side then the defending wouldnt have been questioned. It would have been regarded as a touch of class and that was what it was.

 

[Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber]

I hate it when people bang on about shit defending to belittle a genuine peice of skill..

Hihihihi

He had 5 guys around him, did anyone of us expect him to do a backheel? I certainly didnt, the defenders certainly were not and i doubt Pique was, he was probably thinking he might get a shot off and he was in looking for a rebound.

again, if it had been Berbatov or Rooney against some average prem side then the defending wouldnt have been questioned. It would have been regarded as a touch of class and that was what it was.

Agreed. Zlatan is proving them wrong. It's only a matter of time before they will be forced to admit the obvious. Zlatan is quality. Not hype.

 

[Boss]

I hate it when people bang on about shit defending to belittle a genuine peice of skill.

 

[Eurotrash]

Anyone who saw yesterdays game could see that Ibra was doing really well, before being subbed due to injury. Admittedly, Racing were absolute crap, and its too early to shout either "success" or "fail". BUT its obvious to anyone who has followed Barca's first couple of games that Ibra is fitting in very nicely indeed.

 

[Interista]

"He can just score in the serie A"

Besides an impressive goal tally (4 goals in 4 games) he's also giving Barça another dimension by providing physical strenght and creativity to an already technically gifted team. I'm convinced he will soon score in Europe and also against the big guns.

 

[B20]

Just read that Zlatan broke Stoichkov's record of best start to a barca career by scoring four goals in four games (hristo boasted of 3 in 3).

 

[FranklyVulgar]

"He can just score in the serie A"

Besides an impressive goal tally (4 goals in 4 games) he's also giving Barça another dimension by providing physical strenght and creativity to an already technically gifted team. I'm convinced he will soon score in Europe and also against the big guns.

Quite impressed you still want him to do well Interista! Are most Inter fans happy to see him do well?

 

[Boss]

He got a slightly rough reception which was sad to see after he helped Inter to so much, but these days fans would boo their own mothers if everyone else was.

 

[FranklyVulgar]

Understandable though, when you desire to leave. Also his reaction to being booed was quite something.

All the top clubs in europe feel they should hang onto their players. Inter are no different.

 

[kouroux]

It's being hypocrite to boo Zlatan after all the titles he's helped Inter to win.They should show him appreciation

 

[Interista]

He got a slightly rough reception which was sad to see after he helped Inter to so much, but these days fans would boo their own mothers if everyone else was.

Some people booed him, others (like me) just didn't care. Many fans didn't like the fact he openly stated he wanted to leave Inter but the Curva Nord exposed a banner to thank him for his honesty.

 

[Boss]

Waht do you think of Jose, Interista? He responds to every comment ever made about him in Italy. The Juve one had me cracking up, were he said he stopped watching the game because he had dinner. He's so sly.

He's really taking on the whole of Seria A out there.

 

[Interista]

Quite impressed you still want him to do well Interista! Are most Inter fans happy to see him do well?

Of course I can't forget his immense contribution to our victories of the past 3 years and he's probably the strongest player I've ever seen in an Inter shirt, maybe just the 1997/98 Ronaldo was on par with him but Zlatan has performed excellently for more than one season. As I just said, there are fans who still want him to do well, others who dislike him and those who just consider him a great player and admire him as they would do with Messi, C.Ronaldo, Rooney, Fernando Torres and other football stars.

 

[Interista]

Wht you think of Jose Interista? He responds to every comment ever made about him in Italy. The Juve one had me cracking up, were he said he stopped watching the game because he had dinner. He's so sly.

He's really taking on the whole of Seria A out there.

He's an extremely intelligent person and I like him 'cause he's no afraid to speak his mind, nevermind the circumstances. Nobody does such brilliant press conferences, some of his quotes are already in the history of Italian football, for example the one you mentioned, he said he had a dish of fried squids

Here the country is split in two, there are the ones who admire him and say he brought something new to the serie A and others who consider him an overrated and arrogant manager. I have the feeling that if he was the Ac Milan or Juve managed he wouldn't be under attack all the time.

 

[Boss]

He's an extremely intelligent person and I like him 'cause he's no afraid to speak his mind, nevermind the circumstances. Nobody does such brilliant press conferences, some of his quotes are already in the history of Italian football, for example the one you mentioned, he said he had a dish of fried squids

Here the country is split in two, there are the ones who admire him and say he brought something new to the serie A and others who consider him an overrated and arrogant manager. I have the feeling that if he was the Ac Milan or Juve managed he wouldn't be under attack all the time.

Which seems true, I get this vibe from the Italian media that Inter is the most hated club out there for some reason and AC is more loved.

 

[Interista]

Which seems true, I get this vibe from the Italian media that Inter is the most hated club out there for some reason and AC is more loved.

Yes, absolutely true, unfortunately Moratti didn't decide to invest in the media and we're unprotected under this point of view. Ac is more loved simply 'cause Berlusconi owns Mediaset, the biggest Italian (and maybe also European) commercial broadcaster but also on the RAI (the Italian version of the BBC) things aren't much different.

 

[Boss]

What did you think of the game against Barca? There were situations where Barca would keep the ball for ages and quickly hustle Inter off the ball when ever they tried to launch an attack. I only saw the second half though,Messi was literally toying with them at times but I guess he does that to any team.

I still think the overall team lacks pace and even though you have bought Wesley, there still seems to be creativity missing. Inter just didn't look ready for Champions League glory when they played them, although this is one of the strongest Barca teams of all time. The game at the Camp Nou will be very interesting.

 

[Interista]

What did you think of the game against Barca? There were situations where Barca would keep the ball for ages and quickly hustle Inter off the ball when ever they tried to launch an attack. I only saw the second half though,Messi was literally toying with them at times but I guess he does that to any team.

I still think the overall team lacks pace and even though you have bought Wesley, there still seems to be creativity missing. Inter just didn't look ready for Champions League glory when they played them, although this is one of the strongest Barca teams of all time. The game at the Camp Nou will be very interesting.

Everybody slammed us for our performance but in all honesty, given who we were playing against and also that we're just at the beginning of the season, I was very satisfied with the draw, keeping a clean sheet vs such an extraordinary team is surely a remarkable thing, I don't know how many teams will be able to do the same.

I preferred the Inter of the first half, we struggled at the beginning and at the end but there was a spell in which we kept the ball possession and made ourselves dangerous upfront. In the second we just sat back and defend but still we had our chances (the ones by Stankovic especially) whereas Barça, even if they were dominating weren't able to get anything out of it, especially 'cause our defense performed brilliantly. Samuel and Lucio intercepted anything coming to our penalty box and Chivu didn't suffer too much with Messi.

We could have done much more upfront but Milito and Eto'o got no playable balls 'cause our midfielders were very poor, Thiago Motta and Sneijder especially. Maybe a 4-3-3 line-up with Balotelli and Santon in midfield from the beginning would have been a better option. Yes, we lack pace in the middle but I think we have much more creativity than last year, Thiago Motta and Sneijder will provide them when playing up to their standards and I like how Stankovic is playing.

I'm also looking forward to the game at the Camp Nou but first we have to get two wins vs Rubin Kazan and Dinamo Kiev and it won't be easy at all. Of course I expect much more convincing performances against these two sides.

 

[FranklyVulgar]

The hype surrounding the champions league gives everyone false hope of goal fests and world class plays but in reality most teams had played a handful of games and were just starting the season. It was very likely going to be a 0-0, i think in Barcelona it will be a different game.