"[Barcelona players] are like schoolchildren obeying everything without protest…whereas I told Guardiola to go f*** himself."
True to his word ("I tell it like it is and let it all hang out"), AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic presents his book, "I Am Zlatan" which comes out in a fortnight in Sweden and in Italy. And it is true that he shoots from the hip, because he really does tell it all. Aftonbladet, Sweden's most important daily newspaper, published the first chapter of the book where Zlatan talks about the year he spent at Barcelona. He gives his impression of what many consider the best team in the world and of its manager Pep Guardiola, and it isn't very complimentary. The Swede described the sensation when he first signed for them in the summer of 2009 like "walking on clouds." But right from their very first meeting, the relationship with Guardiola didn't gel. The coach told him that at Barcelona everyone had to "keep their feet firmly on the ground," and that the club didn't want players to arrive at training in Porsches or Ferraris, they had to keep a lower profile. Zlatan was able to accept this, but it annoyed him: why does a club have to decide which car you one drive? SPEEDING — "I always drive like a madman. I got to 325 kmph, leaving the police behind. I've done so many silly things I daren't think about now," writes Ibrahimovic in the book. Once in Spain after a snowfall he skidded into a wall. At Barca players were banned from driving their sports cars to training. "I thought this was ridiculous. It was no one's business what car I drive, so in April, before a match vs Almeria, I drove my Ferrari Enzo to work. It caused a scene." FIAT AND FERRARI — For Christmas 2009 Zlatan went skiing with his family in Åre, in Sweden. He was very depressed then on account of the Barcelona situation: he was even toying with the idea of hanging up his boots. Initially the Barcelona adventure had started well, but when "Messi began to talk and asked for another role on the pitch, things changed, Guardiola preferred to do what he wanted." After a while Ibra asked to have a meeting with Guardiola, "for a discussion, not an argument. I said I was being used in the wrong way and that they shouldn't have bought me if they wanted another type of player. I'm a Ferrari, but you are driving me as if I were a Fiat." After that meeting things really fell apart. Guardiola did even look at him. Thierry Henry, who had understood the situation, asked about the coach, joking: "Hi Zlatan, has he looked at you today?" "No, but I saw him from behind." "Well done, things are looking up!" SCHOOLBOYS - As the months passed in Spain his relationship with Guardiola began to deteriorate. "I would walk into a room; he would leave. He would greet everyone by saying hello, but would ignore me." He described the Barcelona changing rooms as a place where everyone sat there in silence, well-behaved, almost subdued: "Messi, Xavi and Iniesta were like schoolboys who obeyed every command without protest, whereas I told Guardiola to go fuck himself. I am a guy who likes those who drive through red lights, not pedantic and strict rules. I had done a lot to adapt, so I tried to be overly nice, didn't dare lose my temper." Ibrahimovic breaks off. He says that instead of fighting back he tried to accept things as they were, until he reached the stage when he didn't recognize himself anymore - a complete personality change: "They became too good," explained Ibra, who saw the energy he used to have when he played for other teams vanish. TOTAL BREAKDOWN — Ibrahimovic, who had always been used to success wherever he played, was feeling worse day-by-day: "I was fuming inside," he says in the biography. He called his old friends from the Rosengård district of Malmö to ask their advice. Someone even offered to come to Spain "break some things." "They were very supportive," he joked. but it wouldn't have been the best solution." While he was going through that black period, the striker found comfort in his companion and their family. Ibra speaks of his respect for Mourinho, unlike Guardiola. Diplomatic relations broke down completely before a Champions League match against Inter Milan. Pep was staring at me and I lost it. I thought, there is my enemy, scratching his bald head. I yelled to him: "You have no balls!" And probably worse things than that. I added: "You are shitting yourself because of [then Inter manager Jose] Mourinho. You can fuck off and go to hell!" I was completely mad. I threw a box full of training gear across the room, it crashed to the floor and Pep said nothing, just put stuff back in the box. I'm not violent, but if I were Guardiola, I would've been frightened." At that stage a separation was inevitable and AC Milan made an approach. Ibrahimovic arrived there in August 2010 and now "I feel very much at home." swedish meatballs and yes this is the same guy who was caught in a scandalous~ photo with gerard pique last year
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