Zlatan Ibrahimovicin view of the friendly between Milan And ManCity scheduled for the night, has released the following statements reported by MilanNews.it:
On Morata’s arrival: “When you talk to players, you have to make sure they get into a comfort zone. As soon as you get into a comfort zone, everything is easier. I think he’s happy. When a player is happy off the pitch, he’s happy on it and it’s easier to perform, then obviously if you have the coach’s trust it becomes even easier. When you play in clubs like Milan there’s competition, and it’s only positive because you bring out the best, it means you give 100% to 200% every day, otherwise the coach has two or three choices. I told Morata that the perfect place to come is Milan, because the number 9 is a position, not a number, because he’s the number 7. The number 9 is the best position we have available today and we needed it, he’ll have Leao, Okafor, Chukwueze, RLC behind him, he’s understood what he’ll have. We just want to make him happy. We’re quite confident he’ll do well. I don’t know any player who was here and isn’t happy and isn’t performing and we make sure they perform at their best. So he just has to play and we’ll take care of the rest. So we just wait for him to join the team. And we welcome him with open arms, he just has to be himself.”
Ibrahimovic continued on other topics: “The passion in Italy, compared to Germany and England, is bigger. It’s such a big thing for Italians that you become part of their family. The fans you have in Italy are born for a club, just like Milan fans are born, for them Milan is everything. Imagine if you win for them, what you become. The players just have to do their best, play, I would say that passion makes a big difference.”
Zlatan on how he has seen the culture of American soccer change: “When I left, another big star came in like Messi. There is the World Cup coming up, so he will have a big impact on the league. I see it as positive, the game is growing and in a better way.”
Ibrahimovic and his new role: “Obviously I work from a different point of view now, but at the same time I try to be myself. I’m coming in from a different perspective, with a lot to learn and a lot to give. I have good colleagues and we speak the same language, we believe in the same things and follow the same strategies, and we are young, which I find positive because we are hungry and willing to do good things differently. Obviously with the American owner behind us we want to create a mix of Italian tradition. The future is bright and I am very ambitious because a lot of things are happening at the club. With the new coach, the new players, the Milan Future. Obviously you have to think and judge differently because I am not part of the team on the pitch, the fans are the 12th and I am the 13th man on the pitch, so I try to push from another point to fight for the same thing. That is the goal, and obviously when we play for a club like Milan, the goal is very high, the pressure is very high. We want to continue not only today, but tomorrow and the day after, but I’m enjoying it, that’s the most important part.”