Ibra: Italy is tougher than Spain
Barcelona striker and Swedish international Zlatan Ibrahimovic (28) says it’s harder to score in Italy than in Spain even though he has found the net just once in his last nine games in La Liga.
In an interview with Spanish news paper El Periodico, Ibrahimovic said:
“In Italy they give you three or four chances in one game and you have to be ready not to make a mistake.
“You can go 80 minutes without touching the ball, but you know that in the end a chance will arrive. And you can’t miss it because they will judge you on that chance. For this reason, Italians hold strikers like Inzaghi and Trezeguet in high regard because they are people capable of scoring with only one goal scoring chance.”
Ibra then reflected on the differences between Italy and Spain:
“Here at Barca it seems like I have returned to the time I spent with Ajax. In Italy, they aren’t interested in good football.
“They only need a 1-0. Nothing else counts other than the victory. And if someone thinks about playing good football, they tell you: “Yes, you have played well, but you haven’t won anything, right?
“Good football doesn’t count for anything to them. If you won 1-0 at Ajax then the fans would whistle you. ‘How is it possible?’ I asked myself. Because the people want good football. They want a spectacle.
“In Italy they wanted to imitate the Guardiola model, but it’s not so easy. He thinks like a player. He is very active. He participates a lot in training. In the past I had Coaches who were more passive, people more used to commanding than explaining things.
“Pep is not a policeman who gives orders, a dictator who imposes duties. He is more of a professor who instructs. Capello, Mancini and Mourinho weren’t so active. Capello and Mourinho explain things to you with a blackboard. Pep goes on the pitch. He was a great player and he knows what a footballer is thinking. He lives for football, 24 hours a day.”
he is so right about serie A so since he then he already knows that, he should bury the limited chances that he gets. especially with the kind of services that he gets.
You would think that with the amount of cances he gets now, his finising would only get better but it seems to have gotten worse…
Chances*
This has nothing to do with this subject but I found this very interesting article on ESPN webpage.
You guys should read it, it's not only witty written (takes a few shots on Real Madrid, or as I like to call them the Evil Empire!) but breaks down this seasons Barca to perfection!
Have a good read!
Forgot to past the link….
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=738...
He miss italy !! GO home ibra u fit in Seria A not in La liga
!
Etoo will never be at inter as he was in barca, and the same goes for Ibra.. and ibra is more lucky than etoo as barca is far better than inter..
For me Ibra is a disappointment, he doesnt add anything special to the recipe except unnecessary back heels and lazy passes.. (not lowering his value as a player, in the end its not his fault), but etoo was all over the pitch, and dont tell me ibra is moving around & taking defenders with him, because any 70mil striker can do that job, just imagine if villa, torres or aguero are in his place.. I'm sure they would have scored & assissted alot more goals..
i know he scored goals and made a few assits but c'mon, he's surrounded by the best players in the world.. But in the end he's a barca player and i have to support him and i really hope he picks it up, but its just sad to see a player like etoo leave that way, i really miss him on the field..
Visca el Barca
it's funny you say "imagine if eto" like if eto never played for barca
imagine if he's still at barca.. u know what i mean ; )
LOL! You couldn't be any wronger. Usually Barca Fans are very smart, and intelligent. It seems your the opposite. Perhaps a glory hunter? Eto'o fanboy? Madridista?
haha well said shawn
well shawn, what can i say to u… Ignorance is a blessing.
ya go back i hope we sell him to mancity for big money he is a waste.
The only waste here, is your negative presence on this forum.
Im Indian too. Not all of us share Rahul's ridiculously stupid opinion. So plz do not generalize on that basis. It's very disrespectful.
My bad mate, it was no disrespect intended, though Rahul's comment was very ignorant. I know a few indians here in Milan, good people, and I like Indian food.
stay classy Roberto, dare to mention your esteemed country?
"just imagine if villa, torres or aguero are in his place.. I'm sure they would have scored & assissted alot more goals.. "
You are sure, but you are wrong. Ibra is the best striker in the world, and he will prove it. Then you will vanish, till he fail to score in one game or two.
of course every team in the world cares more about results than the style of play, it's no longer for entertainment and silverware, it's for silverware alone. this is why i am barca4life cause we are different and there is never a game where i would fall sleep or stop watching even if we are losing.
that's what i have been saying all along. any quality striker will drag 2 defenders away. but yeah he is our player now and pep wanted him badly so he must be doing wonders.
the thing that disappoints me the most is, i thought we bought him to break down buses but so far he hasn't shown any qualities required to do so.
no headers, heck, he doesn't even pose an aerial threat cos he doesn't even get in the box, no long shots. but i think he will get better, especially next season. just hope that messi can carry on scoring goals for us since our no.9 can't deliver. but i feel that we are going to get ito trouble again against the epl teams
tired of all you criticising Ibra ?.. u said nothing when he scored in the beginning of the season.. now all of a sudden he should go? phh.. i trust in him becoming a great succes.. this is his first season and i just can't imagine how god he'll be next year!
If it is so tough to score against italian opponents, how come no team from Italy gets far in the Champions League?…
AC Milan won in it only a few years ago.. Don't be a douche..
Lol @ all the whiny lil girls crying "omg he sucks, hes useless". hahaha.. Even if Barca win 6 cups for 3 years in a row, you women will find something to cry about. Its a completely different matter if he actually contributes 0 to the team, and if any of you'll do think that , then you'll obviously havent been watching Barca play this season. Oh and yes, when he does recover from this slump and starts putting in great performances, I know you'll will tuck your skirt between your legs and disappear like the pussies that you are. BUT, then I will be telling you I TOLD YOU SO, with a really big smile on my face.
LOL!!
Nicely said bro. Some people are just too dumb to think for themselves. You can't blame them at times, since they've been fed so much bullshit by the english media all these years. It's no wonder, they're so naive and dumb to think!
y is it so hard to judge a player anymore without being insulted ?!! is this what this blog is about freak?!!
I'm a barca fan since 96 so i think i have the right to speak my mind, as in the end its a barca blog not urs…
and I think I know enough about football to know if a player is really worth 70mil and gettin rid of one of the best strikers that wore the barca shirt..
Just grow some balls and admit it.. dont tell me u r satisfied with his performance, and u dont get frustrated with him after each game.. Even henry with his lack of scoring, u can clearly see the effort he puts in running all over the wing and creating chances, thats what i want to see..
"i dont need a show off who tries to demonstrate some skills and ends up slippin & slidin all over the field.. "
LOL. You dont need to see ? Who gives a crap about what you need to see ?
And what your saying is, All Ibrahimovic has done this season is slip and slide all over the field ? Haha, how many games have you watched ? Ridiculous. If its more than five then you obviously cannot comprehend his contribution tactically and basically you just dont understand the Barcelona football system. So I dont blame you.
You, my friend, should really stick to playing FIFA or PES on your console, where you can score 5 goals with each of the forwards every game, because football in the real world is clearly not up to "your" standards.
And as far as "I can have whatever opinion I want" goes, Yes you can. But what your forgetting is that its ONLY your opinion. Just because YOU feel that way, doesnt make it true.
So go ahead and whine all you want about how "ibra sucks, etoo is the best" because frankly from what I've read on this thread, there are alot of guys here that share my opinion, So basically nobody cares about yours.
Oh and one more thing, I think you should really scroll down to Sergio Xavi's post and read very carefully, cause it might get through to even someone as thick headed as yourself.
We should all be grateful, to be witnessing argubly the greatest team of all time and its just miindboggling how people can still manage to find things to complain about. Open your eyes, get behind your team and enjoy the art, that is FC Barcelona's football.
Visca eL Barca !
why dont u talk football and stop being a di**head!!
i feel like I'm talking to a little kid who keeps mumbling words like he's a wanna be a jackass!!
In the end I'm only criticizing Ibra, unless u have some weird feelings towards him that u dont wanna share.. that would make more sense..
And btw, If the whole Camp Nou can whistle on the new signing Chyggy, then there are still ppl who complain, as this is the barca mentality, always demanding more.. u should know better, right freak?!!
tell u what, y dont u too scroll down to sergio xavi's post and see how do educated people with manners comment.. cuz i dnt wanna waste my time teaching some ignorant kid how to conversate… peace out.
No need to resort to violence. Foul language shows your maturity.
Haha yea Im the kid. This is a really mature sentence btw
"n the end I'm only criticizing Ibra, unless u have some weird feelings towards him that u dont wanna share.. that would make more sense.." Hahaha. Very mature indeed.
I'll tell you what. You should go ahead and criticize/ whine/ cry, because frankly nobody cares. And this is a public forum so I would really wanna stop abusing if I were you.
Nicely said FCB, you nailed him! Sometimes people are just too DUMB!
I'm sick of these people who judges Ibra from his.. what? A few months performance? C'mmon, Serie A and La Liga have a very very very different style of play. It's not that easy to change and get adapted to those kind of changes. Just look at Henry, his 1st year? Crap. And then, his 2nd year? Great huh?
All I can say is that he needs more time and we'll give it to him. I'm not saying that he'll be showing great performances next year, but at least I'm not judging him for at least until this season ends. Although I must admit that I have hopes in him since we do really really need his height advantage in the front.
Boah what an interview. nice and true words from ibra. he search the challenge and wont regret and give excuses
Unbelievable… so Ibra goes a few games without goals.. and suddenly he is a failure???
Do you guys understand the concept of bad form/good form??? Tell me one player who is always in top form? Or one who never goes through a slump? Not even Messi, Ronaldo, Iniesta, Rooney, can go through a season without a slump! And Ibra is no different. He is a class player… in fact he is an amazing player… just not going through the best of times.
And btw.. he is known to go through slumps in january/february… just like he is known to put in insane performances at other times. So please stop whining. Be fair to him.. did you guys react like this when Eto went though a slump? So many times I have seen Eto player badly in streaks of games… that didnt make him a garbage player.
Ibra will be back to his best in no time.. .and you pathetic whiners will dissapear then…
[...] Originally posted here: Ibra: bItaly/b is tougher than Spain | totalBarça [...]
everyone is allowed their opinions, we all look at football differently. for me ibra has been disappointing in the last few games because he was so good in the first half of the season . he seemed to have adapted so quickly that he looked like he has been playing for us for years, but now he seems a bit awkward on the pitch. either he doesn't care (obviously not true) or he has lack of confidence and nerves. messi, xavi etc need to set him up for an open goal tap in then his confidence will come flooding back and so will his performance but for that he needs to be in the box more, not outside trying to orchastrate, no need for that, get the goals and it will all be good again.
Of course everyone is allowed their opinions, but many times, the same people 'hate' on him whether he scores a goal, or goes through a hard time. What people don't realize is Ibra was brought for not only scoring goals, but creating spaces and dragging defenders left and right, enabling his teammates time and space. Xavi, Messi, Pedro have benefited remarkably due to Ibra's pressuring and taking defenders with him.. What people also forget is Ibra scored the winning goal against our biggest rivals, in the biggest football game on planet earth. That game alone won my heart! Ibra also was immense against our other rivals, Espanyol, again scoring the winning goal. In Barcelona, apart from his last few games, he's a hero already! People like Rahul, who's probably from India, doesn't understand how important it is to win against RM or Espanyol. If Ibra scored against our two biggest rivals, and was the best player in the first part of the first half of the season, then surely he has it in him to do so again. I'm sure Ibra will come back stronger, and score the goals needed. For example in the Getafe game, eventhoug he wasn't at his best, he give two excellent passes to Xavi and Messi, and another day, it would have been two assists. People are idiots at times, and don't think about assists, creating space, but only think of goals. Those people are usually glory hunters, and new fans. People have to understand Guardiola asked for him. Cruyff said it best. Listen to him from time to time..
Very very well said. I am Indian too, so please do not gerenalize based on Rahul's comment.
"People are idiots at times, and don't think about assists, creating space, but only think of goals"… Well Sergio if u read my comment carefully I said "to hell with goals".. which means i'm not a glory hunter or any of these things..
What i am concerned about is his scrappy way of playing lately.. u know what i'm talking about.. it seems like he's lacking confidence as SJP stated, which is weird after his good start which should boost it instead..
as for his movement.. a quality striker like him should move around as its something basic, nothing special in that.. what do u expet from him, to stand his ground, instead he sould be more aggressive towards the goal, take shots, create chances inside the box & connect more with messi. ( u can see how happy guardiola was when ibra assisted messi )
when was the last time he had a decent shot on goal or even a header?!!
these are the things that surprise me the most..
as for real madrid i agree with u that it was a great goal, but he should've picked it up from there, and for espanyol it was a penalty so i wont consider it a decisive goal..
ibra is third best pleyer in the world after messi and xavi even if he don't score for five years..
ibra u are in barca fans heart….
barca real fans of cours
the main reason messi is scoring so well this season is ibra…
messi and ibra are best pair in the world….
all teams like to have messi,ibra,xavi,iniesta,toure,alves,…
oh my god what aplayers we have…
Zlatan is today one of the best in the world, but next year he WILL BE the BEST in THE WORLD! I love and respect all players we have.
FCB vig
i love barca fans who thinks like u..
couldn't agree more with you mate !
Best out of all 11 positions? Best out of all forwards? Best out of all Strikers? Which one are you referring to?
please dont stereotype ppl, I am of Indian origin too. I have been following day to day barca news and team status from 1997 and a die hard cule. I agree majority of indians follow cricket but there are many exceptions like me. Rahul is one of the morons who just likes to peek in blogs and disturb harmony, ignore the troll…..visca el barca !!
Sorry bro, I'm usually a good guy, Sometimes people are just too dumb, and it ticks me off. Indians are cool! Rahul is an exception. Cheerssssss
well italy is extremely defensive and slow…And the reason why ibrahimovic is having a hard time in spain is becuase hes somewhat slow or lacks stamina and hes size which makes his moves predictable..But i dont understand why barcelona dont use ibrahimovic height as a advantage and provide more crosses…
Ibrahimovic is the best Striker in the world and he has been playing very well and Barcelona bought him for 4 main reason: Aerial threat, long shots, for strength and drawing out defenders to create space, and for assists. Ibra has showed amazing strength and the amount of space he creates is awesome. His assists and vision is also something to behold as he could probably teach Xavi a thing or two about back heel passes. BUT, despite his great height and possessing one of the strongest shots in Europe, he still hasn't added an aerial threat or long range shot threat but he will only get more confident with time and training so I believe it is only a matter of time.
Wow! Some people are just too impatient. A wise man once said, patience is a virtue.
In my book, a true cule is one who supports his players/coach/club when the club/coach/player is growing through a hard time. I admire Ibra, I think he's class act. I also think Ibra is the world's most complete center forward. All great players have their ups and downs. Messi is the world's greatest footballer, and at one point in the first half of the season, he looked dull and uninterested. Look at Messi now, scoring goals for fun. Ibra came in Barca against all odds, against the english media hatred, against being called names like flop, big game choker, egoistic, selfish etc. I'm surprised some people still dislike him, even-though he has proven to to be the opposite. Instead of being a flop, he's done remarkably well (minus the last few games), he's the opposite of selfish, and happens to be very humble. I understand many people like Eto'o and rightfully so, but he now plays for Inter, it was not Ibra's decision to swap with Eto'o, but Guardiola and the board thought it was best for the team. Guardiola is also the same person that lead this great club to extraordinary success, playing the best football the world has ever seen. I think Guardiola deserves to be respected! The FACT, that Ibra is linking up with Messi, has helped Pedro become a star, has scored crucial goals in very important games, has given wonder assists, should be applauded and not ridiculed. In the last few games, Ibra has been off, but even an off form Ibra gets assists, and creates countless chances for his teammates.
RAHUL: DON'T HATE, APPRECIATE!!!
WATCH IN HD
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90BDDn0EBFU