Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be playing both legs of the Champions League quarterfinals against Barcelona now that UEFA has lifted the ban on the second match of his two-game ban.
Zlatan is the top scorer and front man at PSG and has been key to the club’s success since his arrival in 2012. The return of the warrior striker has amplified PSG hopes, deflated Barca confidence, and raised the expectations of millions of neutral viewers who will be watching the match on April 2.
Zlatan’s history with Barcelona is a short one but has left a permanent scar on the player. Former Barca coach Pep Guardiola had crippled Ibra’s role as a star player, permanently benched him despite having scored 22 goals and making 15 assists in the season and let his personal feelings for the player cost the club a fortune. Barca were forced to sell Zlatan for a mere 20 million euros, even though he was purchased for 46 million. The power player used every tactic in the transfer book to be sold at the cheapest possible price-tag after it was clear that Guardiola wanted him out.
Zlatan has said a lot about his respect for Messi, Xavi, and Iniesta but his experience at Barca has left a bitter taste that he will fight tooth and nail to spit out with a victory this Tuesday.
But…Barcelona are favorites to win. The four-time European champions finished AC Milan’s realistic hopes of advancing with 4 goals and a clean-sheet. They are confident, fit, and prepared to take on PSG at Parc de Princes. Oh yeah, AND they have Messi. The prolific goal scorer has been unstoppable and I think it’s safe to assume that his magic moves will make an appearance, if not sweep the field.
PSG didn’t walk away from the last champions league match with as much confidence after a tie against Valencia. But they have a solid squad, and with guys like Lavezzi, Brazillian winger Lucas, Beckham, and obviously, Zlatan, they’re bound to create chances and keep pressure on Barca. PSG have far better defense, so that should help them against a club vulnerable in the back – unless they go acting like the AC Milan Rossoneri.
We can expect an exciting match but who will win is tough to predict. Supporters, haters, neutrals will all be playing close attention to Zlatan. How he’ll perform is not as easy to forecast as the performance of the more consistent, statistically superior Messi. But one thing that can be said with certainty is that if anything is a game changer it’s Zlatan’s rage and passion for revenge. For better or worse, the core of his conscious play and the engine of his winning spirit is his seething rage and relentless desire to prove himself to those who don’t believe in him and to those who have tried to kill his dreams. His dreams were killed at Barca (as he had accused Guardiola during his departure from the club) and he has a chance now to retaliate.
Zlatan is possibly the funniest football player but he’s also one of the most intimidating – both on and off the pitch. He doesn’t hold back his in-your-face madness. As his teammate Lucas put it: “He’s loud and always present. He shows he is the big player who knows what he wants. He leaves you in pieces…He’s funny, but crazy.”
Reporters seem to struggle with praising Zlatan without injecting the all too typical opinions of his arrogance and when he makes a pass they have a need to call it selfless. But what they are missing is his winning mentality that empowers not just his own performance, but the performance of the entire team. His shots are venomous and his passes more accurate than seen in most stickers (above 75% accuracy).
He is Zlatan.
Who’s not excited to watch this guy play?
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