What Would Signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic Mean for AC Milan?
By Gang Chomba on February 25, 2016.
When Zlatan Ibrahimovic left for Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2012,
AC Milan lost more than a football player. They lost a hugely influential status symbol, on and off the pitch.
The tall, elegant Swede is a one-man brand, a known force the world over. Skilful, audacious and theatrical, his departure was part of a gradual downsizing that left the Rossoneri devoid of inspiration and, eventually, European football.
When Ibrahimovic joined the Parisian club at 30 years old for a BBC Sport-
reported £15.7 million fee, it would have been fair to assume he would not set foot in the San Siro as a Milan player again. However, recent rumours suggest he could soon be gracing the Serie A club with his presence once more.
Corriere dello Sport (h/t Football Italia ) reported that with his contract expiring at the end of this season, “Rossoneri owner Silvio Berlusconi...is ready to launch a new bid for him.”
The deal-breaker could well be Milan reaching the Champions League. As it stands, the club lies in sixth in the table, eight points off a Champions League spot with 12 fixtures left to play.
Qualification for Europe’s elite club competition—and therefore signing Ibrahimovic—remains a possibility. But what would the player’s signature mean for the club?
In his two-year spell with Milan between 2010 and 2012, Ibrahimovic was a hugely important player. During both seasons combined, he had a direct hand in 42.4 per cent of the team’s league goals, scoring 42 of his own and setting up 17.
His attacking prowess hasn’t slowed down in France. Despite entering his 30s, he has remained a goal machine, scoring 98 times in 112 Ligue 1 appearances thus far. This season, for the first time in his career, he has scored more league goals than he has played games.
Clearly, Ibrahimovic still has it. And there should be no qualms about his ability to handle rigorous Serie A defences, even at 34 years of age; Francesco Totti and Luca Toni (39 and 38 respectively) offer plenty of evidence that, in Italy, the brain can carry the body even as a forward's legs begin to slow.
Undoubtedly, Ibrahimovic would bring goals. The only uncertainty regards exactly how he would fit into the current environment at Milan.
Sinisa Mihajlovic is on the verge of building an effective, cohesive team.
Spirit within the camp is high, and the players are bonding with the Serbian coach, something Ignazio Abate referenced after the recent draw away to
Napoli, telling Sky Sport Italia (h/t
Football Italia ): “We’re a team with soul.”
Mihajlovic has shown strong man-management skills and isn’t one for coddling players or favouritism. All players must give maximum effort or face the substitutes' bench. They must also work for the collective, something Ibrahimovic has not always done.
His big personality and individualistic streak may not go well with Mihajlovic’s ideas. Furthermore, within the coach’s favoured 4-4-2 system, it could be difficult to pair the tall centre-forward with strike sensation Carlos Bacca.
Bacca works well on the shoulder of the last man but needs someone to work hard and pull strings behind him.
Ibrahimovic prefers a role with greater freedom and may not be keen on playing a second-striker role at this stage of his career.
Thus, both tactically and personally, there are doubts as to whether a possible Ibrahimovic return to Milan would work.
Although he would add to the club’s shirt sales and would cost no transfer fee as a result of being out of contract, the financial implications of signing him may not be worth the potentially disjointing effect on the team.
With a bullish coach, a highly promising crop of young players and a developing team, the Rossoneri are moving forward for the first time in years. Ibrahimovic played a key role in Milan’s past, but that is where his story with the club
