Zlatan Ibrahimovic is perceived as a change in the selection

And here is the ultimate proof that you are a completely new person? That the fears voiced by both experts and fans that he would step in and destroy group dynamics, smashing Janne Andersson’s harmonious national team, no longer have any basis to sustain themselves?

Zlatan also says he has patience with the press corps now, although he does recognize some of the faces in the press conference room. But you shouldn’t try too hard, after all it’s only the first day and you’re tired.

And then the patented glint in his eyes. After all, it is God who has returned, and he is here because both he and Janne know what is best for Swedish football.

What Zlatan says and does in the media is not really important. That is what he does in the field, in the group. In Milan, he joined one of Europe’s youngest troops in the winter of 2020 and quickly assumed something of a father’s role in the team. The young players started acting, they gained self-confidence and have often talked about how important Zlatan’s support has been to them.

And although he is careful to point out that he does not want to talk about his age, he is still 39 years old. He is injured more often now, he has missed 15 games for Milan so far this season, but he has also scored 15 goals in the 15 league games he has played.

The quality of the stock remains the same as it was ten, fifteen, twenty years ago, to use Zlatan’s own ladder when talking about his physique. But the most important thing for both Milan and the national team is perhaps that the experience has become more, the bigger routine. You seem to have a desire to help others.

– It is very easy to talk to him, both on and off the field. He can be a good mentor for a player like me, so he is a lot of fun to play with.says Alexander Isak the day before the game against Georgia.

He thinks he will play alongside Zlatan in tomorrow’s game, but he doesn’t know yet.

In warm-ups during training this week, you see a group standing and trying to keep the ball in the air, the goalkeepers do their part in their group, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Andreas Granqvist and Sebastian Larsson form a triangle and hit the sides widths between each other.

– I think he feels that this is a group that feels very good, says Larsson, who also points out one more thing, something that even those who have been on site and reviewed the training have noticed.

Previousnext

Close full screen mode

Zlatan talks a lot, with Janne Andersson, with other people on the coaching staff and with his teammates. He seems to be wondering things.

– You see a clear will in him to get into the way we play football, how does he make the most of his qualities in the way we play football? I think you noticed. There are many questions, certainly many conversations with Janne but also towards us other players.

It is inevitable that exactly every player this week will be asked about Zlatan Ibrahimovic. He returns to the national team almost five years after he left, and life during Erik Hamrén’s time, where Zlatan took control and established a bit as he wanted, is widely described. But there seems to be none of that left here.

According to information from SportExpressen, it is quite the opposite. Behind closed doors, Zlatan has felt withdrawn and unusually shy. during his first week in what is a completely different selection than the one he left.

Sebastian Larsson is asked at a press conference if he has noticed that Zlatan is more humble now than before.

– I do not know if it is so much about that, you also ask me who has played many games and collections with Zlatan, but has entered and mixed in the group.

When the starting eleven against Georgia rolls around, no one is surprised that Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Alexander Isak start together at the top. But even before kickoff, Zlatan has done more than ever before in his career.

– It was emotional to hear the national anthem. I sang because I promised Janne, Zlatan jokingly says after the game.

Janne Andersson adds:

– It was kind of funny because he sang at someone like that San Remo festival, and then I said that he can probably sing the national anthem too. But that’s a secondary issue. He is very proud to be back in the Swedish national team.

Both the forward himself and the captain of the national team make the analysis after the 1-0 victory that Sweden stalled in the match, and that Zlatan got too few balls to work. Unlike how it was with Erik Hamrén, where all the balls seemed to go to Zlatan, and contrary to the concern that existed, that you would once again build your whole game around giving the ball to Zlatan.

But attendance at the winning goal gives Zlatan, as we know him, the opportunity to appear on social media before even doing so at the press conference.

“Carl XVII Guztaf” he calls himself next to a picture in which he hugs Viktor Claesson.

– That’s right, right? Is there an old king, is there a new king? I took that throne 20 years ago, he says after the game.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CM2_sksHvyp/

Then the “new” Zlatan returns. He talks about how it felt great to be able to wear the national team jersey again, that it tickled his stomach, and that he was tagged and motivated. And the question is if it really is a new Zlatan that we know., or if it really is primarily about being a new national team and a Zlatan a few years older than him, who knows what approach he must take to have a place on this team. And may he feel confident in showing more sides of himself than those in which he is called God, king and lion.

– It’s a completely different seat now, it’s a different team, a new coach. But it was goose bumps, it was just positive energy.