Zlatan Ibrahimovic (45 Viewers)
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Ibra on his dramatic rift with Guardiola
Zlatan Ibrahimovic hasn't held back in his forthcoming autobiography, with serialised quotes emerging this week detailing his rift with Pep Guardiola.
Ibra spent the 2009-10 campaign at Barcelona working with the young Coach before returning to Italy in a move to Milan.
The striker has since regularly vocalised his issues with Guardiola and has now put them into writing in the form of his upcoming autobiographical offering.
Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet ran the opening chapter in which Ibra reflects upon his unhappy spell in Spain and how he accused Guardiola of being afraid of Jose Mourinho, at that time in charge of Inter.
“It was a childhood dream [to join Barcelona] and I was walking on air. It started well but then Messi started to talk.
“He wanted to play in the middle, not on the wing, so the system changed from 4-3-3 to 4-5-1. I was sacrificed and no longer had the freedom on the pitch I need to succeed.
“So I asked for a meeting with Guardiola - for a discussion, not an argument. I said I was being used in the wrong way and that they shouldn't have bought me if they wanted another type of player.
“I told him what a friend had said to me - 'you bought a Ferrari but drive it like a Fiat'. The chat seemed to go well but then Guardiola started to freeze me out.
“I would walk into a room; he would leave. He would greet everyone by saying hello, but would ignore me.
“I had done a lot to adapt - the Barca players were like schoolboys, following the Coach blindly, whereas I was used to asking 'why?'.
“I like guys who run red lights, not pedantic and strict rules. So I tried to be overly nice, didn't dare lose my temper.
“But after this I stopped trying to adapt. For example, at Barca, players were banned from driving their sports cars to training.
“I thought this was ridiculous - it was no-one's business what car I drive - so in April, before a match with Almeria, I drove my Ferrari Enzo to work. It caused a scene.”
Ibrahimovic's account continues, translated via Eurosport, as he reveals his worsening behaviour when it became clear that he would be on his way out of the Catalan club.
The below except is in relation to an incident Ibra alleges took place after Barcelona's 4-1 win away to Villarreal on May 1, 2010. It was the first game after the club's Champions League semi-final exit to Mourinho's Inter.
“(Pep) was staring at me and I lost it. I thought 'there is my enemy, scratching his bald head'.
I yelled to him: 'you have no balls!' And probably worse things than that.
“I added: 'You are s***ing yourself because of [Mourinho]. You can go to hell!' I was completely mad.
“I threw a box full of training gear across the room, it crashed to the floor and Pep said nothing, just put stuff back in the box.
“I'm not violent, but if I were Guardiola I would have been frightened.”
FI
Zlatan Ibrahimovic hasn't held back in his forthcoming autobiography, with serialised quotes emerging this week detailing his rift with Pep Guardiola.
Ibra spent the 2009-10 campaign at Barcelona working with the young Coach before returning to Italy in a move to Milan.
The striker has since regularly vocalised his issues with Guardiola and has now put them into writing in the form of his upcoming autobiographical offering.
Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet ran the opening chapter in which Ibra reflects upon his unhappy spell in Spain and how he accused Guardiola of being afraid of Jose Mourinho, at that time in charge of Inter.
“It was a childhood dream [to join Barcelona] and I was walking on air. It started well but then Messi started to talk.
“He wanted to play in the middle, not on the wing, so the system changed from 4-3-3 to 4-5-1. I was sacrificed and no longer had the freedom on the pitch I need to succeed.
“So I asked for a meeting with Guardiola - for a discussion, not an argument. I said I was being used in the wrong way and that they shouldn't have bought me if they wanted another type of player.
“I told him what a friend had said to me - 'you bought a Ferrari but drive it like a Fiat'. The chat seemed to go well but then Guardiola started to freeze me out.
“I would walk into a room; he would leave. He would greet everyone by saying hello, but would ignore me.
“I had done a lot to adapt - the Barca players were like schoolboys, following the Coach blindly, whereas I was used to asking 'why?'.
“I like guys who run red lights, not pedantic and strict rules. So I tried to be overly nice, didn't dare lose my temper.
“But after this I stopped trying to adapt. For example, at Barca, players were banned from driving their sports cars to training.
“I thought this was ridiculous - it was no-one's business what car I drive - so in April, before a match with Almeria, I drove my Ferrari Enzo to work. It caused a scene.”
Ibrahimovic's account continues, translated via Eurosport, as he reveals his worsening behaviour when it became clear that he would be on his way out of the Catalan club.
The below except is in relation to an incident Ibra alleges took place after Barcelona's 4-1 win away to Villarreal on May 1, 2010. It was the first game after the club's Champions League semi-final exit to Mourinho's Inter.
“(Pep) was staring at me and I lost it. I thought 'there is my enemy, scratching his bald head'.
I yelled to him: 'you have no balls!' And probably worse things than that. “I added: 'You are s***ing yourself because of [Mourinho]. You can go to hell!' I was completely mad.
“I threw a box full of training gear across the room, it crashed to the floor and Pep said nothing, just put stuff back in the box.
“I'm not violent, but if I were Guardiola I would have been frightened.”
FI
forza Zlatan!
But Zlatan is like a child (a very strong one) and that makes him fucking irresistible.
