It's the same book that's been out for quite a while now.
I read it and it was actually surprisingly a good read. Like him or not he's a character.
I personally would love to see him at United. He has a certain air of Cantona about him.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
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It's the same book that's been out for quite a while now.
I read it and it was actually surprisingly a good read. Like him or not he's a character.
I personally would love to see him at United. He has a certain air of Cantona about him.
Every now and then these dailies publish some chapter citing Ibra's new book.
When I came to Barcelona, they told me I could not take a private jet and had to take a commercial flight. ‘At Barcelona we keep our feet on the ground,’ they explained. ‘We are not like Real Madrid. We travel on regular planes.’ It sounded reasonable.
There were other things. ‘Listen,’ Guardiola said. ‘We don’t turn up to training sessions in Ferraris or Porsches.’ I nodded, didn’t go off on one and say things like: ‘What the hell business is it of yours what cars I drive?’ At the same time, though, I was thinking: ‘What kind of message is he sending here?’
I do love cars. They’re my passion, and I could sense something else behind what he was saying. It was like: ‘Don’t think you’re anybody special!’
I’d already got the impression that Barcelona was a little like being back at Ajax, it was like being back at school. None of the lads acted like superstars, which was strange. Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, the whole gang — they were like schoolboys. The best footballers in the world stood there with their heads bowed, and I didn’t understand any of it. It was ridiculous.
Everyone did as they were told. I didn’t fit in, not at all. I thought, just enjoy the opportunity, don’t confirm their prejudices. So I started to adapt and blend in. I became way too nice. It was mental.
I said what I thought people wanted me to say. It was completely messed up. I drove the club’s Audi and stood there and nodded my head. I hardly even yelled at my team-mates any more. I was boring. Zlatan was no longer Zlatan.
Reading that only increases my respect for Guardiola and Barca tbh and shows a lot about Zlatan.
There were other things. ‘Listen,’ Guardiola said. ‘We don’t turn up to training sessions in Ferraris or Porsches.’ I nodded, didn’t go off on one and say things like: ‘What the hell business is it of yours what cars I drive?’ At the same time, though, I was thinking: ‘What kind of message is he sending here?’
I do love cars. They’re my passion, and I could sense something else behind what he was saying. It was like: ‘Don’t think you’re anybody special!’
I’d already got the impression that Barcelona was a little like being back at Ajax, it was like being back at school. None of the lads acted like superstars, which was strange. Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, the whole gang — they were like schoolboys. The best footballers in the world stood there with their heads bowed, and I didn’t understand any of it. It was ridiculous.
Everyone did as they were told. I didn’t fit in, not at all. I thought, just enjoy the opportunity, don’t confirm their prejudices. So I started to adapt and blend in. I became way too nice. It was mental.
I said what I thought people wanted me to say. It was completely messed up. I drove the club’s Audi and stood there and nodded my head. I hardly even yelled at my team-mates any more. I was boring. Zlatan was no longer Zlatan.
Reading that only increases my respect for Guardiola and Barca tbh and shows a lot about Zlatan.
Agreed, has a funny way of going about making himself look the victim here. Massive mistake by Pep though, surely he should've realised that someone of Zlatan's character wasn't going to gel with his choirboys. Messi recently said Neymar has been very humble since joining Barca, remains to be seen if that is his true character but at least he's young enough to not have let the bad habits sink in to much.
Zlatan is fairly unique but perhaps not ego wise - there are many footballers who have found themselves to be above team, coach etc.
Failure to land Villa led Laporta to make an outlandish bid for Ibra. Had him & Txiki done their homework on Zlatan, pizza boy & his ego - they would've never signed him, certainly had Pep done enough research on him or talked to him ahead of the move
But he's a character and hard not to like from a fan's perspective. Plus, still remains one of the most skilled big men I've ever seen
Failure to land Villa led Laporta to make an outlandish bid for Ibra. Had him & Txiki done their homework on Zlatan, pizza boy & his ego - they would've never signed him, certainly had Pep done enough research on him or talked to him ahead of the move
But he's a character and hard not to like from a fan's perspective. Plus, still remains one of the most skilled big men I've ever seen
That's fair.
It strange and probably shows the pressure the presidential election puts the board under.
Spending that much money, you'd have thought Laporta and co would have done their homework, character-fit wise etc.
But it was probably more about bringing in the biggest name they could and tbf, at that time, Messi was still playing out on the right.
You would probably have been better off keeping Eto'o - though he burnt his bridges at Barca long before then, right?
The Ferrari bit sums it up nicely. Someone like Scholes would have liked being in an environment like that. Someone like Zlatan? He doesn't understand why superstars were acting like school kids.
The Samu saga was just as much his fault, tbh. Eto'O needs to play with a chip on his shoulder and I believe he felt Pep never quite appreciated that. Teammates, IMHO, wanted him to stay. Samuel was ideal and a younger Villa was the perfect replacement but it never fully materialized
Continues to show himself up as the spoilt little child he is
He sounds a real tool.
I can understand the planes but the thing with the cars ?? I definitely agree with Zlatan.
If someone made me a mass millionaire and told me to meet for work in a company car, I'd damn well do it without a second thought. It's a tiny thing to ask for, not much different than being asked to wear a suit and tie to work, or a football uniform.
Great player but, recently, I get the impression that he starts trouble just so he can write about it; publishers relish controversy. I Am Still Zlatan will no doubt portray good old Carlo as a monster.
I don't think you can understand how a millionaire can think since you have never been one. It's a pointless projection. Zlatan's behavior was famous, why did they even sign him for so much money I still wonder. One of the weirdest transfer ever.
Why? He should be asked to conduct himself professionally in training, games and public events where he represents the club he's signed for. But he can drive whatever car he wants, it's his money and his choice.
And they didn't make Ibrahimovic a millionaire. He was already a superstar with plenty of money. His talent, hard work and determination to become a top player made him a millionaire.
I still think he's an asshole, but that's beside the point.
Nope I'm with Zlatan. Barca signed a player the whole world knows about. We all know the kind of person and player he is. He is a football superstar, you don't bring in Ibra and say stop being who you are, stop driving your car.
Clearly a massive oversight.
Clearly a massive oversight.
I just bought his book. Hopefully, it is better than Bellamy's which I have just finished.
That comma annoys me.
Agree somewhat with this, when you're buying an established star like Ibra (legend in his own mind)... you're unlikely to change him, either Pep should've made an exception for him like some of the greatest managers have done ie Fergie, some are more equal than others... or just leave well alone and let him sign for a team which is better catered to meet his playing and social needs.
Barca brought an egotistical emporer and tried to turn him into a footsoldier... wasn't going to work, and that is without even going into the footballing side of things, where he was just a mismatch for the style Pep wanted to impose upon the team.. barely any room for flair within that system. Zlatan needs full faith of the manager and for a team to be built around his talents, even at PSG now.. the arrival of Cavani will not bode well, he doesn't respond well to competition. He's a sensitive soul and that is his major weakness... hence why he's never really impressed on the biggest stages or made an impression in the latter stages of CL.
I'm fairly sure that it was just driving to training that the car thing is on about. He will have been able to drive whatever he wanted the rest of the time.
I can't remember which one of our players wrote about it in his autobiography, but something similar happened at United. I think it might have been Teddy Sheringham who pissed SAF off once by turning up in a Ferrari. Sure I read a story like that in Giggs' book.
Interesting read, but by christ he comes across as an arrogant flog.
He sounds like he's upset he didn't get to act like a total asshole at Barcelona
Same question for him then. He also accepted the transfer and it was clear he needed to fall in line.
The car thing is so silly. He can drive his own car everywhere except to Barcelona's training ground. What a tiny thing to ask
All Swedes are welcome in the defacto matchday thread AKA the 'Ireland and Trapatoenail' thread. All gloating will de viewed upon most unhumorously if you should happen to somehow luck your way to a win against the mighty Irish.
He makes himself look like a victim somewhat but whatever car he drives to work is his business. However it shows the internal vibe of the club is such that everyone must think they're a team and not superstars. He sounds like a bully though.
"Zlatan doesn't do auditions.."..
That quote never fails to crack me up.
aged 18 at that.
There should be a dedicated thread for his quotes, he's had some amazing ones
Arrogant cnut. When he represents the club who pay his wages he should do as told if it´s not absurd ofcourse. On his free-time, which he has alot of, he can do whatever he wants
Is it really? I know there are quite a few clubs out there with sponsorship deals with car companies. The players get each year one car and are expected to drive that car to any club related appointment.
http://www.fcbarcelona.com/club/detail/article/audi-presents-new-vehicles-to-first-team-squad
I'd be surprised if Audi pays millions to Barca and happily accepts one of their star players showing up in front of cameras at the training ground with a Ferrari each day. They can drive whatever they want in their private life, but the drive to work is something different.
Well if that's the case then it's clear he has a problem following simple rules. I don't see what's the problem driving your Audi to training then switching cars after you go home.
He has no obligation to do anything that isn't in his contract.
Yeah, but it looks like he put the "I want to drive my Ferrari" quote in the same passage with the "We don't use private jets like Madrid" quote, so that it sounds like Barca didn't allow him to drive his car of choice because they want to send a message. Doubt that's true, it's all about money, but he (or whoever wrote that book for him) uses it to make Guardiola look like an idiot (or at least he tries to do that because he probably really believes he's a victim for getting a very good car for free and being "forced" to drive it to work every day, poor guy).
Isn't using a private jet a smart option? You'd want the least hassle possible for away games.
The Rosengard lads (from my home town) wanted to come down and smash the place up, and of course that was nice of them, but it didn’t really seem like the right strategy under the circumstances.
Maybe he isn't try to make pep look stupid, maybe pep really did have something against him
Pep probably thought Zlatan was a bit of a cnut.
The Rosengard lads (from my home town) wanted to come down and smash the place up, and of course that was nice of them, but it didn’t really seem like the right strategy under the circumstances.
He even sounds pissed off that the price he was sold for was so low, 'I lost 70% off my value.'
Yeah and the making mourinho smile bit, hes acting like it was just because of him that they won the treble. I like him though.
He even sounds pissed off that the price he was sold for was so low, 'I lost 70% off my value.'
Maybe both?
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