Is Zlatan right? Are Man Utd stuck in the past?
Martin Macdonald
- 23 Nov 2021 09:09 GMT
- 5 min read
Manchester United sacked Ole Gunnar Solskjaer over the weekend following a disastrous run of results.
Over the past month or so, they have been demolished 5-0 at home by Liverpool, easily defeated 2-0 at home by Manchester City, and humbled 4-1 away at Watford.
It was the loss against the Hornets which ultimately ended Solskjaer's reign at Old Trafford.
Over his tenure, the Norwegian was accused of not having any clear tactics on the pitch.
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But, perhaps his most damning philosophy was his constant remarks about a supposed 'Manchester United' DNA as he desperately attempted to hold on to the club's glory days.
Now that Solskjaer is gone, there is a general feeling that Man Utd need to modernise from top to bottom and stop looking back on past successes in order to compete with the elite clubs in Europe again.
One former player, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, says that was his intention when he signed for Man Utd a few years ago.
“They talk too much about the past," the Swede superstar told the Guardian.
"When I went there I said: ‘I’m here to focus on the present and to make my own story.’
“But when you have too much it becomes like a loop. You have to think about the present or you should go to a hospital and clean your head.”
Ibrahimovic enjoyed a positive period at the club, winning the League Cup and the Europa League under Jose Mourinho.
Though, those successes were far from what is ultimately expected at Old Trafford - Premier League and Champions League victories.
Is the Premier League overrated?
Ibrahimovic only spent two seasons in the Premier League and had to contend with a serious knee injury in that time.
Although he believes the technical aspect of the top flight in England is overrated, he believes the league makes up for that with its intensity.
“I had a great experience in England. Manchester United are an amazing club and we won a couple of trophies,” he explained.
“The quality is overrated in a technical way. But the Premier League has different qualities – the pace, the rhythm. You can be the best player in the world but if you cannot handle that pace and rhythm [you won’t succeed].
“In Spain, France, Italy, the technique is better. That’s why there are so many foreigners in the Premier League. They bring the technical [aspect].”
The former Inter, PSG and Barcelona star is enjoying a career renaissance at the moment and is still going strong at Milan despite turning 40 in October.
After a period in Major League Soccer with LA Galaxy, he returned to Europe and performed for Milan like he had never been away.
At the weekend, he scored two goals as the Rossoneri lost to Fiorentina.
