Yahoo Sports GdS: ‘Here comes Zlatan’ – Ibrahimovic expected to hold discussions at Milanello
Zlatan Ibrahimovic will play an important role in once again trying to stabilise AC Milan in a difficult moment, according to a report.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) write this morning, Ibrahimovic’s comment after the September international break received a mixed response, as he said: “When the lion goes away, the kittens come closer. But when he comes back, the kittens disappear.”
At the time, Ibra had been absent from Italy for weeks due to professional reasons, despite remaining in constant telephone contact with key figures at Milan Milan, from the management to Paulo Fonseca and the players.
However, this caused some controversy and the Swede – who returned to Milan before the Champions League match against Liverpool – responded in his own way by speaking in riddles with the media and adding a comedic tinge.
During the October break the senior advisor of RedBird Capital has mostly remained in the city, as evidenced by the videos posted on Instagram while he is on a trip to the mountains, trying his hand at ping pong or having fun playing football on a padel court, in his centre on the outskirts of Milan.
Perhaps it was there that he got the cut to his head which was always shown via social media. Mystery fuelled by Zlatan himself, who limited himself to joking about it with his friends, without revealing the details.
More Stories about Zlatan Ibrahimovic
GdS: ‘Here comes Zlatan’ – Ibrahimovic expected to hold discussions at Milanello
Tuttosport: Zlatan’s intervention and ‘no more mistakes’ – Milan must see change
CM: ‘Where has Ibrahimovic gone?’ – fleeting presence leaves Milan exposed
Ibra is likely to be back at the training ground today, if not tomorrow on the eve of the match against Udinese. In recent days it was the director’s turn: Geoffrey Moncada made the club’s closeness to the dressing room felt, with frequent visits to Milanello.
Now that practically all the national team players have returned to Italy, Zlatan will be the one to lead the charge. Milan lost their last two matches before the international break, and if the Leverkusen defeat in the Champions League did not damage the confidence in the team’s growth, the one at Fiorentina was a clear step backwards.
Ibrahimovic is not the type who likes to lose and he will certainly remind Fonseca and the players of this, looking at them one by one. Not so much to criticise or reproach, but to understand and stimulate.
It is a bit like what the Swede had done in the days leading up to the derby, when Milan seemed one step away from the abyss and pulled off perhaps the best performance of this part of the season, interrupting Inter’s series of six consecutive victories in the Derby della Madonnina.
Contrary to some rumours, Zlatan has an excellent relationship both with Fonseca and with the dressing room, which is made up of various elements who until recently were his team-mates. With many of them the relationship hasn’t changed that much from the past, like Theo Hernandez.
After all, when Ibrahimovic returned to Milan as a player – in 2020 – he not only added goals and quality on the pitch, but above all established personality and desire to win in the dressing room. Even now that he can no longer make his direct contribution in the match, he still has to push the right buttons.
