Zlatan Ibrahimovic made his long-awaited return to the field on Sunday night in the win over Atalanta, and his contribution to the team is still obvious.
La Gazzetta dello Sport recall how back on 21 March 2021 the Rossoneri won 3-2 away at Fiorentina with goals from Ibrahimovic, Calhanoglu and Brahim Diaz. It feels like a lifetime ago, but back then people said ‘When Ibra scores, Milan never lose’ and now in February 2023 they are saying ‘Since he came back, Pioli has always won’.
It is true as well, because Zlatan returned to training with the squad before the match against Torino, took part in the sessions before the Tottenham game and was in the squad for the games against Monza and Atalanta, coming on against La Dea in the last 15 minutes. In short, 4 wins out of 4.
Pioli has described the 41-year-old as a ‘lion and a leader’, and the post-match interview after the Atalanta game was peak Ibra as he joked with Ambrosini, spoke about his personal struggle, pledged to contribute decisively and also gave a rather humorous update on Leao’s renewal.
Back in December 2019 Ibrahimovic decided to come back to Milan after they have just lost 5-0 to Atalanta in Bergamo. He told Mino Raiola that he wanted to return, and boldly exclaimed: “I’m back to bring the Rossoneri back to where they deserve to be.”
In 2022 the Rossoneri won the Scudetto with a 3-0 victory against Sassuolo and his speech in the dressing room before the match is why Ibra is so important. There is the leadership of a champion plus the confidence of the squad in a player who has won basically everything, and so it’s no coincidence that Milan have achieved four victories since his return.
Ibrahimovic has had plenty to say to individuals in the past, such as his comments on Leao’s potential and telling Kalulu not to wear gloves on a freezing night in Prague, all coming from a place of love to try and instil a resilient mentality.
Now, Zlatan is chasing the record of oldest scorer in the history of Serie A – which one goal would see him achieve – and yet another qualification for the Champions League.
Once zlatan kicked a rubber ball back then, it’s now called football 🙂
Zlatanera thats what this guy do best fotballer ever !wow if maradona repects him wow what can i say ??the best player ever and is getting better and beter ……