The Zlatan Ibrahimovic Appreciation Thread

Jigga

Thanks for funding Internazionale to the Champions League Final Zlatan

Nemanja91

I don't care what others say but I think he is quality.

Mr Alan

i thought he was quality, but the more i watch him, the more i'm just not sure.

jaykay74

He is a good player but the fee Barca paid was ridiculous. Should be given another season to prove himself.

nullzero

He gets the job done against the small clubs.
When he's faced with an important CL game or the like he looks like he couldn't finish his dinner.
Makes Berbatov look amazing by contrast.
The second highest paid footballer in the world? The world really has gone mad.

mayordenis

Excellent player.

eZe^

nullzero wrote: »

He gets the job done against the small clubs.
When he's faced with an important CL game or the like he looks like he couldn't finish his dinner.
Makes Berbatov look amazing by contrast.
The second highest paid footballer in the world? The world really has gone mad.

Sigh,

Stuttgart away - Goal.
Arsenal away- 2 Goals.
Real Madrid home- Goal.

He's twice the player Berbatov is.

He's a very good striker for Barcelona. For Inter he was an amazing striker capable of doing something godlike every now and then. He's not utilised properly at Barca, thus he isn't allowed to flourish. However, I agree that the price paid for him was utterly ridiculous, again though, that's not his fault.

GLaDOS

nullzero wrote: »

When he's faced with an important CL game or the like he looks like he couldn't finish his dinner.

Apart from Stuttgart.

And Arsenal.

Twice.

Headshot

personally speaking

I think he's a good player no where near 40m but that's not my main point

I love watching eto'o at barca, he was my favourite player there and i honestly think barca made a mistake of swapping him for ibra.

I think pep's logic behind it was to get some body in who was a lot different than what he as now, a vocal point, someone who can hold up the ball and header. Im sorry but ibra just doesnt do the previous skills enough for me, he has that touch of genuis i get that but when your chips are down do you want ibra or eto'o as your striker, i know who'd i pick.

I also feel ibra is very inconsistent. before I head off I think ibra doesnt suit into the barca way imo

Carcharodon

Obviously the deal Barca made for him was just insane, thats the kind of deal a club would make for the very very best in the likes of Ronaldo or Messi. He is not at that level.

Taking the money out of it, I never did see what some people saw in him, not a bad player by any means but just a good player to have in your squad that can give you that little something different at times.

Also agree with the above post, feel he can be very inconsistent.

Kristopherus

He's bloody useless. Has not justified the huge money Barca spent on him. They should buy back E'to and send Ibra back to where he originally came from. Absolutely a waste of space tonight.

The_Kew_Tour

Good player, but not great player.

ziggy

This post has been deleted.

Jigga

Eto'o, Lucio, Mlito,Sneijder >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Lazy Swede who was taken off after an hour in both legs of the semi final when Barca were desperate to score

Bodhisopha

Easy target for the Dunphys and the rest of this world who know next to nothing about football. When Rooney or Ronaldo have a bad game they just weren't at the races. When Ibra has a bad game he's a flop.

I feel for the guy, he was massively overpriced and as a consequence of that will always get the flop accusations thrown at him.

adox

He can always turn a game with a moment of sheer brilliance but they are very few and far between. He's been inconsistent throughout his career and can contribute little or nothing in many games.

Not for me. Overrated by too many people IMO.

Mr.Nice Guy

I thought he looked great at the start of the season when I watched him. He seems to have faded since then. I think he's scored 8 goals in 18 games or something like that. Not a bad return for most strikers but at Barca, with a massive transfer fee on your shoulders, you will be under massive scrutiny all the time and that return won't silence the doubters. He probably needed to be producing a strike-rate akin to Cristiano Ronaldo to win everyone over.

I don't believe he's as bad as some make out but I wouldn't have him in that bracket of the really top forward players. The fact Pep took him off tonight showed a real lack of faith in him. The chips were down and yet he turned to Bojan.

RichTea

"Good technique for a bad player, bad technique for a good player" - Cruyff on Ibra.

He'd know.

Royale with Cheese

Don't particularly like him, he's definitely overrated.

I also find that there are plenty of people out there who will accuse anyone who criticises him of not knowing anything about football or just listening to the pundits and are unable of forming their own opinion on him.

I'll admit when he was in Italy I didn't see much of him, but I've seen plenty of him this season and I haven't been hugely impressed. He can do it now and again, but not consistently.

Also I would definitely consider him a flop. It might not be his fault, but I'd still consider him one. I'd rather have Eto'o in my team, nevermind the huge amount of surplus cash too.

bUILDERtHEbOB

Kristopherus wrote: »

He's bloody useless.

No.

eagle eye

Headshot wrote: »

personally speaking

I think he's a good player no where near 40m but that's not my main point

I love watching eto'o at barca, he was my favourite player there and i honestly think barca made a mistake of swapping him for ibra.

I think pep's logic behind it was to get some body in who was a lot different than what he as now, a vocal point, someone who can hold up the ball and header. Im sorry but ibra just doesnt do the previous skills enough for me, he has that touch of genuis i get that but when your chips are down do you want ibra or eto'o as your striker, i know who'd i pick.

I also feel ibra is very inconsistent. before I head off I think ibra doesnt suit into the barca way imo

Eto'o was never happy with the money he was on. I think he was sold as he could have become a cancer with everybody looking for bigger contracts if they gave in to him or become a constant moaner if he didn't get the bigger money.

eagle eye

As far as I'm concerned Ibra is world class but a lot of what he does best starts outside the box. Barca play very high up the pitch so all they want from him is to score goals.

Tbh I think there are many strikers that could do a better job as just a finisher but as an overall player Ibra is miles ahead of all but a very small few.

tdv123

eZe^ wrote: »

Sigh,

Stuttgart away - Goal.
Arsenal away- 2 Goals.
Real Madrid home- Goal.

He's twice the player Berbatov is.

He's a very good striker for Barcelona. For Inter he was an amazing striker capable of doing something godlike every now and then. He's not utilised properly at Barca, thus he isn't allowed to flourish. However, I agree that the price paid for him was utterly ridiculous, again though, that's not his fault.

How do you make that out? Lets be honest he's not very good for them at all.

And he missed an awful lot of sitters in those games against Arsenal.

I never really seen much of him in his Inter days usually just when Inter were playing in the CL or Milan Derby so wasnt really able to form a proper opinion on him.

But I've watched pretty much every Barca games this season & can safely say based on this season anyway he is not one of the best strikers in the world.

Rooney,Torres,Villa etc... He's a level below these guys.

Fromvert

He's both over rated and under rated depending on who you want to listen to. I think he's good but not great and if the chips are down I wouldn't want to be relying on Ibra to do something.

Xavi6

Poor man's Samaras.

Reganio 2

Xavi6 wrote: »

Poor man's Samaras.

Don't you mean rich stupid man's Samaras?

Liam O

tdv123 wrote: »

How do you make that out? Lets be honest he's not very good for them at all.

And he missed an awful lot of sitters in those games against Arsenal.

I never really seen much of him in his Inter days usually just when Inter were playing in the CL or Milan Derby so wasnt really able to form a proper opinion on him.

But I've watched pretty much every Barca games this season & can safely say based on this season anyway he is not one of the best strikers in the world.

Rooney,Torres,Villa etc... He's a level below these guys.

he also scored 2 goals...

If you are going to judge players on the fact that they miss a few chances then everyone in your list there isn't one of the best strikers in the world and Ronaldo and Messi definitely aren't the best in the world. I know that's not what you are solely judging it one but I've seen Rooney, Torres, Villa, Messi (who was as bad if not worse than Ibra tonight) and Ronaldo all have games like that.

While I'm not Barcas biggest fan (I used to like them but something has changed over the last few seasons) I can appreciate that he is a top striker and he's just going through a bad run of form and last season I was scared shítless whenever he got the ball in that second round game against United because he was very threatening.

pickarooney

Rich man's Mido, tbh.

Dave!

Poor man's N'Gog tbh

Xavi6

Reganio 2 wrote: »

Don't you mean rich stupid man's Samaras?

Well Gorgeous has better hair so that's why I went for Ibra being a poorer version.

Jazzy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2q8slUNF64

Tusky

I think hes one of the most overrated players in the world. Thats not to say hes not v.good, but the way people talk about him as if hes in the top 3 or top 5 strikers in the world is totally wrong. A v.good player - but worth nowhere near the money paid for him. I think because he scores some amazing looking goals it skews peoples opinion of him overall.

Lukker-

Decent player, never ever going to justify the 70 million deal he was involved in though. Doesn't suite Barcelona at all, I have no idea why they didn't go for Villa..

Ush1

Not used properly at Barca but give him another season to adapt properly I reckon. He is nearly always too isolated. They should switch to a 4-4-2 some occasions to have someone near to him so he can drop off and get his head up, which is what he did effectively at Inter and Juve.

In saying that still has scored a decent few, some crucial aswell, goals.

speedboatchase

He's like berbatov only twice the price and lets you buy a brand new team with the transfer money and knock out his new team

GavRedKing

I think Zlatan is a good player, his first season at Barca hasnt being the best but he still is a good player, his consistency is his major flaw, he can be unplayable at times and other times you can struggle to tell if he is even playing.

I can imagine its very frustrating for Barca fans but Eto'o was similar, Eto'o would drift in and out of games but was more potent in front of goal.

RichTea

People who are in support of him here are bringing up Champions League games which only make up a small amount of the games he's played this season.

I was prepared to come on here saying that he's been a waste of space from what I've seen of him in La Liga (which is a fair bit). But I just had a look at the stats and, in all competitions, he has scored 21 goals in 38 games. That's not that bad at all. It doesn't seem like he contributes much at all at times. By anyone's logic he has been a waste of money though.

karma_

I think Ibra is a fantastic footballer, would have him at City in the blink of an eye. There has been rumours to that end already, hopefully it will come to pass.

Raskolnikov

I actually think that Ibrahimovic has the ability to be a great striker, but his attitude, determination and workrate just stink. People rave about Messi and Xavi and their incredible skill, but what you never hear about is just how much hard the work, and how they play for the team. Xavi always looks like he's coasting, but the ground he covers is astonishing. Look at any Barca match statistics, he is nearly always top on the distance covered charts for both teams. Messi is the same, even when things weren't going Barca's way last night, he was dropping deep and looking for the ball. If Barca don't have the ball, he is always pressing defenders and sometimes even dropping back. For me, this is the reason why Xavi and Messi (hopefully) will go down as all-time greats, whereas the likes of Riquelme and Ibrahimovic will be forgotten about.

RichTea

karma_ wrote: »

I think Ibra is a fantastic footballer, would have him at City in the blink of an eye. There has been rumours to that end already, hopefully it will come to pass.

If Barcelona were clever they'd take that potentially astronomical offer.

RandolphEsq

He is the Berbatov of Barcelona. He may be defended off the pitch, but taking him off when a goal is needed says it all

Raskolnikov

RichTea wrote: »

People who are in support of him here are bringing up Champions League games which only make up a small amount of the games he's played this season.

I was prepared to come on here saying that he's been a waste of space from what I've seen of him in La Liga (which is a fair bit). But I just had a look at the stats and, in all competitions, he has scored 21 goals in 38 games. That's not that bad at all. It doesn't seem like he contributes much at all at times. By anyone's logic he has been a waste of money though.

In fairness, if scoring in La Liga was a benchmark of ability, Diego Forlan would be one of the best strikers in the world (2x Pichichi, 2x European Golden shoe).

RichTea

Raskolnikov wrote: »

In fairness, if scoring in La Liga was a benchmark of ability, Diego Forlan would be one of the best strikers in the world (2x Pichichi, 2x European Golden shoe).

Who says he isn't?

inforfun

RichTea wrote: »

People who are in support of him here are bringing up Champions League games which only make up a small amount of the games he's played this season.

I was prepared to come on here saying that he's been a waste of space from what I've seen of him in La Liga (which is a fair bit). But I just had a look at the stats and, in all competitions, he has scored 21 goals in 38 games. That's not that bad at all. It doesn't seem like he contributes much at all at times. By anyone's logic he has been a waste of money though.

Decent amount of goals.
But what i would like to see is how many of those goals were bringing in the points.
I dont care about a player who scores a hat-trick when these are the 3,4 and 5-0. KlaasJan Huntelaar is a prime example of this kind of goalscorer.

I honestly dont know how many points these 21 goals ibrahimovic scored have resulted in.

Liam O

inforfun wrote: »

Decent amount of goals.
But what i would like to see is how many of those goals were bringing in the points.
I dont care about a player who scores a hat-trick when these are the 3,4 and 5-0. KlaasJan Huntelaar is a prime example of this kind of goalscorer.

I honestly dont know how many points these 21 goals ibrahimovic scored have resulted in.

he scored the only goal against Real, I don't watch them too often but that is something that really stands out...

RichTea

inforfun wrote: »

Decent amount of goals.
But what i would like to see is how many of those goals were bringing in the points.
I dont care about a player who scores a hat-trick when these are the 3,4 and 5-0. KlaasJan Huntelaar is a prime example of this kind of goalscorer.

I honestly dont know how many points these 21 goals ibrahimovic scored have resulted in.

A very good point and it's actually quite relevant to the goals that Zlatan has scored. Granted he did score that thumping volley against Real Madrid in the first Clásico of the season but apart from that it is quite difficult to come up with any goals of real importance.

Ush1

RichTea wrote: »

A very good point and it's actually quite relevant to the goals that Zlatan has scored. Granted he did score that thumping volley against Real Madrid in the first Clásico of the season but apart from that it is quite difficult to come up with any goals of real importance.

Away goal against Stuttgart?

Liam O

RichTea wrote: »

A very good point and it's actually quite relevant to the goals that Zlatan has scored. Granted he did score that thumping volley against Real Madrid in the first Clásico of the season but apart from that it is quite difficult to come up with any goals of real importance.

yeah it's not like he scored twice against Arsenal at the Emirates...

redzerdrog

to say ibra is just like berbatov is just lol seriously

RichTea

Liam O wrote: »

yeah it's not like he scored twice against Arsenal at the Emirates...

:pac: My bad.

inforfun

Liam O wrote: »

yeah it's not like he scored twice against Arsenal at the Emirates...

For the 1st time against English opposition.

With this guy, for every pro, it is ratehr easy to find a con too.

He just doesnt convince me enough to find him real class.