Zlatan Ibrahimovic secured his return to AC Milan earlier in the month, but the Ibrahimovic legacy might just be continued on the pitch through his sons Vincent and Maximilian.
La Gazzetta dello Sport writes that when Zlatan talks about his sons he makes himself small and always tries to protect them, a bit like he did with the Rossoneri squad in the last three years, opening the umbrella to shield everyone from criticism.
For many players – Leao, Bennacer, Theo, Krunic, but also Tonali or Brahim Diaz – there is a before and after Ibra, who returned to Milanello for the third time as senior advisor of the ownership not long ago.
The great thing is that his sons are still here too, both in the youth teams: Maximilian, born in 2006, plays in Giovanni Renna’s U17 team, while Vincent, 15 years old like Camarda, is with the U15s.
In November the latter was called up by Sweden’s U15s for a training camp in Boson and the coach Axel Kjal has spoken well of Vincent on several occasions. “He is very good at passing, he understands the game well and also knows how to act in front of goal.”
He is a box-to-box midfielder, with decent vision and good ball progression. Before signing for Milan he scored several goals for Hammarby, a Stockholm team that Zlatan is an investor in.
Vincent’s call-up aroused so much curiosity that it induced the higher-ups to lock down training sessions and prevent reporters from doing an interview with him. In September he scored against Juventus, and in the 5-2 success against Novarello.
Those who know Ibra’s sons speak of two humble, willing boys, eager to demonstrate that behind the surname there are two young men – Vincent and Maximilian – who want to earn a place in the world without being considered ‘sons of’.
Maximilian and Zlatan, among other things, also played a match together. Last year, during a training session between the first team and the Rossoneri youth teams, father and son completed Pioli’s attack.
Max is a winger who has made six appearances this season with the U18s. He loves to go at the left-back, cut inside and shoot on goal, as demonstrated by one of the various videos circulating on the internet.
In 2022, when asked about his children, Ibra became emotional in a press conference when talking about the distance from them and it was another of those moments where the shield falls to the ground revealing the man, and not the persona.
Finally, one of the best images dates back to when Milan won the scudetto in 2011. Vincent has a blonde mohawk and Max had long hair. The two kick the ball towards the goal, applauded by San Siro. Now they dream of playing there, under the eyes of Zlatan.
