UNITED Ibra deserves more credit for big impact
ZLATAN Ibrahimovic could score 40 goals for United this season.
But even if he does, the Swede may still not get the credit he deserves. Just think about what he has done already.
He has moved to a new club in a new league and scored 26 goals in 38 games. And all at 35 years old.
Andriy Shevchenko scored 28 goals in his final season at Milan but only managed 14 in his first in England with Chelsea.
Didier Drogba scored 16 times in his first season at Stamford Bridge. Luis Suarez got 17 in his first season with Liverpool. The less said about Falcao’s time in the Premier League the better. All were younger than Ibrahimovic is now. It is easy to downplay his career. In the same way Floyd Mayweather is often accused of carefully mapping out a safe path to the top – cleverly picking the right opponent at the right time – Ibrahimovic has faced criticism for ducking and diving.
He has, it has been said, played the bulk of his games in Italy at a time when Serie A was at a low ebb and chose to spend four of his peak years at Paris Saint-Germain while Ligue 1 was playing catch up.
But that argument collapsed on itself in the summer. He could have stayed in Paris, scored another 50 goals, and won another league and cup double.
Or he could have embraced semiretirement in the US or China, scored even more goals, and watched his back balance sky-rocket. Instead, he picked the Premier League and United.
Ibrahimovic has got a Mayweather mouth, too.
After scoring the goal to win the EFL Cup on Sunday, he stood in the mixed zone at Wembley and declared himself ‘a lion.’
And in November he said he makes Manchester ‘shine’ by just being here.
Whatever pressure he had on his shoulders when he arrived, he has increased it with every cocksure utterance. Yet, he has backed it up. Like Nicklas Bendtner, but with actual goals.
Every time he scores, the same tweets are republished. ‘Ibrahimovic won’t score five goals this season’; ‘Olivier Giroud will score more than Zlatan.’ No one likes to be embarrassed – and Ibrahimovic has embarrassed his doubters – but those tweeters were driven to express their opinions in the summer because, at the time, it seemed possible.
The experiences of Shevchenko, Falcao and the rest are proof that you never Rob Dawson know. Especially with a player who is closer to 40 than 25. It only adds to the achievement. It is easy to find reasons why Ibrahimovic’s success should come with an asterisk. Why a player with a big ego and unlimited self-belief doesn’t deserve plaudits. But he does. What United fans are watching this season is greatness with a ponytail.