Zlatan Ibrahimovic is slowly approaching a year since his return to AC Milan, and he reflected on the return consistently during the squad’s American tour, with the latest interview offering him a chance to speak about the importance of mentorship.
When Ibrahimovic returned to the club as a player, the main reasoning was likely due to the mentorship that he could provide within the dressing room, offering years of experience to his teammates, and valuable lessons that coaches often cannot teach.
In many ways, the reasoning for his latest return was the same. Losing Paolo Maldini had some effect on things, whether on the pitch or off it, and Milan lost a huge presence around Milanello and footballing knowledge that only the greats understand.
However, when Zlatan arrived, that knowledge was refound, albeit the two are in completely different stages of their career outside of playing. The Swede is regularly seen around the training ground and has a large role across several fields – probably, his role will only grow as he further learns his role in the months and years to come.
Speaking to The Athletic in the United States, Ibrahimovic spoke about the opportunity and what led him to rejoin the club.
Inspiring the younger generation…
“I’m not a babysitter. My players, they’re adults and they have to take responsibility. They have to do 200 per cent even when I’m not there. My role is to connect everything; to be a leader from above and to make sure the structure and organisation works. To keep everybody on their toes.”
Returning to Milan…
“When I came the second time, it was more about giving than taking. I wanted to open the way for a new generation. You’re the example, saying, ‘Listen, this is how it works’. When you’re in Milan, it’s the elite of the elite: pressure, demands, obligations.
“You have to take responsibility, become a man, because a player is not only about the field, but also the person outside. I was the reference point. I didn’t have an ego about it. I was like some kind of… Guardian angel. So all the pressure would come onto me, not on them, but at the same time I pressured them.
“It depends on the person. I didn’t need to score one goal more or one goal less. It would not change my career. It was more about preparing the future for the other ones because I believe this young generation needs a leader to follow. If you don’t have examples, especially when you’re playing at great clubs, who will show the way?
“I did it in a way where it was not about me, it was about the team. All these young guys that had never played in the Champions League and had never won. When you get older, you need to find trigger points. It’s not about contracts after 20 years. My trigger point was to show the path for the young team.”
And without his return, we’d still have only 18 scudettos. Fact.