He does say that he was part of the problem with Pep, that he's by nature extrovert and confrontational and that Pep doesn't like that.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
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He does say that he was part of the problem with Pep, that he's by nature extrovert and confrontational and that Pep doesn't like that.
La Liga - Ibrahimovic: 'Guardiola bullied me' - Yahoo! Eurosport
Found this bit interesting. make of it what you will.
Also, The part about not driving your sports car to training is weird if true.
It was mentioned in Football Weekly or The Game recently that Xavi told Hleb not to drive his sports car to training either, to drive a Punto or something.
That's not how it works in real world.
You had even someone like VDV moaning couple of weeks ago about playing out of his fav position.
It is very much conceivable that Messi asked to be played in center. Pep allowed that couple of times. Of course if Messi had not succeeded there like he has, manager would have shifted him back but the point is obviously players are going to ask managers to play in what they consider to be their best position. And in case of big players like Messi, Ron... any managers are bound to at least give that a try.
Well, thats a weird rule then.
Well, we differ in how we feel about it then. I felt VDV acted like a knob when he ran his mouth off in the media too. As i said, i like the managers being in control of teams. barca had just spent 60mil on ibra. messi decides to play in the middle and that's 60mil down the drain. Not the way it should be.
EDIT- also, i already said they look better this way. no doubt. my beef isnt with that. what i find odd is that messi decides he wants to play through the middle and guardiola changes the system to implement that. not the way it should be at a club imo. Messi, good as he is, is part of a team.
All this team talk is idealistic claptrap that does not hold in reality.
Some players are more important than others. Even at United, Cantona was, Keane was. Not all the players would have gotten off with all the stuff Keane pulled at United and what all he said. In fact he was only kicked out once he no longer had it and was expendable.
Essentially if Messi had simply said to Barca, it is me or Zlatan, you are looney if you think they would have chosen the latter no matter the ideals or constraints involved.
Some players are more important than others. Even at United, Cantona was, Keane was. Not all the players would have gotten off with all the stuff Keane pulled at United and what all he said. In fact he was only kicked out once he no longer had it and was expendable.
Essentially if Messi had simply said to Barca, it is me or Zlatan, you are looney if you think they would have chosen the latter no matter the ideals or constraints involved.
Team talk is idealistic claptrap and doesnt hold in reality? what? So barca arent really a team that messi is a part of? Is he bigger than the team? what exactly are you getting at?
Now, i never said all players are the same or are as important. they clearly are not. but, there's a line that should not be crossed. what do barca do if iniesta comes out tomorrow and makes some similar demand? What if xavi does the same? Barca are unlikely to get players as good as them either. does that mean a player gets to decide where he plays and how the team should set up to get the best out of him?
Regarding the last bit, again, you seem to not understand my point. are you saying a player asking the manager to choose between him and another player and that only one can stay is right? it doesnt matter what barca would have done or what they did. my point is that it isnt how things should be. messi, good as he is, shouldnt be in a position to demand to play wherever he wants and demand that they system be changed to accommodate his whims. No player, as good as they might be, should have that kinda power at a club imo.
Who are you directing this at? Ibrahimovic?
As for dumping Ibrahimovic just because Messi wanted a change of system, I don't think that's the case. He just likes to be controversial doesn't he? Maybe Messi did want to play in the middle and Guardiola thought that was something worth doing, and then Ibrahimovic got a bit arsey because he wasn't given that freedom and he wasn't happy with how Guardiola was doing things, and the personality clash resulted in him leaving. I was just surprised that Messi would want to challenge the coaches opinion and ask (tell?) him to do it more his way - I thought he'd be more like Xavi and Iniesta. Ibrahimovic then goes on to say that he is like that (most of the time, presumably):
I'm sorry for being naive and a loony for being surprised by this...or something.
If we had Messi I would allow him to do whatever the feck he wanted to keep him happy
I am saying all the talk about every player just being a part of the team is idealistic crap, that does not hold in reality.
So if you were in charge of Barca, Messi kicks up a fuss about playing in the center. What will you do? Kick him out? Would you risk him leaving the club or losing him on free if he refuses to sign another contract? mmmmm
Let's see a real world example instead of theoretical stuff.
Rooney at United last year. Refuses to sign the contract. Ideally here he was acting above his station, questioning the team and club, going against the manager. Should not have been at the club after that, many if not most here said they wanted him gone. But he was instead rewarded with best deal in club's history, became our best paid player by far and now most have forgotten his cnutish behaviour then.
So my point simply is expecting top players to act in the best interest of dreams is something you can not force unless you are prepared to lose them over it. Messi being the best player in the world is very much in a position to demand anything from Barca otherwise every big club in the world would be falling over themselves to fulfill his every wish if he was to leave Barca.
I never said any thing related to that. My whole point was in response to the assertion that even someone like Messi can not demand something, when given his status in football right now, he very much can. And it is naive to think Barca would turn down any of his demands. Not that it is naive to think Messi is not demanding the world. He may be very easy going, I have no way to tell. I do can see though that he has turned into a very selfish player, pretty much on the same level as Ronaldo now.
That's crap, crappy. Ronaldo largely plays with blinks facing goal. Messi is selfish insofar as all great goalscorers are, but he picks out great passes for his teammates on a weekly basis, regularly takes up positions to be involved in the buildup and isn't shy of releasing the ball quickly more often than not.
Messi is a better passer than Ronaldo and holds up positions which allows him to make more telling passes. But over last two seasons, his primary focus is always on scoring himself. Likes of Villa and Iniesta always pass much more than him in goal scoring areas. Of course part of the reason for that is Messi's dribbling is on another level but a lot of times he dribbles past the whole team and takes up the tough chance to score himself instead of passing to someone in a better position.
It is not an insult anyway but I knew Messi fanbois would take it as one. His selfish streak has in fact taken him a level above IMO.
Since leaving Barca, all Ibrahimovic has done is moan & blame others for his departure. His ego is bigger than his undoubted talent.
He does have a selfish streak, as all good goalscorers do, but I think you're painting a disproportionate picture.
He's nothing like Ronaldo in terms of selfishness, in fact it is a feature of his game that he can score so many goals and yet still be so involved in the buildup, which is atypical of most goalscorers. There are simply too many facets to his game that aren't selfish at all for what you're saying to be true. You're exaggerating for dramatic effect.
Even Ronaldo is not the full stereotype of selfishness on the ball. he is not inzaghi-like in his quest for goals to the detriment of all else and he doesn't hug the ball so much as someone like Rivaldo did when he didn't need to.
If you look at them as midfielders they are selfish. As strikers go, Ronaldo is not much more selfish than most other goalgetters and Messi contributes far more to the team overall than most forwards do with his passing and participation in the buildup.
Ronaldo and Messi are not selfish. Selfish is Arjen Robben people. Quit getting it twisted.
I did not say for a moment that barca had a choice. they had to give messi what he wanted. not doubt about that. all am saying is that stuff like this shouldnt happen. the rooney issue was different to this. cnutish without doubt, but not really an example you'd use here. he never kicks up a fuss about team selection, his position, etc. Messi plays every game for barca, guardiola himself said that he cannot rest him because messi wants to play every game. now we have news about messi deciding where he wants to play. Thats wrong imo. too much power for a player in a team.
ofcourse, barca had to give in. they didnt have a choice. am not disputing that. all am saying is that its wrong for a player to wield that sort of authority on a team.
I'm not sure Pep handled the whole Ibra situation well, from a man management perspective. However cutting his losses on him gave them another CL so perhaps it was the right decision, however harsh it was on Ibra (I felt he was good for his first season there)
He did play centrally for the most part at barca as well, a lot more than villa and Henry have. His comments are also a bit contradictory, on one hand he says Messi demanded to play central. On the other hand he says Messi, Iniesta and Xavi always obeyed without protesting. They were like schoolboys. I'm not like that and I couldn't be myself. Which one is it?
He did play centrally for the most part at barca as well, a lot more than villa and Henry have. His comments are also a bit contradictory, on one hand he says Messi demanded to play central. On the other hand he says Messi, Iniesta and Xavi always obeyed without protesting. They were like schoolboys. I'm not like that and I couldn't be myself. Which one is it?
I have read "I am Zlatan Ibrahimovic" (Jag är Zlatan Ibrahimovic)
The book is very good. Probably one of the best biography I have read and it gave me a total different view about him. The man is complex and I don't like everything about him but at the same time he's (street) smart and intelligent. In the end I can genuinely say that I respect and understand why he is what he is. Zlatan is a warrior and a survivor, no doubt.
In the book he goes from a young first generation immigrant gangster to a wise man. That's impressing. He know he's stuff and he understands to play the game (of life).
Everybody has an opinion about his football. But whatever we like him or not his record stands for itself. Nine league titles in a row (I include Juventus) for four different clubs. Ajax, Juventus, Inter, Barcelona and Milan. Played alongside Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Viera, Del Piero, Maicon, Sneijder, Zanetti, Materazzi, Robinho, Pato, Gatusso, Pirlo, Nesta and Nedved to name a few. He was not the best along them but not the worst either. Wherever he where he was more or less central and divided opinions. Hate him or like him but you can't ignore him.
The book it's also a document of how it is to be a first generation immigrant, living in a Swedish ghetto in the eighties an nineties.
I highly recommend the book. At the moment it's only available in Sweden, Norway and Italy. I hope they will release the book in English, you are worth it.
FYI. The book is the most selling book ever after three days in Sweden. Close to 300 000 ex. Only Dan Brown is more successful, but Zlatan has time on his side to surpass Browns 500 000 ex.
The book is very good. Probably one of the best biography I have read and it gave me a total different view about him. The man is complex and I don't like everything about him but at the same time he's (street) smart and intelligent. In the end I can genuinely say that I respect and understand why he is what he is. Zlatan is a warrior and a survivor, no doubt.
In the book he goes from a young first generation immigrant gangster to a wise man. That's impressing. He know he's stuff and he understands to play the game (of life).
Everybody has an opinion about his football. But whatever we like him or not his record stands for itself. Nine league titles in a row (I include Juventus) for four different clubs. Ajax, Juventus, Inter, Barcelona and Milan. Played alongside Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Viera, Del Piero, Maicon, Sneijder, Zanetti, Materazzi, Robinho, Pato, Gatusso, Pirlo, Nesta and Nedved to name a few. He was not the best along them but not the worst either. Wherever he where he was more or less central and divided opinions. Hate him or like him but you can't ignore him.
The book it's also a document of how it is to be a first generation immigrant, living in a Swedish ghetto in the eighties an nineties.
I highly recommend the book. At the moment it's only available in Sweden, Norway and Italy. I hope they will release the book in English, you are worth it.
FYI. The book is the most selling book ever after three days in Sweden. Close to 300 000 ex. Only Dan Brown is more successful, but Zlatan has time on his side to surpass Browns 500 000 ex.
Want to bet?
I am not disputing that as well. It is wrong that a player should demand anything for purely his selfish reasons. But it is very much realistic and along the lines of what happens in all sectors of current society.
Rooney too acted for purely his selfish reasons. Not the same as fiddling with team selection but same principle. Though some of the mess kicked off when Rooney implied in an interview that he was not injured when Fergie listed that as a reason of him not playing a match.
Played really well at the weekend, two lovely passes for the first two goals.
Say what you want about him failing to step up in Europe or the big games or whatever, he's a joy to watch when he's taking the piss in the rest of the games.
Say what you want about him failing to step up in Europe or the big games or whatever, he's a joy to watch when he's taking the piss in the rest of the games.
The 2nd is really impressive as it was done with his left foot
I agree that the book was surprisingly good.
Interesting how (then Malmö chairman) Hasse Borg played the young immigrant kid from Rosengård at Malmö and when they sold him to Ajax.
Zlatan really never let that go, and I guess it sort of explains how he's always looked out for himself when it comes to transfers and contracts, with the help from Mino Raiola (who must have made a shit load of money from all those transfers). He's a real mercenary footballer, but with this background I can understand it.
20 goals in 22 games this season.
Nobody really nose how good Zlatan could be.
I'll buy his book when it comes out in english. I'm in the section who like Zlatan, he's a character and a great tallent. Never shy from speaking his mind and he's not really like a lot of the high flying players these days. He's not really much of a diver and he'd rather bully players than be bullied.
I think he's a knob. One of those players you hear so much about and when you see him you think "That's it? That's what all the fuss is about?" Reminds me of Bendtner.
And before anyone jumps down my throat and says he's 10x better than Bendtner, I know he is. I'm just pointing out that he thinks he's way better than he actually is.
And before anyone jumps down my throat and says he's 10x better than Bendtner, I know he is. I'm just pointing out that he thinks he's way better than he actually is.
He's a fantastic footballer. Would like to see him in the Premier League one day. (Not at Man c though)
Name 4 strikers better han him at the moment.
Unlike Bendtner he has reason to in all fairness, look at his trophy haul.
Take his time in Italy for example, imagine moving to Juve and winning the league in your first season and again the following season. You then move from them to Inter and win the league in your first season, and again the following 2 seasons. After a short spell in Spain you move to Milan and guess what..... you win the league in your first season.
All the time he has been his team's top man, or minimum top 3. I think I'd rate myself too.
That's because he repeatedly chokes when the pressure is on. Both Inter and Barca arguably became better teams without him. He's a good player, and a top flat track bully, but I think most expect much better from him in the higher levels. He certainly has the talent to be in the top 10 players in the world.
He's the guy that will win you trophies, but also lose you trophies.
To be fair, I only posted that to say "nose" instead of "knows".
It didn't go flying over all of our noses...errr...I mean heads.
No.
*No further questions your honour*
he doesnt really divide opinion anywhere but in England. The press and pundits love to stick it to him. Barcelona fans by and large actually rated him and liked him but his differences with Guardiola and the emergence of Messi as a central figure (i mean playing through the middle) meant that he couldnt continue.
hate him personally but I reckon hes probably playing as well as hes has at any point in his career to date.
Seems a bit more mature (strange thing to say for someone of his age). Creating a lot more for other recently as well.
Seems a bit more mature (strange thing to say for someone of his age). Creating a lot more for other recently as well.
That makes no sense
I think he's an excellent footballer. The obvious only issue with him is when he's off his game he may as well sit at home, but on his day he is one of the best strikers in the world. His goal record as well is incredible considering his 'attitude'. The only reason a lot of people I guess don't rate him highly is because in the PL you have to give 100% all the time/be seen to give 100%, he on most days doesn't run around after defenders therefore doesn't look like he gives 100%.
Also, hasn't he won the league in every season since 03/04? (including the Juve ones)
Also, hasn't he won the league in every season since 03/04? (including the Juve ones)
I think he's the sort of player who can go from one extreme to another, depending on what sort of team you play against.
If he's playing against a side who his team are expected to beat, and have a weakish defence, then he's one of the most deadly forwards in Europe. Those defenders won't be able to handle them, and in all likelihood, he'll rip them apart, by scoring and holding up the ball for his teammates as well.
Against some of the bigger teams though, he struggles to make as much of an impact. He can also go missing in these games. Basically, a lot of the better defenders out there are able to handle him. Once you can handle his physicality and presence, you go a long way to stopping him and limiting him.
If he's playing against a side who his team are expected to beat, and have a weakish defence, then he's one of the most deadly forwards in Europe. Those defenders won't be able to handle them, and in all likelihood, he'll rip them apart, by scoring and holding up the ball for his teammates as well.
Against some of the bigger teams though, he struggles to make as much of an impact. He can also go missing in these games. Basically, a lot of the better defenders out there are able to handle him. Once you can handle his physicality and presence, you go a long way to stopping him and limiting him.
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