Zlatan Ibrahimovic claims he ‘Zlatanised’ Stefano Pioli, who proved himself to be a great coach at Milan, but the striker has no patience with his younger teammates.
He spoke to Discovery+ in Sweden and reveals how he affected the environment at Casa Milan when he arrived in January 2020.
“Perhaps I Zlatanised Pioli and made him become more like me,” smiled Ibra.
“He arrived at a Milan side where the atmosphere was difficult. If we are where we are now, it is thanks to the work he’s done, as he is a great coach.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic claims he ‘Zlatanised’ Stefano Pioli, who proved himself to be a great coach at Milan, but the striker has no patience with his younger teammates.
He spoke to Discovery+ in Sweden and reveals how he affected the environment at Casa Milan when he arrived in January 2020.
“Perhaps I Zlatanised Pioli and made him become more like me,” smiled Ibra.
“He arrived at a Milan side where the atmosphere was difficult. If we are where we are now, it is thanks to the work he’s done, as he is a great coach.
“He has the right mentality and expects a lot of the team, even if it’s quite a young squad. Perhaps he has more patience than me, but then he is older and more mature than me too.
“Pioli is accustomed to situations where he had to fight to stay in Serie A, and obviously that is different compared to fighting to be at the top. It’s different pressure, but still very stressful.
“Pioli was not accustomed to working with top players, but he has experience and proved himself to be a great coach. Now there is no doubt that he is suited to this level.”
Ibrahimovic is not joking when he says he lacks patience with his teammates, even the younger players.
“When you play at this level, it’s the same pressure, it doesn’t matter who you are. If you are here, then you deserve to be here and nobody is meant to wait around for you.
“I don’t care if you are young or not, there’s no time to waste at Milan. You have to play well now. If I don’t play well, Milan will sign another striker, it’s the same for everyone.
“Obviously, off the field it’s different. If you are Rafael Leao, I’ll take to you in a certain way, if you’re Simon Kjaer and more mature, you’ve got kids, obviously it’s different. But on the pitch, we are all the same.
“When I came to Italy for the first time, I had teammates who saw me as a young kid who brought energy and adrenaline. They were all stars who had won important trophies and been at the top for some time.
“This new generation, you just have to play well for five minutes and you’re seen as a great player. I am happy to be from the old school of doing things. You have to prove yourself before you can be praised.”