Ibrahimovic scored a splendid goal on Sunday at Udinese -

AFP

  • Zlatan Ibrahimovic will face Losc this Thursday in the Europa League.

  • The AC Milan striker is still performing well despite his 39 years, including seven goals in Serie A.

  • Longevity at the highest level which can be explained in several ways according to Sylvain Armand and Christophe Jallet, former teammates of Zlatan at PSG.

His goal still amazed the whole football planet.

Sunday Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored against Udinese with a splendid bicycle.

At 39, the Swede from AC Milan seems immortal.

Despite a ruptured cruciate ligaments in his right knee in 2017, despite the coronavirus he contracted in September, despite his very advanced age for a striker, Zlatan remains unstoppable.

Already author of 8 goals in 7 games played this season, Ibra is still the immense star of an AC Milan, dashing leader of Serie A, which receives Lille this Thursday (9 pm) in the Europa League.

How does this serial goalscorer who started in pro twenty years ago still be so strong?

Some answers with Sylvain Armand and Christophe Jallet, his former teammates at PSG (2012-2016).

Because he's a huge competitor

Blown away but not surprised by the performance of his ex-teammate, Christophe Jallet believes that one of Zlatan's strengths is his hatred of defeat.

“He always wants to win everything so it's really not surprising to see him at this level.

From the moment he is on the pitch, it is because he knows he has the capacity to perform, otherwise he would have already stopped.

He's proving that nothing can stop him.

Neither injuries, nor the coronavirus, nor his age, ”says the former right-back, now a consultant on Téléfoot.

This thirst to win is felt even until training sessions where Ibra never lets anything go.

Even if it means scaring his teammates sometimes, as Sylvain Armand tells us.

“In Paris, he was perhaps scary but he was someone who was very nice in a locker room.

On the other hand, in training or in matches, it is competition above all and nothing else.

We had the right to miss games but we had to give him the ball all the time even if he had four players around him.

And in training, when he lost the games, he sulked, he was not happy.

He is someone who rooms a lot when he wins but he doesn't like to be roomed when he loses.

So after, to chamber him, we waited 10-15 minutes, the time he calmed down a bit, ”remembers the former defender of Nantes, Paris and Rennes with a laugh.

Because when Ibra got angry all red, it was better to shut up.

“He's a real sore loser.

He has treated us several times in the locker room at half-time.

Because we weren't winning, because we weren't giving him enough the ball.

He spoke sharply to us.

He scared us when he got angry.

However, everyone respected him.

No one answered him because he was imposing and he had such a dark look that good… (

laughs

).

But at least it's blunt.

I also find that Paris has less hatred of defeat since he left, ”recognizes Armand.

Because he's a hard worker who doesn't go overboard

With his legendary arrogance, Ibrahimovic can also give the impression of being a bit of a dilettante.

Except that it is quite the opposite.

The Swede is very serious about the job.

“He's someone who is very demanding of himself whether in training or outside.

He is always very careful to be in good physical condition to perform as well as possible in training and not to get injured.

He does everything to be on top all the time.

It is an example to follow and its longevity is the embodiment of it.

He is one of the players who does a lot of work before and after training in terms of care and recovery to be able to perform as efficiently as possible on the pitch, ”explains Jallet.

At 39, Zlatan Ibrahimovic is involved in 8 goals in 4 Serie A matches this season:



⚽️⚽️ vs Bologna


⚽️⚽️ vs Inter Milan


⚽️⚽️ vs AS Roma


⚽️🎯 vs Udinese



👑 Top scorer in the championship.



Inexhaustible.

💪 pic.twitter.com/LP40UZD6tv

- Football News (@ActuFoot_) November 1, 2020

“This is not someone who took advantage of his star status not to train.

On the contrary: he was always on time.

He worked before, he worked after and often left in the last.

He set the example from every point of view even outside where he was always very serious.

When we had meals between us, he would drink a beer or a glass of wine and then basta.

It is also this healthy lifestyle that has made its strength, ”says Armand.

Far from making the nightly headlines, Zlatan leads more of an ascetic life.

A tidy, very family life that allowed her to quickly recover from her cruciate ligament rupture suffered three years ago.

“Already his body is strong enough so he has the framework to recover from this kind of injury, even at 36 years old.

It is also linked to all the upstream work he has done throughout his career, this requirement that he has imposed on himself to stay athletically on top.

He does not make gaps, He is very serious in the work, the preparation, the recovery.

Anyway, we can't do otherwise if we want to remain competitive at 39, ”admires Jallet.

Because he has a game made to last

If it is not rare to see defenders or midfielders pass the quarantine at the highest level, the thing is much less common for attackers as recognized by Christophe Jallet.

“It's not a job where you make old bones because it requires a lot of investment in meetings.

These are organisms that are suffering because there is a lot of high intensity running ”.

Except that Zlatan is not like the other attackers.

Because he has a style of play that allows him to last.

“It's not the player who's going to make fifty deep calls.

He is in point of fixation, he projects himself well into the box but in his career he has rarely made many calls to the sides to overflow.

He also makes less defensive effort than some attackers.

And he doesn't need to change his game to stay successful.

He's the same player he was 10 or 15 years ago with a technical palette that's still impressive, ”said the former PSG right-back.

Because he has a disproportionate ego

King of punchlines and inveterate lodger, Zlatan has always had a disproportionate ego that doesn't just serve to amuse or annoy the gallery.

This confidence in him also allows him to last at the highest level according to Sylvain Armand.

“He's someone who never panics even when he misses two games in a row.

Unlike other attackers, he is never in doubt.

There will always be Zlatan.

He has an ego that allows him to move forward but also to move others around him.

Everywhere he goes, he deserves statues ”.

For Christophe Jallet, it was Ibra's legendary pride that pushed her to join Milan even after a stint in Los Angeles that many already considered as early retirement.

“I don't think he's someone who would like to see themselves struggling on the pitch.

If he chose to join AC Milan after his stint in the United States, it is because he still felt capable of shining.

I don't think he would have liked to return to Italy in a weak position, ”said the former French international.

Our dossier on the Europa League

Moreover, his two former teammates still see him pursue his career at the highest level for a few more years.

"The day he stops, it is because he will no longer feel capable of being the best", according to Jallet.

Sylvain Armand goes even further.

“He likes challenges.

So if he can become the oldest player in football history, he will do it, ”half-laughs the ex-defender.

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