In his new autobiography, Zlatan Ibrahimovic has come out on the attack against Pep Guardiola — specifically about Barcelona’s semi-final exit in the Champions League to Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan side in 2010.
Ibrahimovic says he confronted Guardiola in the dressing room after the match:
“I yelled: ‘You haven’t got any balls!’ and worse than that I added: ‘You can go to hell!’ I completely lost it, and you might have expected Guardiola to say a few words in response, but he’s a spineless coward. He just picked up the metal box, like a little caretaker, and then left, never to mention it again, not a word.”
The Swedish international added:
“I’d already got the impression that Barcelona was a little like being back at Ajax, it was like being back at school. None of the lads acted like superstars, which was strange. Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, the whole gang – they were like schoolboys. The best footballers in the world stood there with their heads bowed, and I didn’t understand any of it. It was ridiculous.
“Everyone did as they were told. I didn’t fit in, not at all. I thought, just enjoy the opportunity, don’t confirm their prejudices. So I started to adapt and blend in. I became way too nice. It was mental. I said what I thought people wanted me to say. It was completely messed up. I drove the club’s Audi and stood there and nodded my head. I hardly even yelled at my team-mates any more. I was boring. Zlatan was no longer Zlatan.”
Here are today’s world soccer news headlines:
La Liga
- Zlatan Ibrahimovic: Pep Guardiola was a ‘spineless coward’ at Barcelona — The Guardian
- Real Madrid announce record revenues — ESPN FC
Premier League
- Tottenham turn to Arsenal and Olympic stadium designers in rethink over new home — Evening Standard
- Juan Mata happy to continue ‘amazing’ two years at Chelsea — Metro
- Turkish outfit Trabzonspor have entered talks with City over a loan move for John Guidetti — MCFC
- Alan Hutton has revealed his huge disappointment and anger at Aston Villa — Four Four Two
- Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois rejects Barcelona talk — Evening Standard
- Richard Keys and Andy Gray slip back on to British TV with Al Jazeera — The Mail
- West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce hails win against Espanyol — West Ham United
- Arsenal to continue spending with huge January swoop for Luis Suarez planned — Metro
- Sunderland name Phil Bardsley in Premier League squad — Shields Gazette
- Arsenal investigate academy coach over Mesut Ozil betting tweet — Evening Standard
- Ex-Liverpool defender Dossena on half wages to seal Sunderland switch — Sunderland Echo
Football League
- Portsmouth reborn as supporters prepare for a different type of battle — The Guardian
- The Football League publishes 2012/13 agents’ fees report — FC Business
International soccer
- World Cup qualifiers Group H: England v Moldova match preview — The Independent
- Spain options limited by injuries ahead of Finland qualifier — ESPN FC
- Leônidas da Silva remembered with a Google Doodle to mark his 100th birthday — Telegraph
- Stephan El Shaarawy out of Italy XI — ESPN FC
The Daily Soccer Report is your morning guide to the latest world soccer news headlines, so you don’t have to spend an hour or more scanning the Internet. We do all the work for you. Read The Daily Soccer Report on World Soccer Talk every morning to stay on top of all the news that matters.
