Ibracadabra
The only thing more unbelievable than some of Ibrahimovic's skills is the refusal of the British and Irish public to accept him as a world class footballer...
Every now and again a footballing opinion spreads like wildfire, is adopted as gospel, and is repeated amongst those that worship at the television as some kind of footballing mantra. There have been many sporting opinions I have disagreed with over the years, but arguably the one that grates the most is the idea that Zlatan Ibrahimovic is no more than an average footballer.
I do feel I have to declare some baggage at customs. Being born in Sweden, there is a slight bias that could be levelled at me, particularly ever since his magical backheel against the Azzurri at Euro 2004, but I am always careful to put aside any of this when writing in any capacity. Strangely, his performances at Euro 2004 are always overlooked when it comes to the opinion of the average football fan in the emerald isle, but the gospel is preached all the same; Ibrahimovic has never performed on the big stage, in the champions league, the world cup or the European championships.
This does him a grave injustice. However, before dealing with these accusations let's look at the positive. Ibrahimovic has an exquisite touch, and an exquisite footballing brain. Those in the know at Inter have compared him with Dennis Bergkamp, a personal footballing hero of mine and one of the finest I have ever seen play the game. In ways this is accurate; those who saw his sumptious backheeled pass against Bologna this season would no doubt agree. What Ibragoal has that Bergkamp never did however is pace and power. He is deceptively quick, and his lanky frame belies a strength that is perfectly in sync with what his manager, Jose Mourinho likes in a frontman. His goal record while patchier in his early years, has been straight out of the top drawer at Inter; 53 goals in 86 starts. This is comparable with Fernando Torres strike rate at Liverpool to put this into perspective, and in a league where it is arguably more difficult for a striker to score lots of goals given the tactical mindset.
It is ironic given the physical similarities that along with Francesco Totti, Ibrahimovic is probably the most underappreciated footballer from Serie A amongst English and Irish fans. The accusation that he did not turn up to the 2006 world cup or Euro 2008 is a ridiculous one given the fact he was carrying reasonably serious injuries during both tournaments. While he has not performed to his best during champions league knockout games for whatever reason, his phenomenal performances for a poor Swedish side at Euro 2004 along with some terrific games against the biggest teams in Serie A should be enough to show those of us in the west what a brilliant footballer he is. Jose Mourinho has labelled him as the best player in the world ahead of the likes of Messi and Ronaldo, and one suspects this may be more than hyperbole.
It is in my opinion the sky factor which is holding him back from being anointed with the likes of Torres, Eto'o and Aguero as one of the best strikers in world football. It is sad that Serie A football is no longer available for us to watch without knowing about the sources that exist for football streaming in the depths of the internet. Without the likes of the fantastic James Richardson to host shows like Football Italia, the hidden delights of what is still in the top 3 footballing leagues in the world will remain hidden for a long time yet. While Messi, Robben, Forlan and Navas show off their skills on a weekly basis on our sky boxes, it is one of footballs great tragedies that we are unable to tune in to see Ibracadabra's latest trick for the Nerazzurri at the San Siro.
posted by Oz @ 10:00 PM
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