Paul Hayward´s War on Zlatan Ibrahimovic
15th September 2009
I’ve never really liked Paul Hayward as a football writer. I find him self-obsessed and egotistical, and on more than the odd occasion, I disagree with his opinions. I also find the portrait that accompanies his pieces in The Observer absolutely risible. I have never seen someone look so smug. When he moved over to The Observer (my Sunday newspaper of choice) from The Daily Mail a while back, I actually groaned. And I’m not a man that groans too much.
Back in June he called Zlatan Ibrahimovic ‘…a Serie A myth who shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near the new European Champions…’
Take a moment to read that back again. That is an absolutely ridiculous thing to say about a world class footballer, whether you think he is overrated or not. He ‘shouldn’t be allowed’ to play for Barcelona? Even if the manager - who has just won a league, cup and Champions League treble at his first attempt - wants to sign him? Now, if you’re reading this and thinking that Ibrahimovic is the most overrated player to have ever walked the Earth (Hi Martin), surely you wouldn’t begrudge him the chance to prove you wrong by saying he ‘doesn’t deserve’ to play for Barcelona? He’s an international footballer, for pity’s sake!
I think we should be pleased that Zlatan has been given a chance to prove himself at a club that has a realistic chance of winning things on the European stage. Even a cursory glance over his record would show that he has a just-under one in two scoring record; great for a player that offers so much more than goals. He performs consistently well for Sweden, was Serie A top scorer last year and Serie A Footballer of the Year in 2008. He’s also scored some of the most spectacular goals I’ve ever seen, for Ajax, Sweden and Inter, and has started his Barca career beautifully, scoring two in two league games and linking up with Messi and Henry superbly well. In fact, you could argue convincingly that Ibra has never really had his chance to perform in Europe with a top level team. Inter and Ajax are nowhere near the level they once were, and outside of the English clubs, only Real Madrid or Barcelona are going to have a good shot at winning the ECL this year.
Meanwhile, look out for Paul Hayward changing his tune as soon as it suits him should Zlatan set Europe and La Liga on fire this season. He’s already showing signs of softening his absolutely ludicrous stance here:
If you can’t be bothered to read the entire piece, then Fabio Capello’s quote is probably the most telling:
"When Zlatan arrived in Italy he was a rough diamond. But now he is very complete, the best striker in the world and impossible to mark inside the penalty area. I know comparing Van Basten to Ibrahimovic is like comparing Picasso to Rothko, but I believe that because of his power and his technique Zlatan will become stronger than Marco.
Zlatan needed to learn and mature, but he´s an intelligent lad. He also has an incredible gift for maintaining his position, freeing himself from defenders and at the same time seeing a pass, a space or a chance to shoot. What Van Basten and Ibra have in common is their natural elegance. We´re talking about giants who are like poetry in motion."
Oh and then there´s Paolo Maldini, who I think we can all agree has seen a few strikers come and go, asking a team-mate upon seeing Zlatan for the first time: "Who is this phenomenon?"
So, according to Paul Hayward, he’s a ‘myth’. But according to European Cup winner and tactical genius Fabio Capello, he ‘will become stronger than Van Basten’. High praise indeed, and I know whose opinion I’ll take, thanks Paul.
Luke Moore
Do you rate Zlatan? Or do you agree with Paul Hayward and Martin O’Neill and think he is a ‘myth’. Discuss this topic below.
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Will
:::2009-09-15 15:28:22
To be honest you just have to accept that Hayward has watched very little of Ibra beyond his few games for Sweden and Inter where he has come up against England/English teams (and usually not done very well). It´s a bit like when the BBC showed Inter - Ac last year. LIneker and Hansen were making sweeping comments about all sorts of players and you were just thinking, "have you ever actually seen Dejan Stankovic play before, or was this the first Serie A match you´ve watched since your manager showed you a tape of your next European opposition"
Rupert_SAF
:::2009-09-15 15:33:47
I have been saying this for a couple of years now, and it´s usually greeted with groans of disbelief, but....
On his day - Zlatan is the best footballer on the planet! Let´s hope he will make it ´his day´ a little more often in a Barca shirt. He is a joy to watch, players like him are the reason I watch football.
Mat
:::2009-09-15 15:33:59
Ibrahimovic´s record and reputation among managers and other professionals should be enough to silence anyone who would suggest he doesn´t ´deserve´ to play for a club like Barcelona.
Hayward sounds like someone (like myself, admittedly) who has only seen Ibrahimovic underperform in the Champions League in recent seasons - he was anonymous against Man Utd last season, for example - and hasn´t watched him play domestically. I haven´t had a chance to properly see him play - but I´m sure he must be great and I´d be stupid to write him off based on some wonky CL form. You´d laugh at anyone who tried to do the same with Ronaldo, for example.
Mourinho once described him as the best striker he´d ever managed. That, and the above Capello quote, are more than good enough for me - and surely enough of a recommendation to get him a job at the Nou Camp.
Tony O´Sullivan
:::2009-09-15 15:40:31
I am baffled that people (especially pro journalists) still believe in this "myth".
Does Paul Hayward not know there is football outside of the Premier League?
Ibra will show the doubters this year what a wonderful player he is, I have no doubts about that
Luke
:::2009-09-15 15:44:22
Ibrahimovic is one of is not the best striker in the world! He´s been quality ever since he started at ajax and hes only got better and stronger since.
do think barca over payed for him a bit though, i think i straight swap between him and eto would have been fair, but barca know they have a world class striker with Zlatan and i would be surprised to see be top scorer for them this season.
Neil Macdonald
:::2009-09-15 16:04:39
I accept Ibrahimovic is a top player, but on the occasions I have seen him live - in the Champions League against Liverpool - he has underperformed.
Hopefully with Barca, he will flourish alongside a calibre of player he never played with at Inter or Juve, just as long as he doesn´t do it against the Reds!
Simon O´Brien
:::2009-09-15 16:16:48
Hayward´s a clown, I´d love to punch him in the soul.
The Zlatan argument has been done to death, but until he has a great game against English opposition he´s going to be dismissed as a showpony, because the pundits in England don´t have any knowledge of, nor interest in, football outside of these shores bar Barcelona and Real Madrid (it´ll be interesting to see how opinion of Ibra shifts now that he appears on that radar).
Obviously it doesn´t help that for the majority of his time at the highest level (i.e. since he moved to Italy) there hasn´t been much exposure to him in this country. To an extent, that can justify people considering him to be overhyped - if he´s got a reputation as a world class player but you´ve never seen him play well, then you´re going to note that discrepancy.
Personally I´ve seen him play perhaps ten times, and he´s never done a huge amount. The same goes for Ribery, while the goalscoring records of Toni and Klose feel like fiction to me because they´ve both been awful when I´ve seen them play. But the idea of Hansen dismissing Ibra as crap because he didn´t play well in TWO games against Liverpool - where he didn´t actually play badly anyway - is obscene. The same year Messi didn´t really turn it on in either leg against United, so presumably he can be dismissed as a fairweather player as well - won´t like those cold Tuesday nights away to Bolton, will he Alan?
Similarly, when Spain played England a couple of years ago, John Motson spoke about David Villa as though he was a pub player Spain had found working as a waiter in the local hotel - because he didn´t play for Madrid or Barca. Ridiculous.
It´s obvious from Ibrahimovic´s goalscoring record that he can play a bit, and even on his off days you can tell that he is an exceptional talent (not dissimilar to Berbatov´s first six months at Spurs, where he was largely underwhelming but still looked a class apart from everyone else in our shirt) - hopefully now that he´s at a side that the average English football fan can see fairly regularly, he will justify the hype. Either that or he´ll wander around a bit, get fat and find himself replaced by Pedro, Bojan, or any number of other 16-year old Barca academy kiddies that would walk into any side in the Premier League.
Roshan
:::2009-09-15 16:17:14
The criticism geared towards Ibrahimovic appears to stem from the fact that the judgements are made purely upon his Champions League and International performances. He scored 25 La Liga goals last season and has scored 2 in 2 this season for Barce.
I think we will see the "youtube Ibrahimovic" in Europe this season. He´ll be playing in a more attacking minded side surrounded by flair players and will prove his worth.
On the face of it the swap deal seemed crazy, however the disruptive influence from Eto´o on the Barcelona dressing room has been well documented in the Spanish press.
Sam Keefe
:::2009-09-15 16:23:05
Hi mate,
I was also in disbelief to read Haywards article on Ibra. He is one of if not my favourite player in world football today and I think Cappello´s quotes sum him up to the T. I was at Old Trafford when utd played Inter and fair enough, he didn´t play well but watching him before the game was worth the ticket money itself. I also read an unbelievable stat that Ibra has finished top scorer and league winner in the last 8 out of 10 years. Very few people will have won much more than him considering the leagues he has played. (Italy, Spain, Holland, Sweden)
Overated???? Not a chance. Pure, unadulterated class. Peace x
Dave Flower
:::2009-09-15 16:25:58
Anyone that doesn´t rate Ibra is a bit mentally slow in my opinion. Yes he hasn´t been amazing in Champions Leagues games but what kind of retard judges someone on 2 games?
Ibra is a dominant and quality player. You don´t tend to play for some of the biggest names in European football by being over rated
Nev
:::2009-09-15 17:17:22
I get sick of the anglo-centric media and their ignorance to football not involving English teams. Zlatan dragged that Inter team to the title and consistently scored goals but apparently he only scored against the ´lesser teams´. It´s funny that when Cristiano Ronaldo did the same for United in the Premier League he was the greatest player to ever grace the ´best league in the world´. I really hope Zlatan has an amazing few seasons at Barca so I can watch all the ´experts´ squirm and back track over all the rubbish they´ve spouted.
Rhea
:::2009-09-15 17:33:58
I couldn´t agree with you more... Zlatan is an absolute talent, a phenomenonal player who is on often treated very harshly by the press. He is a legend in the making.
Colin from Glasgow
:::2009-09-15 20:45:41
I emailed you about Zlatan Ibrahimovic jus tthe other week, i think th man is a fantastic player and i expect ALOT of goals from him this season and i think he will be a massive success, to the point he may win ballon d´or finally at Barcelona after Messi wins it this year!
McHugh
:::2009-09-16 00:22:59
Agree with your sentiments Luke. He arguably dragged Inter kicking and screaming to success for 2 years. Yes his record in Europe isnt great, but neither is Inters. Why should he shoulder the blame? Will the same thing happen to eto´o should inter fail in Europe this season?
I look forward to seeing him play in a team who can impose themselves in Europe and hopefully Ibra can show everyone what utter rubbish has been spoken about him. Famously Martin O´neill doesn´t rate him, but then he did buy marlon harewood so he should probably be ignored
like him or loathe him he is undeniably a tremendously talented individual and in a more cohesive team I hope he shoves it in everyones faces
Lord Milky
:::2009-09-16 11:26:25
Luke,
Good article. Enjoy any Hayward bashing going. One comment however seemed a bit suspect:
"Inter and Ajax are nowhere near the level they once were..."
Ajax, sure, but Inter? Seriously? How far back are we going to find this level? 1963/1964 and 1965 where the ref was their star man? The Uefa Cup winning team of ´98 featuring Ze Elias and Taribo West that would soon welcome such luminaries as Grigoris Georgatos?
Don´t get me wrong, I enjoy a Zlatan love-in as much as the next man, but your comment on Inter seems throwaway and lacking in any qualification. Look at the depth and quality of Inter´s squad this season, look at how freely they are playing at the moment (as a team too!) without Ibrahimovic. Yes it´s early days but they really don´t seem to be missing him. Barcelona´s gain, it would seem, is Inter´s as well.
Could it be that the Inter players got too used to the "lump it to Ibrahimovic and let him sort it out" method and have been forced to find some creative freedom in his absence (which is shocking for a Mourinho team)? Just as Barcelona already had that freedom, but now have the "lump it to Ibra" string to their bow if things get sticky.
It pains me to say it as I loathe Mourinho, but I think you are wrong about the Champions League challengers. Take Real Madrid out of your list and throw in Inter; they are now one of the teams that have a chance of lifting the Champions League this season. Getting rid of Ibrahimovic could be one of the best things they have ever done.
Lukey Moore
:::2009-09-16 12:08:41
Wow, cheers for all your comments Ramblers. I didn´t expect to see such quite widespread acclaim for Zlatan, thought he was more of a ´Marmite´ character.
Looking forward to see how he gets on tonight against his old club, that game has got the makings of a classic.
Those of you that have said that various journalists and pundits around England only watch him play in the Champions League against English clubs have hit the nail on the head there, clearly.
Cheers again, Ramble On!
Lukey Moore
:::2009-09-16 12:16:11
Lord Milky - Sorry, just seen your post. Maybe I should offer some clarification.
What I mean by that quote about Inter and Ajax is that, in my opinion, they aren´t serious challengers for the European Cup this season, whereas, in the past, clearly they were. It doesn´t matter how far you go back, that point remains.
If we take Ajax as read, then it´s just Inter we need to clear up. My point about Inter is not ´lacking in any qualification´, it is my view that they do not have the quality of Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester United or Chelsea. So that´s four teams I consider to be stronger than Inter. Your point about selling Zlatan being one of the best things they´ve done has some merit, certainly judging by the way they have started the Serie A season, but I do not accept that Inter are more serious challengers to the ECL than Real Madrid. Just my take on it, and football is all about opinions.
Oh, and don´t forget Inter were serious challengers in 1972, also. Unfortunately they were undone by the brilliance of Johan Cruyff and Ajax.
Lord Milky
:::2009-09-16 12:30:17
Cheers for the reply. Sorted out my query good and proper. Here´s hoping for a good game tonight!
John, Just John
:::2009-09-24 22:09:45
I bloody love that Zlatan I do, for the same reasons I love me ´iccle Petey Crouch-boy. They are players that are easy to deride and criticise because of their obvious physical differences to the majority of professional footballers. Both have proved their doubters wrong on numerous occassions and no longer have to prove anyone wrong or right. Let them get on with it and long may we all enjoy them playing their brand of football... The lanky streaks of p*ss...
;-)
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