When it comes to a player as self-assured as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, others don’t often get much credit for his development.
“I can’t help but laugh at how perfect I am,” the confident Manchester United centre-forward once said.
But he wasn’t always “perfect” and Ibrahimovic has credited a former England manager with changing his game forever.
The day after the 35-year-old scored his 24th goal for United since his summer move from Paris Saint-Germain, which sent the Red Devils through to the last eight of the FA Cup, he posted a photograph to Instagram alongside Fabio Capello, with whom he worked at Juventus.
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“The person who changed my game, Fabio Capello,” Ibrahimovic wrote.
It was during his time as Roma manager that Capello became aware of a young Ibrahimovic but the Italian didn’t manage to sign the enigmatic forward until 2004, when he had taken over at Juventus.
And Capello has previously stated that he too believes that he managed to tweak the Swede’s game, which ultimately turned him into the player he is today.
“I saw Ibra for the first time when I was the coach of Roma and realised he had great technique,” Capello said last year, with quotes appearing in Football-Italia.
“I had wanted to sign him at Roma, but we were packed up front with the likes of Gabriel Batistuta, Francesco Totti, Vincenzo Montella, Marco Delvecchio and Antonio Cassano, so we didn’t go for him.
“When I went to Juventus, I asked the club to sign him, as I’d never seen a player with his physical strength and technical qualities too.
“After a month at Juve, I noticed he was not kicking the ball very well and wasn’t good in the air. He is a very proud guy and worked every day to improve himself. He stayed behind after training sessions for extra target practice.
“At the time, the goal was not in his DNA, as he had more fun providing assists. He followed my advice to be more determined in front of goal and turned into a real hitman.
“He is humble, but also really likes being Number One.”
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