Milan, Zlatan Ibrahimovic: “I’m not a babysitter, players need to take responsibility”

Milan, Zlatan Ibrahimovic: "I am not a babysitter, players must take responsibility"

Past, present and future: this is what Zlatan Ibrahimovic talked about, as always without inhibitions, in an’interview with The Athletic, reported by Sportmediaset’s website.

“Weaknesses? No, becauseé if I am objective I go all the way and then either you succeed or you fail. È a 50/50 chance? No, in my case è 99 out of 100. I do everything to succeed. È all mental, I know how good I am. In fact, even higher: 99.9 percent”.

"I am not a babysitter. My players are adults and they have to take responsibility. They have to give 200% even when they are not there. I have a say in many categories to bring results and increase value, all with the ambition to win".

“Me coach? No. See my gray hairs? Let alone after a week as a coach. The life of a coach lasts up to 12 hours a day, you have absolutely no free time. My role è to connect everything, to be a leader from the top and to make sure the structure and organization work. To keep everyone on'alert”.

”My son signing a professional contract with Milan? It è not easy for him because, of course, his father è the one who è, carries a heavy last name. Wherever he goes, he will è always be compared. But at Milan, in my role, I don’t see him different from the others. I do not judge him as if he were my son, I judge him as a player, as I judge all the others. He has to learn, he has to work and he has to earn. Then what happens, happens. È strong mentally. People think soccer is easy and everyone comes, but it è” not so.

"Who provided me with leadership? At Juventus, I had Fabio Capello. He destroyed me, but at the same time he built me up". How, easy. Today you were crap, tomorrow you will be the best. So when you think you are the best, it destroys you. Then it becomes confusion and you don’t know: 'Fuck, am I really the best or am I shit? ' So when you were already, he was rebuilding you".

"Mourinho? José was a machine. He brings out the best in you. He è that person: manipulative. He knows how to get inside your head. He knows how to treat you, regardless of your level. He reminded me of Capello, but a more recent version. Discipline. Toughness. Intense. Not the soft types. This è what I like. Do you remember where I come from? My family è tough".

“When I came the second time to Milan, it was more about giving than taking. I wanted to pave the way for a new generation. You are the’example, saying, 'Listen, è this is how it works'. When you are in Milan è the’élite of the’élite: pressures, demands, obligations. You have to take responsibility, become a man, becauseé a player counts not only on the field, but also the person off it. I was the reference point, I didn’t have an ego about it. I was like a kind of…guardian angel”.