Zlatan Ibrahimovic is gearing up to return to action, and it seems that he cannot wait to face off against Inter in the Derby della Madonnina against.
Ibrahimovic’s return to the field will in fact not happen immediately after the break for the World Cup as the 41-year-old is recovering from the knee operation he had in May, so caution is needed.
However, he should be available to Pioli again between the end of January and the beginning of February, while the Rossoneri play Inter in the Supercoppa Italiana on 18 January in Saudi Arabia and the suggestion is that Zlatan won’t be back for that, but could be there for the return league derby in early February.
Ibrahimovic was interviewed by Milan TV for the ‘On the Pitch’ series, and he spoke about his relationship with derby games and the ones against Inter in particular, given that he used to play for the Nerazzurri and there is no love lost.
“There are many rumours before the Derby, the media talk a lot, there are players who they first played for Inter and then went to Milan… When you come on they boo you and it’s the moment I enjoy, it’s the moment that makes me feel alive, because no one can stop me there,” he said (via MilanNews).
“The more they whistle, the better. I’d rather be booed than applauded, throughout my career things have always worked against me, never in my favour. So I prefer it like this, so I load more and if I manage to win it’s the best feeling there is.
“That’s why playing against Inter is a good feeling, it’s obvious that it’s a more heartfelt game than others, but you mustn’t lose your balance, you must be concentrated and do what you usually do, without losing balance and without getting too loaded.
“This also happens, if you don’t have a lot of experience it can happen. Then there are players who feel this game in a particular way, and when they enter the field they lose control. This happens too.”
