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Barcelona's Ibrahimovic returns to Inter as Champions League titans prepare to clash once more
Barcelona and Inter Milan are ready to lock horns again. After the Catalonians dealt with Inter with relative comfort in the group stage - winning 2-0 at home and drawing 0-0 in Italy - Tuesday’s game will prove to be a much sterner test as Jose Mourinho seeks to land Inter their first European Cup since the 1960s and first of the Champions League era.
One player who will be particularly relishing the tie is Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and few players divide opinion more than the Swede. To his doubters he is a lazy, overpaid big-game bottler. To his worshippers, a flamboyant and magical embodiment of how the game should be played. Arguably, he is the complete attacker, although it seems he has still not done enough to convince his critics. To have any hope of overturning this negative attitude towards the striker, it helps to try to dispel the myths so easily associated with Ibra.
‘He doesn’t turn up for the big games’ is the trademark cliché that is banded around by pundits with monotonous regularity when discussing Ibrahimovic. However, examples of how Ibra has proved pivotal in important games are numerous. In the final game of the 2007/08 season, Inter Milan required a win away to Parma to secure the title. With the match locked at 0-0, off the bench came Ibrahimovic to literally single-handedly win Inter the Scudetto by firing in a double. Depending on one’s perception of what constitutes a “big game”, people who know football recognise the importance that Ibra has played in the fortunes of his clubs to date.
‘He’s too lazy’ is another common criticism directed at Zlatan. However, the accusers often fail to fully understand the way he plays. He is a unique player who likes to attack different areas of the pitch compared to the average out-and-out striker. He also possesses the ability to hold up the ball, and bring his teammates into play from an attacking position. For what he lacks in movement he makes up for with what he can do productively with the football. Ibra was the focal point of Inter’s Scudetto-winning sides for the past three seasons, and after his 25-league goal return last season, laziness simply does not come into the equation.
‘He never scores against English teams’ is a bandwagon which was quickly jumped on by the English media. During Barcelona’s recent encounter with Arsenal, the statistic was repeated by the commentary team to the point of almost sheer obsession, until, of course, Zlatan broke the deadlock. Such is the fickle nature of statistics, they can be manipulated to suit certain opinions or create an air of drama. For example, to date Wayne Rooney has scored zero goals against Spanish opposition in six attempts. This fact has been conveniently ignored by the English media, yet is every bit as significant as Ibra’s record against English teams. Such statistics prove little, as the information is not particularly detrimental to the ability of either player.
Despite the negative associations with Ibrahimovic, he will continue to entertain those who fully appreciate what a special player he is. Any suggestions that he has not sufficiently replaced Samuel Eto’o should be treated with caution, as the two strikers are at opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of styles. Turning it on in the forthcoming two legs will give Ibra another chance to silence those who rashly dismiss him just because he has never shown much interest in playing in the Premier League.
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