The Swede chose to speak on the podcast (Ne)uspjeh prvaka, ranging from his future to his relationship with his children. In between there is also a fun little scene
Ibra is always the same. Direct, confident, bold. The Swede – now Senior Advisor of RedBird in Milan – chose to talk about himself on the (Ne)uspjeh prvaka podcast. “Everything I experienced as a player also formed me as a man. Everything I learned, that I had around me, made me who I am today. I move forward with that mentality, with that discipline. Everything is the result of who I was as a player and of the objectives I have always had, I have always looked for a winning mentality. It’s not that I don’t know how to lose, I have lost and I will lose again, but I don’t it’s in my nature. I have to win, I want to win and I know how to win. This is me, I want to be different from others and then I see it that way.”
coach ever
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Ibra then spoke about his new job, discarding the hypothesis of a future as a coach. “No. If you were a high-level player, it’s not the same thing… Coaching is another world, it helps you a little, but many make mistakes. They think that since they were great players then they will be great coaches. I suffer because I can no longer play, help my teammates, make an impact, play and win. I felt alive, I entered the field and one had to win. For me losing was difficult, but we are not superheroes. If I didn’t win it was as if I wasn’t alive. The most difficult part of my job is not being able helping players, coaches, fans, clubs. I’m learning to do it in another way, but it’s difficult because I’ve lived that adrenaline for 25 years. I’m improving, but if a player wants to be a coach he has to learn and start from scratch.”
anecdotes
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The former striker spoke about himself without filters, reeling off a series of anecdotes. And when they asked him something about him that wasn’t known, he opened up with a funny story. “I had to finish a workout on the treadmill after I hurt my knees. Six times two minutes of fast running with 3 seconds of rest. I was near the end, I had to go to the bathroom, but I couldn’t stop. I ran, I ran, I shit myself, but I kept running, I got it in my head that I had to finish. If I steal, I steal from myself. I lose, not you.”
relationship with children
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Finally, he opened by talking about his relationship with his children and analyzing what Zlatan was like as a father. “I have more money than my parents had. Money definitely makes things easier, but it doesn’t bring you happiness. I teach discipline, respect and independence. My children didn’t have a phone until they were 13, until today they don’t have Instagram, the oldest only for football, the other didn’t. Until they were 14, nothing. We lived in Beverly Hills, they all had a driver, I sent them with two bikes. One day it was fun, it was raining and I told him: ‘Ride your bike anyway’. I was tough, rigid, strong, but it’s for their good.”
La Gazzetta dello Sport
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