Zlatan’s given United HOPE
SWEDE HAS OLD TRAFFORD BUZZING
DEFYING age, gravity and all logic, Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s first few months in English football have given Manchester United the best gift of the season – hope.
Hope that 2017 will see United finally emerge from the post-Sir Alex Ferguson depression that set in three years ago.
And hope that, with a talisman i n the finest traditions of icons such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Eric Cantona, United are on the march once again.
Chelsea chief Antonio Conte might be the headline act in the Premier League management stakes.
But on the pitch so far this season, no one has come close to having a bigger impact on their team than Ibrahimovic.
For a guy who is 35 and in a dressing room full of top young stars like David de Gea, Paul Po g b a , Anthony Martial a n d Marc u s Rashford, the big Swede is leading the way on all fronts.
He has played in all but one of United’s 17 league games, only missing the frustrating 1- 1 draw with Arsenal through a suspension. His goals – 10 in his last nine games – would be reason enough to salute his i nfluence on Jose Mourinho’s team.
But his footprint extends to the training pitch and dressing room, with United’s younger stars taking their lead from Ibrahimovic in recent weeks.
Influence
Insiders at United’s Carrington training complex – where the Swedish star pays forensic-style attention to his fitness regime – say developing talents like Pogba, Martial, Rashford and Jesse Lingard are revelling in having a genuine world superstar in their midst. That was a spin- off feature during Cantona’s dazzling days at United in the mid- 1990s and it is known Ferguson was right behind Mourinho’s move to snap up Ibrahimovic. Ferguson once signed a talismanic Swede himself – Henrik Larsson (left) in 2007. It may have only been the briefest of relationships with former Barcelona and Celtic star Larsson playing just 13 games during Helsingborg’s winter break in the Swedish League.
But his three goals and dramatic influence on United’s play helped Ferguson’s stars win the league title that season.
Larsson kept his promise to return to Helsingborg, but recently admitted it was a mistake to walk away from Old Trafford.
That will not be happening with Ibrahimovic, who looks set to stay another season, with United keen to take up the option on keeping him.
With world-record signing Pogba finally shaking off his Euro 2016 hangover, there is plenty of festive cheer in the air at Old Trafford.
Armenia playmaker Henrikh Mkhitaryan is emerging from his shell, Ander Herrera has made himself undroppable and With defender Victor Lindelof on the way next month, 2017 is set to make even grumpy Jose smile t hen t here’s Michael Carrick. The midfield veteran, 35 like Ibrahimovic, played only one Premier League game before Bonfire Night as Mourinho struggled to find the right formula.
But he has been on fire ever since and has played all four of United’s December league games so far, with Mourinho’s men taking 10 out of 12 points.
Partnership
At the back, Phil Jones has found his most eyecatching form since his early United days were disrupted by a run of injuries.
And his partnership with Argentina hardman Marcos Rojo will make it hard for Eric Bailly and possible January signing, Benfica’s Victor Lindelof, to claim an immediate centre- back berth.
United finish the year with winnable Old Trafford l eague games against Sunderland on Boxing Day and Middlesbrough. And six festive points to end the year will put United in a winter wonderland, posting the message they are becoming a dangerous force again. ANY coach who learned his football trade under Jose Mourinho is schooled to defend first and then attack.
It is a lesson Aitor Karanka took on board during his time as a coach under Mourinho at Real Madrid – and it is a policy serving him well now at Middlesbrough.
So well, in fact, that Boro boast a better goals-against record than eight of the 13 teams above them in the Premier League – including top-four title contenders Manchester City and Liverpool.
Young central defenders Ben Gibson and on-loan Arsenal star Calum Chambers (below) – both on Gareth Southgate’s radar – have played their part, yet there is more to Boro’s solid start to life in the Premier League than merely shutting down the opposition. While Karanka is undoubtedly navigating his first season as a Premier League manager with a pragmatic approach geared to survival, opponents have seen already there is more to the Teessiders than that.
Stars such as playmaker Gaston Ramirez and striker Alvaro Negredo have both been around the block and give Boro an extra dimension that some other clubs fighting to stay up just do not have.
Like flying 20-year-old attacker Adama Traore, the experienced duo delight and frustrate in equal measure, but keeping them fit and motivated is key to Boro surviving.
The pair add the star quality to a squad working its socks off to stay up – a different dynamic for Negredo, who was a title winner at Manchester City.
Boro have a knack of beating clubs around them and Karanka is hoping that it will continue well into the new year. Needs additional firepower – Leicester striker Leonardo Ulloa or Aston Villa frontman Rudy Gestede could provide it