AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic proved that he is a beast in the game of football as he returned from a three-month injury to score a goal in a Serie A game on Sunday, September 12 against Lazio.
The football star got injured towards the end of the 2020-2021 Serie A season. He had to be operated upon. To the dismay of most of his followers, the 39-year-old Swedish star recovered sooner than expected.
As a personality that is indispensable when he is fit to play, AC Milan coach, Stefano Pioli decided to throw him into the Serie A game between the club and Lazio.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic stepped on the pitch in the 60th minute of the game. He played for just 6 minutes before he doubled AC Milan’s lead in the 66th minute. With his help, the game ended 2-0 in favor of AC Milan.
“Ibrahimovic never gets old and he has great passion, a fire burning inside him,” said Milan coach Stefano Pioli after the win.
“He competes to win, he always trains to the maximum and he does so with pleasure. When you are like that you do not feel the years go by.”
After the game, the Swedish football icon took to his Instagram page to share two pictures. According to the caption, Zlatan Ibrahimovic took the first picture on 19 June 2021. It was a picture showing his stitched knee.
He took the second picture on September 12, 2021, during the Serie A game between AC Milan and Lazio. It shows when he jumped in the air to celebrate his 66th-minute goal.
Ibrahimovic is expected to be in action on Wednesday, September 15, when AC Milan take on Premier League side, Liverpool in a Champions League group stage game.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic believes he is as good as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is one of the most traveled footballers in the history of club football. He has played in La Liga, Premier League, Serie A, French Ligue 1, and Major League Soccer.
Despite his travels and his successes in those leagues, he is yet to win the most prestigious football award, Ballon d’Or and, the most cherished prize in club football, the UEFA Champions League.
Still, Zlatan Ibrahimovic believes that his failure to win the UEFA Champions League and a Ballon d’Or didn’t make him a lesser footballer to Cristiano Ronaldo who has won five Ballon d’Or and five UEFA Champions League titles. It didn’t also mean that he is not as good as Lionel Messi who has won 6 Ballon d’Or and four UEFA Champions League titles.
“If you’re talking about intrinsic qualities, I have nothing less than them,” Ibrahimovic told Mundo Deportivo. “If you look at the trophies, [then] yes I didn’t win the Champions League.
“But I don’t know how you calculate it. I’m not obsessed with it. Because when you do good things collectively, the individual follows. The individual cannot be good if the collective is not good.
“[Do] I miss the Ballon d’Or? No, it’s Ballon d’Or who misses me! Deep down, I think I’m the best in the world. I don’t think it’s relevant to compare players with each other.
“Everyone has played in their generation, with different teammates … [it’s] difficult to compare. I think everyone has their story and should face it.”
