ontd_football | not sure it's post-worthy (Reply)

IBRA INTERVIEW: on Milan, Barça, Pep, Mou and Inter.

He shows up more than an hour late – they train at 3pm at Milan AC, and he likes to eat beforehand: gnocchi and tiramisù – and he’s smiling and relaxed. He claps his hands once and sits down. It’s Thursday and Zlatan Ibrahimović (Malmö, Sweden; 29 years old) is feeling talkative today. His face only darkens when he talks about Barcelona and Pep Guardiola.
(...)

Q: And what did you learn at Barça?

A: People’s opinions. Certain people’s opinions… they change very quickly. But yeah, on the pitch, they play the best football in the world.

(...)
On Mou: No. If he had been over the top, and then hadn’t won anything, then I would have answered your question with a ‘yes’. But he won everything, and he will continue to win. I like the way he works. He’s intense, focused… And because he is so different than everyone else, you guys (the journalists) think he’s ‘over the top’ or ‘out of line’. That’s his style, period. You wouldn’t tell a player not to dribble, or to stop scoring goals! How is he not gonna do that if it’s what he does best? This is his specialty. That’s why he is “The Special One”.
(...)
On "growing up" as a player: When I started out, I was much more individualist than now. It was a necessity, if I wanted to reach a certain level. Then you start growing as a player and as a person, and you begin to understand that the team is much more important than you are, because with a team you can win everything, and it’s easier to do it with them then by yourself. If you work for the team, you can go much further.

Mods: if NO1CURR you can delete this, no problem. I just thought it was interesting cause he talks a bit about everything: Pep, Mou, Inter, Milan...

He shows up more than an hour late – they train at 3pm at Milan AC, and he likes to eat beforehand: gnocchi and tiramisù – and he’s smiling and relaxed. He claps his hands once and sits down. It’s Thursday and Zlatan Ibrahimović (Malmö, Sweden; 29 years old) is feeling talkative today. His face only darkens when he talks about Barcelona and Pep Guardiola.

A fishing enthusiast, he tells me he still hasn’t found a nice place to indulge in this hobby of his.

Q: What makes you happy?

A: Seeing that the people around me are happy.

Q: Looking at your past, what do you see?

A: I see Ajax... my first year there wasn’t an easy one. It was my first professional championship, in a new city, a new club, a new language. It was 12 months of hardships and hard work. I learned to play any way that I could.

Q: Since then you’ve been in four other clubs. Do you mind that they see you as the “man with the suitcase always at hand” (read: club whore LMAO)?

A: No, because everywhere I went, my club won, and that means I’ve been doing things right. I’m not one for staying 20 years in a club, because when you do something in your club and it’s something good, then you stop being motivated, you stop growing (as a player) and if you want to keep learning you need to move on. I left Ajax and came to Juve, to “make the leap” so to speak. Then Juve was relegated and I didn’t much care for Serie B, so I left for Inter. I stayed three years, and I won everything there was to win with that particular club. Then I decided to go to Barcelona because it was the best (club).

Q: And because they play the best football, no?

A: I went there because after three years I didn’t feel good in Inter anymore. We made history, that’s true, and I learned a lot there.

Q: And what did you learn at Barça?

A: I learned that football changes quickly, in as little as 24 hours.

Q: What do you mean?

A: People’s opinions. Certain people’s opinions… they change very quickly. But yeah, on the pitch, they play the best football in the world.

Q: It seemed like you didn’t quite fit in in that particular way of playing. You look more comfortable playing calcio.

A: They’re different. Here we’re not all part of the dynamic of a game. Italian clubs always depend on those three or four players that make a difference. The others are just on the sidelines, doing the dirty work. At Barça, every game, all eleven players on the pitch are active. They all actively participate in the game. You play and you try not to lose the ball, you attack, but always with seven players, not three (like they do in Italy A/N).

Q: What do you think about having to play in half-empty stadiums?

A: They were half-empty in Spain as well.

Q: Which stadiums?

A: Well, when Barça plays it’s all sold-out of course, same with Milan when they play away. But if you take, say Hércules-Getafe, then the stadium won’t be full for sure. As for me, I like the Italian fans best, I feel more stimulated. They’re more fervent, they sing and never stop singing. In Barcelona they have fun in different ways: they watch the game closely, yeah, and they clap if you do something good. Here they pour more emotion into it, there’s more tension on the pitch.

Q: Why is it that you don’t like journalists?

A: I had a few bad experiences back in Sweden. All journalists are the same. They write their version of a story to sell more copies. The more outrageous the news, the more they sell. Their only aim when they write is to climb up their ladder and make it to the top. At least, that’s what they do in Sweden. I don’t know about the Italian press. But I never chase the press, I’ll never chase them if I want to make a point. I do all the talking through the way I play on the pitch.

Q: How’s the atmosphere in the locker rooms in Milan?

A: It’s a wonderful atmosphere, we’re all on good terms, and nobody cares if you’re Brazilian, African, Swedish or Czech…

Q: Were things different in Barcelona?

A: Barça players were not as mature as the ones who play here.

Q: You’ve always been accused of being an individualist on the pitch. Thiago Silva stated that Ibrahimović works for himself, and also for his team. What does that mean?

A: When I started out, I was much more individualist than now. It was a necessity, if I wanted to reach a certain level. Then you start growing as a player and as a person, and you begin to understand that the team is much more important than you are, because with a team you can win everything, and it’s easier to do it with them then by yourself. If you work for the team, you can go much further.

Q: When did you realize this?

A: Well, it’s something you just do. I couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment. You realize this little by little, when you lose, when you win… People can give me all sorts of advice, but I can’t change my way of being in 24 hours, because I have my own character and my own playing style.

Q: This year, at Milan, you met a manager (Allegri) who is younger and lacks the level of experience Capello and Mourinho have.

A: Well, I wouldn’t know about that (he bursts out laughing)… He looks quieter than Capello and Mourinho, I’ll give you that, but it’s only because we’re early in the game and things are going well… He looks like someone who could get pissed off, a LOT.

Q: What used to make Mourinho angry?

A: I don’t know. I know that he was always laughing with the team and he had lots of fun giving press conferences. Journalists fear him because he always ANSWERS to the questions. He’s extremely qualified, smart. What, you don’t like him or something?

Q: I was just asking. Don’t you think he’s a little over the top sometimes?

A: No. If he had been over the top, and then hadn’t won anything, then I would have answered your question with a ‘yes’. But he won everything, and he will continue to win. I like the way he works. He’s intense, focused… And because he is so different than everyone else, you guys (the journalists) think he’s ‘over the top’ or ‘out of line’. That’s his style, period. You wouldn’t tell a player not to dribble, or to stop scoring goals! How is he not gonna do that if it’s what he does best? This is his specialty. That’s why he is “The Special One”.

Q: What ‘Special’ side of him did you get to see, personally?

A: He encouraged me before and during the game, and sometimes even afterwards. He’s a winner. His mentality, his personality are simply made to win. And he does win. The good thing is, when I did something wrong, he didn’t ‘destroy’ me, but he did reproach me for it. As a footballer it’s important to know when you’ve done something wrong. It was a good year I spent with him. He came to Inter to win the Champions League, he won it, and then thank you and bye bye.

Q: Well, looking back, you were the one who left Inter too quickly, the one who was left without the Europe Cup.

A: Well, obviously you can’t predict what’s going to happen before it happens… but in the end, Mourinho was right.

Q: What is Pep Guardiola like as a manager?

A: In my opinion, he’s a great manager with little experience. He is too young to manage a team with 22 stars and 22 different personalities. A few of whom have a pretty strong personality (N/T he’s including himself in these ‘few’, he’s not criticizing his Barça teammates).

Q: Publicly, Guardiola has always defended you (taken your side)… (the interviewer then trails off)

A: His problem is that he wants to be perfect all the time. Tiger Woods wanted to be perfect all the time, too…

Q: You mean he isn’t?

A: I mean that at Barça, anyone can be manager. Anyone can manage a club with those 22 players. I could do it, even, it wouldn’t be that hard. They say he won six cups, but who WOULDN’T; with those players? Barça is not a good school, if we’re talking about a team. Now, Ajax was one. It didn’t matter if you did something wrong once, or if you had a fight with a teammate. At Barça, everyone shows up at training an nobody says anything… At Inter, at Milan, at Chelsea, at Manchester it’s different, because there’s 22 players and each of them thinks he’s the best. At Barça they must think the same, too, but nobody says anything. They were all quiet and ‘kept a low profile’. Managing a team with 22 players who have a strong personality isn’t easy, and Guardiola clearly doesn’t know how to do it. Mourinho, on the other hand, can.

Q: Has there ever been a teammate you had a serious argument with?

A: Yep, Zebina back when I was in Juve (Juventus T/N). I also had a little thing with Van Der Vaart: the press made it look like we wanted to kill each other or something, but in reality it was just a stupid little thing. When I get into a club, I’m prepared to kill for my teammates (he’s being figurative here LMAO) because I want to win and when I win they win as well.

Q: What do you expect from the Real Madrid-Milan game?

A: It will be lots of fun. I can’t wait to see Mourinho again.

http://www.elpais.com/articulo/deportes/Guardiola/sabe/gestionar/22/estrellas/Mourinho/elpepidep/20101018elpepidep_19/Tes