Let me at Ibra!
ELLAND ROAD HERO JANSSON DESPERATE FOR PROMOTION TO FACE HIS UNITED ‘IDOL’
HUDDERSFIELD boss David Wagner has been forced to change his mobile number following his touchline spat with Leeds boss Garry Monk.
Tempers flared in the Yorkshire derby earlier this month when Wagner celebrated Huddersfield’s late winner by charging down the touchline.
After the incident, Wagner’s phone number was posted on an online forum, leading to the manager receiving a large number of threats. PONTUS JANSSON idolised Zlatan Ibrahimovic as a youth but now has designs on a Premier League meeting with his fellow Swede next season.
Jansson - who watched a teenage Ibrahimovic from the terraces in their native Malmo – has been an integral figure in Leeds’ bid to end a 13-year exile from the top flight.
The 26-year-old’s charismatic displays at the heart of the Yorkshire club’s defence have earned cult status amongst the longsuffering Elland Road faithful. He helped them battle to a draw at Ipswich yesterday, which cemented United’s place in the play-off places in the Championship’s top six.
He has also sealed a permanent £3.5million deal from Torino that kicks in this summer when his loan move expires. And with Manchester United keen on retaining Ibrahimovic, 35, for at least one more season, it has opened up the chance of the pair duelling in football’s War of the Roses. “I hope so,” said Jansson. “Maybe he’s going back to Italy?
“We shall see what’s happening. But it would be nice to play against him again. I played against him when he went to Malmo with Milan for a friendly. I really killed him in that game. Maybe he’s scared of me now? I don’t know.
“I was a striker until I was 19 years old, so my biggest idol was always Zlatan. I tried to play football as him. Maybe that’s why I am a little bit crazy on the pitch?
“I grew up in the main stand at Malmo. I was born with the club in my heart, and stayed there until I was 16 and became a professional player for them.
“From the age of four I had shirts every year and season tickets. I watched him when I was eight and nine. Everyone knew Zlatan even then.” The pair would later become international team-mates, most recently at Euro 2016.
Like his more famous compatriot, Jansson wears his heart on his sleeve.
However, he also finds his name in referees’ notebooks – in one spell either side of the New Year, the towering centreback was booked 10 times in 15 appearances for Leeds. And Jansson’s extrovert personality has even led to a Leeds terrace chant about him, his supreme heading ability and a magic hat.
That level of popularity is a far cry from last summer when Torino withdrew a new contract offer, forcing him to find a new home. Despite several offers, he opted for West Yorkshire and England’s second tier.
“They are a club that changed my career, to allow me to feel love for football, that’s really how it is. And of course, I am really happy that the fans like me. Because it’s easier for me to play when they’re with me, not against me,” Jansson said.
“I have had a feeling that we would reach the Premier League since the first day I came here. People laughed at me when I told them, but we are one of the best teams in the division.
“We are getting better and we win games even when we don’t play our best football – and that’s what good teams do.”