Zlatan Ibrahimovic as a player has a special place in the hearts of AC Milan fans for over a decade, but he is under a new-found scrutiny now he is behind a desk.
Ibrahimovic and Paolo Maldini’s return signified a new and positive era for the club, a quick rise from 2020-23, restoring a directionless but of course huge and historic club in such a short amount of time. Yet it all seems to be crumbling just as fast.
From transfer market decisions to technical decisions, and so on. It seems that Zlatan’s role with the club is rather unexplainable. Is he a PR man, or is he the CEO, does he have the final say on major sporting decisions? There are far too many questions to be answered and Zvonimir Boban himself is still waiting on them based on their last conversation.
It’s difficult to view him as a director/executive so soon, he seemingly hopped into his new career almost immediately. We are talking about an all-time great player with massive success who had just retired, not even less than a year later he joined one of the biggest clubs in the world as a gigantic figurehead.
Regardless of the club size that is difficult in itself, and then to do it at a club like Milan in the situation it was in is even more stressful. Factor in Maldini’s sacking and the backing of the owner who is rather not well-accepted by the fans, Zlatan had an uphill battle from the start regardless of his standing as a former player.
Milan are not a club that can afford a figurehead to learn on the job, this doesn’t represent stability. In turn, this also harms another legend’s legacy. His playing career can only matter so much when the club suffers from his PR squabbles and sporting decisions in a time of high volatility between supporters and the club.
It was fine to enjoy Zlatan’s press conferences of animal jokes and third-person narration, because he could carry the team on his back to a Scudetto and score 28 goals in Serie A, so why would any of us care?
Zlatan has to know he can’t back up the way he speaks anymore on the pitch. He can only stand afar and hope that his decisions are going to be a success. The optical nightmare that is at Milanello never seems to end, Zlatan is doing Live Streams with iShowSpeed one day and then making managerial decisions based on fan backlash, the next (see the Julen Lopetegui debacle).
When Milan are 14 points off top spot in the league, sitting in eighth, having the Curva Sud protest, and having just sacked their manager after sending him up for a post-match press conference, these lion comments are no longer funny and greatly irritating to many.
What is the ultimate goal here for Ibrahimovic, is it to lead Milan to glory like he did in his playing days or is this a circus act where he becomes the main attraction while the performances become a sideshow?
The events of this past weekend don’t shed any positive light on those working for the club, they came across as cowards and people who are way in over their heads. Define your role, be classy, and have the respect of the fans in mind when you make decisions publicly and privately.
In moments of crisis people look and turn to their leaders. Zlatan’s legacy is hanging in the balance and it starts with the Supercoppa Italiana, the first game for a new coach we presume he had a big hand in choosing.
Will these past few months be about learning and growing, or will it be one return too many for the former striker?
