International Football

MALMO SUPPORTERS INSIST ON IBRAHIMOVIC STATUE MUST GO

Published

5 years ago

January 10, 2020

“We are angry because he believes he can do whatever he likes and still be loved. He doesn’t understand how it is to be a true supporter.”

Simon Bengtsson is just one of many Malmo fans who is not ready to forgive Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

It has been a rough few months for the Sweden legend in his home city.

The veteran striker has seen his legacy as a Malmo icon toppled, both figuratively and literally, as investment in rival Allsvenskan club Hammarby and the boast that he wants to make them “the biggest in Scandinavia” proved the breaking point in a relationship that stretches back 25 years to when he first joined the club as a kid.

The statue honouring Sweden’s record goalscorer was only unveiled in Malmo in October, a beaming Ibrahimovic proclaiming to the sizeable crowd in attendance that it was dedicated to “everyone out there who doesn’t feel welcome”.

The striker was referring to difficulties he faced as an extrovert growing up in then homogenous Sweden – little did he know the statue itself would soon become persona non grata.

In the early hours of 5 January, vandals sawed the sculpture at the ankles until it collapsed, the final blow in a string of attacks following his investment in Hammarby that included cutting off the nose, spray-painting, and even an attempt to set the structure on fire.

The vandals account for the extreme end of the spectrum in the anti-Zlatan crowd, but the feeling of anger and disappointment is widespread.

“I would say a large majority of Malmo fans are disappointed with Zlatan,” Bengtsson tells the BBC. “Nobody I know defends him. Of course some think the vandalism is wrong but at the same time they understand why people have done it.”

Though he never won a trophy in Sweden and played fewer than 50 senior matches for Malmo, the club’s supporters used to see Ibrahimovic’s globetrotting success as a source of personal pride, thrilled to watch one of their own make it big. Now, they feel hoodwinked, and that sense of pride was not reciprocated.

“Before, he was something you were proud of. A global superstar brought up in our club, but now you don’t want to hear anything about him,” Bengtsson insists.

“He thinks we should be grateful for what he did for us but really he won nothing at Malmo. He was sold for a lot of money and that’s all.”

Fellow Malmo fan Alexander Ivanovski explains that there is a strong feeling of betrayal caused by Ibrahimovic’s decision to try to help Hammarby grow and not Malmo: “The reason it cuts so deep is it goes against what he always said. He has always said Malmo is his home town, he will always love Malmo and there is no club that’s bigger or can be bigger”.

The way Ibrahimovic chose to announce the business move made matters even worse, according to Ivanovski. “If he purchased the 25% and didn’t talk about it, or said something about Malmo, it would have been more accepted.

“But he bought a quarter of the club then said he wants to make them the strongest in Scandinavia. He didn’t just put in the knife, he turned it around to damage the Malmo fans even more.”

The outrage is so prevalent in the city that it has created an unwelcome dilemma for the local authority over what they should do with the statue.

Restore it, and the vandalism will likely continue unless resources are invested in tightening security, a move that isn’t likely to go down well among taxpayers in a one-club football-mad city. Move it elsewhere, and the message is that the vandals won.

What lawmakers will not be able to do is bury their heads in the sand. A petition demanding the sculpture be moved already has eight times the necessary number of signatures to ensure it is debated by the local government by the end of February.

Kaveh Houseeinpour, vice chairperson of Malmo’s official fan organisation MFF Support, is in no doubt regarding what should happen.

“We said as soon as he bought a stake in Hammarby that the statue should be moved. It was unavoidable that it would be vandalised unfortunately. For the sake of everyone it should have been moved straight away,” he said.

“After years abroad he has lost his grounding in the city and the club. The Malmo mentality of ‘us against the world’ created Zlatan, Zlatan didn’t create Malmo.”

Ibrahimovic left Malmo 19 years ago, and sold the property he once owned in the city back in 2015, so it is hardly a surprise that he isn’t on top of the zeitgeist there.

Perhaps, as the artist behind the statue suggested earlier this week, the sculpture would strike a better connection in a city where he has spent more of his adult life, and has a greater understanding of the prevailing mood: Milan.

International Football

BREAKING – Video: Osimhen accepts to join Galatasaray

Published

5 days ago

September 3, 2024

Kunle Solaja

At last, Nigeria’s striker Victor Osimhen is out of the limbo. He has accepted to join Galatasaray on loan.

He is now asking for a release clause at Napoli to become €75m instead of €130m

He also wants a break clause for January in case top clubs approach him over move.

The final points are being discussed. He has been videoed celebrating with the Turkey club’s fans.

International Football

Uruguay striker Suarez to play last international match on Friday

Published

5 days ago

September 3, 2024

Kunle Solaja

Uruguay striker Luis Suarez announced his international retirement on Monday, ending a 17-year career with his national team as their top scorer with 69 goals.

The 37-year-old, who has 142 caps for his country, made his international debut in 2007 and was key in the squad that reached the semi-finals of the 2010 World Cup and won the Copa America a year later.

“Friday will be my last match with my country’s national team,” an emotional Suarez told a press conference.

“The fact that is my decision to retire and that I’m not retired because of injuries or that they stop calling me for one thing or another, that gives me a lot of comfort, it helps me individually.

“It’s difficult but it gives me peace of mind that until the last game I have given my all, and that flame has not been extinguished little by little,” the striker added.

Uruguay take on Paraguay at the Centenario stadium in Montevideo on Friday in the South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup before facing Venezuela four days later.

Suarez scored the stoppage-time goal against Canada that secured third place at the Copa America in July and the striker added that one of his aims was to show he could continue to contribute to the national team.

“My dream was for my children to see me win something important with the national team … that last goal was very nice for them and even though it wasn’t a trophy to take home, it was very nice for them,” he said.

“I wanted to show people again that I can continue to contribute to the national team and, well, I had the Copa America and yes, I could have done it (retired) perfectly after that, but having analysed the situation, I want to do it with my people, in my stadium.

“I want my children to live this experience. Saying goodbye with the people here is something that I don’t know if many have done.”

Suarez has already said Inter Miami will be his last club after joining the Major League Soccer side last year to reunite with former Barcelona teammates Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba.

-Reuters

International Football

Quitting Portugal never crossed my mind, says Ronaldo

Published

5 days ago

September 3, 2024

Kunle Solaja

Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo dismissed suggestions he had considered ending his international career in the near future, adding that post-Euro criticism did not worry him.

Portugal host Croatia in their Nations League opener on Thursday before welcoming Scotland in League A Group One on Sunday.

“That’s all from the press. It never crossed my mind that my cycle (with Portugal) had come to an end. Quite the opposite: it gave me even more motivation to continue to be honest,” Ronaldo told a press conference on Monday.

“The motivation is to come to the national team to win the Nations League … We’ve already won it once and we want to do it again. I might say the same thing over and over again, but I don’t think long term, it’s always short term.”

Ronaldo captained Portugal to success in the opening edition of the Nations League in 2018-19, three years after they became European Champions for the first time in France.

“Until the end of my career, I will always have the mindset that I will be a starter,” Ronaldo added.

“What I feel at the moment, and the coach’s (Roberto Martinez) words also demonstrate this, is that I continue to be an asset to the national team and I will be the first (to admit it) if that isn’t the case.

“When I’m (no longer) an asset I will be the first to leave. But I will go with a clear conscience, as always, because I know who I am, what I can do, what I do and what I will continue to do.”

The 39-year-old appeared untroubled by criticism he faced for failing to score at the 2024 European Championship.

“Criticism is great because if it doesn’t exist there’s no progress. It’s always been like this. Is it going to change now? It won’t,” Ronaldo said.

“So I try to follow my path, be as professional as possible, help in the best way possible with my professionalism and not just with goals, assists, discipline, and example, because football is much more than just playing well or scoring a goal.

“The people who give their opinions have never been in a locker room, and I often laugh because it’s the same thing as me talking about Formula 1.

“How can I give my opinion on Formula 1 if I don’t know anything about tires, rims or the weight of the car … It’s normal and that’s why for me criticism is good and part of it, it’s no problem at all.”

-Reuters