Zlatan Ibrahimovic has taken the Premier League by storm and finally silenced those who have doubted him in this country. The English media haven’t been fully convinced by the Swede throughout his career and thought he would struggle to continue his incredible goal-scoring record in the the English top flight. The early indications are that he will take this league by storm, as he has done in every league he has played in. He is one of the best players in the world and it is refreshing to finally see him receive the adulation that his talent deserves.
Since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson, Manchester United have lost the invincibility that they once had. The exciting, dynamic play has eluded them and they have become mortal once one. Many teams including Southampton, Newcastle United, and Everton have all gone to Old Trafford and recorded their first victory there for decades, highlighting how sides no longer fear going to Old Trafford.
The appointment of Jose Mourinho was vital in re-establishing this fear factor, as he is a world class operator and the correct man to move to club forwards from the Ferguson era. He has brought in players this summer, who are Manchester United players and the invincibility is already starting to return. It was important to hire Mourinho has he has the stature to attract the very best players and that has shown this summer. The club wouldn’t have been able to sign Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic with Louis van Gaal at the helm.
Although the signing of Pogba was crucial, it is the arrival of Ibrahimovic that will do more to help the club become invincible once more. He has experience at several of the top clubs in Europe and is a born winner. Ibrahimovic has only missed out on a league title four times in a 17-year-career, which is an incredible achievement. His two league titles with Juventus have since been revoked due to the Calciopoli scandal, but Ibrahimovic can’t be blamed for that.
Another impressive stat is that Ibrahimovic has been on the losing side in just 19 of his 185 league appearances since 2010-11. This spreads across three clubs (AC Milan, PSG, and Manchester United), showing that he rarely loses, regardless of where he is playing. To put this into perspective, Hull City lost 19 times during the 2014-15 Premier League season.
His endless success in the game has given Ibrahimovic an aura that imposes fear into his opponents and his early performances for Manchester United only emphasises this. He is super-human in some of the things he does on the pitch and many of the defenders in the Premier League won’t have come up against a player like him before. The way he dominated Jose Fonte for the opening goal against Southampton was great to watch. Fonte has been one of the most consistent defenders in the Premier League over the last few years, but he had no answers to the power that Ibrahimovic possesses.
In his pre-match press conference, Hull City interim manager Mike Phelan, who was the assistant to Sir Alex Ferguson for many years, made an interesting comment about Ibrahimovic. He stated that Ibrahimovic was on the club’s radar under Sir Alex Ferguson, but they never managed to get a deal done. The striker’s quality and arrogance is made for Manchester United.It is great that Zlatan Ibrahimovic has finally joined the club and he still has the quality to be one of the best players in the league. His winning mentality was required at the club and having him in the dressing room will boost the rest of the players in the squad. They know that he will come up with the goods and Manchester United haven’t had a player like that for a long time. His signing should correspond with the return of the winning mentality at the club and other clubs will now fear Manchester United.
It is great that Zlatan Ibrahimovic has finally joined the club and he still has the quality to be one of the best players in the league. His winning mentality was required at the club and having him in the dressing room will boost the rest of the players in the squad. They know that he will come up with the goods and Manchester United haven’t had a player like that for a long time. His signing should correspond with the return of the winning mentality at the club and other clubs will now fear Manchester United.
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