Sweden head coach Janne Andersson has revealed his delight that Zlatan Ibrahimovic has returned to the fold after an almost five-year absence.
There were rumours circling for weeks suggesting that Ibrahimovic would be called up for the Swedish national team ahead of their games later this month, and now his comeback has been made official.
The 39-year-old returns after an absence of over four years and will be available for Sweden’s World Cup qualifiers later this month against Georgia and Kosovo plus a friendly against Estonia.
Andersson spoke about the return of Ibrahimovic to the squad upon the announcement of the call-ups, with his comments relayed by Calciomercato.com.
“It’s nice to see that Ibrahimovic wants to return to the national team. I can’t wait to see the team again, after the postponement of the November games due to the pandemic,” Andersson said.
“As for Zlatan, he is the best player we have had available in recent years, and to know that he wanted to return, it was great news. In addition to what he can give on the pitch, he has incredible experience and can pass it on to the rest of the team.
“We had a great conversation when we met in November. Now Zlatan has been injured, but he’s recoverable and I’ve decided to call him. I’m really glad he’s here. Will he be at the European Championships? Since he’s part of the squad, he will be important. also for the Euros. He said yes to the return, so it will also be included for the Euros.
“The details of the meeting? What we have discussed remains between us, at least the details of the conversation. What I can say is about the spirit of the meeting. we had a good chat and we believed what we said, otherwise he wouldn’t be here. We talked, as perhaps never before, about each other. We solved what had to be solved and found a way forward.”
Ibrahimovic responded to the news in very typical Zlatan fashion on social media, posting a picture of himself in a Sweden jersey from a few years ago with the caption: “The return of the God”.
