Many considered him past it when he joined Man United but showed how wrong those voices where when he was banging in goals. Then again after his stint in the MLS the voices came back saying he was past it and again he proved them wrong by banging in goals for A.C Milan. He was a beast of a goal scorer.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
The 2022-2023 Football Thread
- Thread starter Scepticalscribe
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Diogo Costa said yesterday after the Portuguese Cup Final that all that he had his life sorted out, was a Porto player and MU was the "internet" (my translation).Now that the season is over in many countries, let the merry-go-round and spectacle of transfers begin
oh and the spectacle of the football media has already begun with the media saying that Man United will be signing Harry Kane, Mason Mount, Neymar, Kim (Napoli), Declan Rice, Costa (goalkeeper), Pavard, Sofyan Amrabat, Jurrien Timber, Rasmus Hojlund, Dusan Vlahovic
and that's just for starters lol
Not that it means a lot.
No argument about any of this.
Personally, I think that the proverbial book should be thrown at City.
I think that it may be instructive to compare and contrast Zlatan's (very impressive) first season at Manchester United and the trophies he helped them win, until the time of his injury (ligament damage in his right knee) - when, as you say, some thought that he was "past it" - with the unfortunate return of Ronaldo.
If players look after themselves I see no reason why they cannot continue to play past what many would be considered their 'time'. Players that immediately come to mind are Teddy Sheringham, Franco Baresi, Buffon, Maldini and of course Zlatan but I am sure there are many many more who I have not named who should be listed.
Biggest story in the UK media is that now Benzema has quit Real Madrid, Madrid are on the lookout for a striker and Harry Kane is top of their list. I've been reading some fan forums and many are saying if he wants to win trophies then he should join Madrid but it got me thinking, Wouldn't a player want to win things in the country they play for? Kane is English, he's in the England national team thus surely wouldn't he be wanting to win the league, the FA Cup and League Cup of his own country rather than win silverware in another country just so he can say 'I've won trophies'. Or shouldn't players think like this and instead move to a foreign team where they know they will win trophies?.
It's hard to say what will motivate Kane more: winning trophies or breaking the English goalscoring record.
The other wildcard is, of course, Daniel Levy, who would insist Man Utd pay him a king's ransom for Kane despite there being only one year left on his contract, and yet I'm sure he'd be happy to sell to Real Madrid for a cut rate price.
I can easily see United missing out on the top shelf strikers this summer. Hopefully that Hojlund lad is the real deal.
Ibra, man — what a player.
The other wildcard is, of course, Daniel Levy, who would insist Man Utd pay him a king's ransom for Kane despite there being only one year left on his contract, and yet I'm sure he'd be happy to sell to Real Madrid for a cut rate price.
I can easily see United missing out on the top shelf strikers this summer. Hopefully that Hojlund lad is the real deal.
Ibra, man — what a player.
Any decent striker will be out of their league because as soon as a striker is associated with United an instant £40 to £60 million is added to the strikers value.
So, a West Ham fan thinks it is ok to touch other people's property and behave like a douche and no I do not think it is funny. It's been posted, it's been commented on so time to move on.
I love reading books about the history of football, (which often touch on socio-economic matters, and view football through a historical and political lens as well).
Among other books, I am currently reading: "Ajax: The Dutch, The War - Football in Europe During the Second World War" by Simon Kuper.
Among other books, I am currently reading: "Ajax: The Dutch, The War - Football in Europe During the Second World War" by Simon Kuper.
Last edited:
Despite the excellent (for a neutral who has turned off his moral compass) FA Cup final and the A-League Grand Final (in which a CFG team got hammered 6-1, as Central Coast beat Melbourne City handsomely), I am surprised that we are not talking more about the really big news that some people here have really only touched upon.
Zlatan has announced that football has retired.
Despite his polarising personality and his grandiose sense of self, he really was a special player.
Some key stats for the man, who retires from top flight football at the age of 41:
511 Club Goals
34 Trophies
14 League Titles
11 Ballon D'Or nominations
122 International Matches
62 International Goals
A career that started LAST CENTURY!
Debuted for Malmo in 1999
Went on to play for Ajax, Juventus, Inter, Barcelona, AC Milan, Man Utd, PSG & L A Galaxy.
That's some CV.
Well done, sir. You have entertained millions. Now you can enjoy football's retirement from Zlatan and the world can celebrate your greatness as you would wholly expect and possibly demand.
Zlatan has announced that football has retired.
Despite his polarising personality and his grandiose sense of self, he really was a special player.
Some key stats for the man, who retires from top flight football at the age of 41:
511 Club Goals
34 Trophies
14 League Titles
11 Ballon D'Or nominations
122 International Matches
62 International Goals
A career that started LAST CENTURY!
Debuted for Malmo in 1999
Went on to play for Ajax, Juventus, Inter, Barcelona, AC Milan, Man Utd, PSG & L A Galaxy.
That's some CV.
Well done, sir. You have entertained millions. Now you can enjoy football's retirement from Zlatan and the world can celebrate your greatness as you would wholly expect and possibly demand.
Zlatan has been totally outstanding, most likely the best player Sweden ever had, so it will leave a big hole after him. But Swedes hopes he will continue to share his experience and make the transition to a great leader outside the soccer field now instead. Maybe not immediately, but after awhile. He have an incredible amount of experience and knowledge to share.
I have to make a correction here, he is not so grandiose as people may think. I also thought that at a time, but as a Swede I have changed that perception totally as I've seen it's mostly a game by Zlatan. He has been an incredible team player in the Swedish national football team, more then a diva, that's for sure.
Christophe Galtier has been sacked by PSG.
Back when Ancelotti left Everton for Real, and Galtier just had won League 1 with Lille, this was my favourite to take over Everton...but Galtier dodged that bullet.
I'm still interested to see where he ends up this time, though...should be an improvement for most clubs.
Back when Ancelotti left Everton for Real, and Galtier just had won League 1 with Lille, this was my favourite to take over Everton...but Galtier dodged that bullet.
I'm still interested to see where he ends up this time, though...should be an improvement for most clubs.
It’s hard to distinguish Zlatan the Man from Zlatan the Ego and Zlatan the Character.
But he is a phenomenal footballing talent and naturally his larger-than-life persona is perfectly adapted to the contemporary world’s insatiable desire for outlandish characters producing an endless stream of content.
The footballing world will be a duller place without him on the pitch. But of course I fully expect him to get into some kind of punditry - he is not short of opinions and seems more than willing to share them.
Which managerial job is the bigger poisoned chalice: PSG or Chelsea? I guess Poch will cast the deciding vote.
Nagelsmann seems to be the frontrunner for the PSG job now. Good luck with that.
Actually, I think that dubious honour must go to PSG.
Chelsea - not without some serious agony - will recover, (eventually) and Pochettino is an excellent manager.
If Zlatan have had the big ego that @HandsomeDanNZ assumes he would probably had been known for a lot of private trouble and women affair’s as well. That's usually the case with those kinds of men.
But Zlatan is the total opposite to that privately. He’s been married to an 12 year older woman for a long time with whom he have 2 kids. Sure there been various of rumors that the press usually have invented.
His wife is however incredibly private and have been a rock for Zlatan through his career.
So no, the Zlatan ego-thing are invented of other's because they want to see what they see, so they can make their projections into him.
But Zlatan is the total opposite to that privately. He’s been married to an 12 year older woman for a long time with whom he have 2 kids. Sure there been various of rumors that the press usually have invented.
His wife is however incredibly private and have been a rock for Zlatan through his career.
So no, the Zlatan ego-thing are invented of other's because they want to see what they see, so they can make their projections into him.
Juventus has just sent out a press release saying they're in talks with Barça and Real Madrid concerning getting out of the Super League.
One can have an incredible ego in their public life, and/or be seen as a bit of a jerk, without also having a controversial personal life. Luis Suarez is another example of that - on the pitch he was a classic agent provocateur...he bit people, for goodness' sake! Off the pitch, however, he is by all accounts a respectable family man. Pepe is another one. An infamously dirty player, easily on my top ten 'players I loathe' list, but he has not had a controversial life outside the game.
So I think the stereotype of the 'bad boy' footballer is just that. You can find plenty of examples of womanizing, gambling, spendthrift, troublemaking libertines in the game. But most players don't actually fit that stereotype.
Of course, some players can use their wealth and influence to protect themselves from allegations that a less well-connected person might be punished for (e.g. the rape allegations against Cristiano Ronaldo, allegations that were arguably never properly investigated and were quashed over legal technicalities).
Not sounding so super these days, I think.
