Zlatan Ibrahimovic insists that Juventus have won 38 titles, despite the club being stripped of two Scudetti during Calciopoli. The former Juve, Milan and Inter striker was speaking on stage at the Trento Sports Festival and recounted his time with he Bianconeri, his former agent Mino Raiola, and began by discussing his childhood and introduction to football:
“I always played football as a kid and I was fine at school. Everywhere I went I had a ball even if people said I wasn’t good. Ajax? The comparison with Van Basten at the beginning was difficult. It was the first time out of Sweden, alone and with a lot of pressure. Everyone was waiting for magic every day, but I wasn’t ready. The second year went better and the third year I had my baptism.”
“Raiola? My career started with him. I was arrogant and he was also, but in the end I gave up a bit because I needed it. After three months he took me to Juventus. He was more than a agent for me. He was a father, a friend, an adviser: we spoke every day. We have grown up together. I didn’t want to talk about his illness too much, I wanted to bring him positivity and energy. As it was done, he always thought of others, his players. He was strong”
“Capello? As soon as I arrived he told me that he would take the Ajax out of me. He thought I had a technique superior to Van Basten, but that I was worse in movement. I wanted to show Juventus who I was, but I missed the goals. Trezeguet scored them all. At that point I understood the Italian mentality, the importance of scoring goals. The championships of Juve? That’s 38, not 36. We fought every day for all games. On the field we proved to be the strongest and we won.”
“Batotelli? He had so many opportunities to exploit his talent and change his future. He never did, that’s the truth.”
“Going to Barcelona was everyone’s dream at the time, I gave Inter everything and wanted to grow and improve. The first six months went well, then the atmosphere and thoughts changed. Match against Inter in the Champions League? If there had been VAR, things would have been different.”
“Milan? It was not an easy time for me at Barcelona, the coach wanted to sell me at all costs. We played against Milan and Ronaldinho said, ‘After the game come with us.’ At that point Galliani came to our house to convince me. With Berlusconi I had a good relationship, he gave me the chance to smile again.”
“PSG? I didn’t want to leave, I wanted to stay at Milan. They sold me in a pack with Thiago Silva, but I’m a man of his word, I went and in the end it was fantastic. ”
“Back to Milan? It’s the Scudetto that gave me the most satisfaction. We weren’t favourites, not in the top four. There were no superstars, we had to think about game after game. Those who were ready remained, the others left. We created an incredible group, the strongest I’ve ever seen. Everyone has grown and has grown their partner by side. I was injured but I stayed to give my contribution. They said we were lucky, but in the end we won.”
“Is Zlatan better than Leao? I created Leao. That back heel stroke a few games ago is brilliant stuff. If you try to score like this you’re a genius.”
“Maldini? We were always together at Milan, in the positive and negative moments. I’ve seen him grow up as a manager. It wasn’t easy because the budget was limited. I’m sorry for the way he left, he was a bandiera.”
“Lukaku? Unfortunately there was no final challenge. I knew him and he wasn’t the guy who was on the pitch when we had a fight on the field. It surprised me because he’s not so usually like that, but I’m like that.”
“Since I retired I have a completely different freedom. Now I have more offers than when I was playing, but I want to keep making a difference. I don’t want to be a symbol. Milan? I had some meetings, let’s see.”
