Zlatan Ibrahimovic being linked to Liverpool tells you how great a player he is

At 38 Zlatan Ibrahimovic should be looking back at his career and hanging his boots up. He has had a fantastic time in  football won multiple trophies and scored tons of great goals. He is Sweden’s best ever player and has earned a fortune in the game, and yet he wants another challenge.

Zlatan as he is commonly known by has left LA Galaxy after 2 seasons where he didn’t win a trophy but was involved in some memorable games, so good that LA fans took him to their hearts. He also scored plenty of goals, 53 in all competitions for the Galaxy in just 58 games, and he ended his time this season with 30 goals from 29 games. Now whilst might say that the MLS is not a top league, to do what he is doing at 38 is still quite remarkable and one is reminded of another great sport athlete in Roger Federer whose body refuses to give up.

Even at this age when Ibrahimovic  announced he was leaving the Galaxy a whole host of elite teams from Europe threw their name in the hat. He has been linked with a return back to PSG and AC Milan. In the Premier League his former club Manchester United have shown some interest and then there is Liverpool in first place and looking for their first title since 1990. Ibrahimovic has an incredible record of going to different clubs and winning league titles and for that Liverpool could suit him.

Possibly though the front runners are AC Milan. Ibrahimovic has a special relationship not just with the club but also in Italy where he has also played for Juventus and Inter Milan. The truth is at Milan Ibrahimovic would get more game time and could well be drafted into the first team. One would feel that at a club like Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp isn’t going to upset the apple cart and chop and change his forward line to accommodate the Swedish star. Instead Zlatan would be used as a super sub and in cup games, is that what he would want? Again his qualities on the pitch over the years have earned him that choice.

What will be fascinating as Ibrahimovic returns to Europe is can he still get goals at a higher level? He has scored 30 in his final season in the MLS and it would be interesting to see if he can keep some sort of consistency. The biggest factor being is that his professionalism and attitude is paving the way for strikers to continue on to their very late 30′s and maybe even 40′s. Now that is football evolution.

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A move for Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the wrong one for AC Milan

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When was the last time AC Milan were the kings of Italy? Well that’s not too hard, one could say it was in 2011 when they won Serie A, before the Juventus domination. But even then all Milan were really doing were looking after the title.

In truth a dominating Milan have been largely absent from Italian and European football since they last won the Champions League in 2007, 11 years ago. The team have become a distant shadow of the club who were so powerful in the late 80s and throughout the 90s which also extended to the 2000s where they starred in 3 Champions League finals- 2003, 2005 and 2007, winning two of them.

It almost feels that football has passed them by- first it was being overtaken by the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid, two teams that Milan could once brush aside and then the clubs of the Premier League had their own victories over the Rossonieri.

Even in Italy, Juventus, Inter, Napoli, Roma perhaps even Lazio at times have left Milan somewhere on a deserted highway wondering where all their player pulling power has gone, because it really seems like it has.

Simply put Milan are historically a massive club, but in 2018 they don’t even belong in the top 20 clubs in Europe for aspiring players and the best to say, that is where I want to play. Milan have failed to play catch up. That is why the emerging story of them looking to re sign Swede great Zlatan Ibrahimovic should come as no surprise.

Now let’s not be silly about such matters, Ibrahimovic is an outstanding player and will be remembered as one of the best players of the first 20 years of this century. But Ibrahimovic is also 37 years old. True he is scoring goals for fun in the MLS where he currently has 22 goals from 27 games, but Serie A is a major step up for him at this stage of his career.

The signing if it does take place which does look likely almost feels like a nostalgia trip for Milan where Zlatan played for the club between 2010 -2012. There he scored 42 goals and won the league, he is a hero and a cult figure at San Siro even though of course he also played for Milan’s rivals Inter. So he will be welcomed back with open arms.

But one can’t help and think that the signing is just a luxury roll out on a Serie A season that is almost already over for Milan as they see Juventus running away with the league yet again. And that’s the real difference here. Whilst Juventus have also signed a legend in their 30s that so happens to be Cristiano Ronaldo who has an advantage of 4 years over Zlatan. You can’t help but think that the deal if it goes through won’t work out for player or club.

Will Steven Gerrard swap LA for Milton Keynes?

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The hot topic this week was Steven Gerrard’s announcement that he will not renew his contract at LA Galaxy and at 36 it seems that this decision could well spell the end of his playing days.

Time moves quick in football and reports suggest the Liverpool legend has already taken steps to become a manager. Whilst many would have believed that a return in some capacity to his beloved Liverpool could have been the next step, Gerrard has instead opted for MK Dons.

The League One side currently in 21st place have confirmed that they have opened talks with Gerrard for the role of manager. The news has surprised many because instant failure at a club with little resources has somewhat tarnished other ex players careers. Roy Keane and Tony Adams included. On the flip side of course is the experience that Gerrard craves and right now the only way is up for the Dons who have suffered a miserable start to their League One campaign.

He would certainly fill the dressing room with an awe and respect and this is what MK Dons chairman Pete Winkleman would be looking for.

Gerrard left LA Galaxy without getting his hands on the MLS title unlike his former England team mate David Beckham and some have suggested that his move there was a mistake. Indeed when he first decided to go many pundits believed he was still good enough to remain in the Premier League.

Gerrard left Los Angeles having played 38 games in total including cups and scoring 5 goals. Goals wise Gerrard had never been so poor since his 3rd season with Liverpool in 2001/02.

If Gerrard which it now seems highly likely has decided to hang up his boots he has a glittering career of trophies with Liverpool which includes winning the Champions League, the FA Cup twice, the League Cup 3 times, UEFA Super Cup and the UEFA Cup in 2000. In total Gerrard has won 9 trophies. However there is a huge gap in his trophy cabinet and for now will ever be as a player and that is a league title.

Gerrard will aim to correct that as a manager and work his self up slowly but steadily. He is already confirmed to begin working on his UEFA A licence which is a requirement of UEFA for coaching in Europe.

Gerrard has confirmed that he has many options on and off the pitch and will evaluate these in the coming weeks with a possible announcement in January as to his future.