As we approach the half-way mark in the 2016/2017 Premier League season, it may be Chelsea and Manchester City who are looking early favourites for the title this season, but there are other headlines being written for the first time in a while about Manchester United.
The club has suffered a slump since Sir Alex Ferguson stepped down in 2013, and, despite Louis van Gaal returning trophies and European football, they are still falling short of their previous selves.
This season potentially marks a change for the side, though. In came Jose Mourinho, who likes to win above everything else, as well as some high profile transfers in Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. While the French midfielder has grabbed the headlines for the ludicrous transfer fee paid for his services, the Swedish striker is making waves on the pitch, and, for the first time since ‘Fergie’ left, is proving to be a standout player who can single-handedly change the course of the club.
Here are the FOUR reasons behind Ibrahimovic’s success so far…
Age is nothing but a number
The age of 30 is dreaded by all footballers. Contracts get shorter, appearances dwindle as younger players score the goals you used to and your body can no longer do the things it used to.
But 35-year-old Zlatan is different. There are precious few examples of outfield players able to play top-level football in the latter stages of their careers (a recent example that springs to mind is Ryan Giggs, which may or may not be a coincidence that he was at Manchester United as well) as the physicality of the English leagues make it harder and harder to survive 90 minutes of football up to twice a week.
‘Ibra’ has missed just one match out of 17 in the Premier League this season (due to suspension against Arsenal), as well as playing in all three EFL Cup matches for the club and all group stage games (six in total) in the Europa League. In only three of these fixtures did he not play the full ninety minutes (one of them being a 2-1 loss against Fenerbahce), and he has scored in twelve out of 25 appearances for the Red Devils.
He has, of course, benefited from not having to play international fixtures this season after retiring from the Swedish side in the summer, but he is not the only one who doesn’t have such commitments in the Premier League. He is one of only two strikers who has made maximum appearances for his team this season in the top tier, the other being 34-year-old Jermain Defoe.
Form is temporary, class is permanent
While there are several world-class players currently in the Premier League (Eden Hazard, Diego Costa and Alexis Sanchez to name just a few), there is no denying that the best players in the game currently tend to reside in the German and Spanish leagues. The arrival of Ibrahimovic to the top tier this summer brought an ilk player to the league not seen since Cristiano Ronaldo. While his salad days are certainly over, he is still one of the best strikers in the footballing world currently, and his arrival at Manchester United this summer was enough to worry the other 19 clubs in the league.
A player may lose their physical fitness and stamina as they grow older, but their talents still remain. As ‘Ibra’ has grown older, he has adapted his game but still remained the talisman forward he has always been. He still exudes the strength that remains a big part of his game (six yellow cards so far this campaign will attest to his aggressive nature on the field) and he has also proven why he is the perfect choice for the main forward, scoring eleven goals in the Premier League and 16 overall, with seven of United’s wins this season down to his goals.
Mourinho’s main man
Jose Mourinho has always enjoyed having a talisman up front, a ‘classic No.9’ who can be relied upon to fill one of the most important roles in his formation. At Chelsea, it was Didier Drogba, Inter Milan had Samuel Eto’o, Karim Benzema was it at Real Madrid and, with his return to the Blues, Diego Costa became the leading man under Mourinho.
With last season’s top goalscorer at Man United on the wing, and the best ‘No.9’ at the club toward the end of the season being youngster Marcus Rashford (with Wayne Rooney becoming more of a midfielder himself last season), it was clear that someone new had to come in to help Mourinho rebuild his successful career after failing at Chelsea last season.
Then there is also the price. While ‘Ibra’ came to the club on a free transfer after his contract expired at Paris Saint-Germain, there is no doubt that, despite his age, he would still command a large transfer fee (he cost the French side just under £16m in 2012), and these high price-tags are also a feature of Mourinho’s forwards. Drogba arrived at Chelsea in 2004 for £24m, becoming the most expensive player in English domestic football at the time. Ten years later, he identified Costa as his principal transfer target for Chelsea and the club met the buy-out for the Atletico Madrid player, spending £32m for him.
Ibrahimovic is the perfect fit for a Mourinho team – a player who can guarantee the same level of service that his previous strikers have and, so far, has lived up to his billing.
Seizing his last chance at an elite club
There aren’t many youngsters in the game who wouldn’t jump at the chance to play at Manchester United at some point in their career. Despite the dip in form the club has suffered in the years since Sir Alex Ferguson has departed the game, ManUnited still remains a global institution in the game, and Old Trafford is still a tough place to visit for opposing sides.
While Zlatan is still in fine form, he must consider he only has two or three years left in the game before he must either take a step down or hang up his boots entirely. While he was only offered a one-year deal at United (with the option of a second in the deal), the opportunity to play for Manchester United at Old Trafford would have been too much for Ibrahimovic to pass on.
It’s not just the club, but also the players who have played there in the past. Zlatan joins a list too long to reel off of greats in the game who have plied their trade at the Theatre of Dreams, and just the opportunity to be named alongside former legends in the game will ensure that his status remains golden as he bows out.
It also completes his ‘bingo card’, for lack of a better term. Ibrahimovic has played at arguably the best clubs in Europe, with Ajax, Juventus, both Milan giants, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain on his CV. Minus Germany, he has performed in all the major leagues in the world of football, and the Premier League completes that. Not only has he secured his final playing days in the top tier of English football, but he has a vital position at still the biggest (and most well known) clubs in the league: Manchester United.