During a long connection to Sky Sport 24, Fabio Capello spoke about his relationship with Ibrahimovic: “I saw him play with Ajax and I decided to take him to Juve. He played games, I explained to him that they didn’t make sense and he understood immediately, becoming what it was. To make him better I showed him Van Basten’s tapes, now they should watch his. He’s a real man, tough, sensitive and respectful. A natural leader, his farewell was emotional”
THE RETREAT OF IBRA: PHOTOS AND VIDEOS
First he wanted him, identifying in him the qualities that would make him what he proved to be, then he launched him in Italy making him great. The day after thegoodbye to football by Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Fabio Capello, his coach at Juventus from 2004 to 2006, spoke of his relationship with the Swede, revealing a series of particularly interesting anecdotes. “I coached Rome – Capello began during a long connection to Sky Sport 24 – and every year, after preparation, we had a week in Berlin. Franco Baldini told me about this playerIbrahimovic from Ajax, whom everyone spoke well of, however, saying that he had a somewhat particular head. We played the match against Ajax and he wasn’t there in the first part of the race. I didn’t go back to the locker room and I stood outside to watch the heating. I saw that he was technically very good, he did everything with the ball, then he did two or three things during the game that impressed me. For someone as big and powerful as him, having this ease of dribbling, this technique and these movements remained with me. When I went to Juventus we had to look for a replacement for Trezeguetsomeone who could do something important if Trezeguet was injured, so I asked to take a young man, Ibrahimovic. It was an incredible purchase by Juventus, I found out later: they paid 16 million for him with a four-year payment, evidently they believed in Ajax but not too much precisely because of the personality he has always shown, for that way of doing that sometimes made him seem arrogant. Instead when he arrived at Juventus he realized he had joined a great teamwith great players, and since he proudly wanted to always be firsthe worked hard to be so and to be able to put me in difficulty in making choices”.
“He played useless games, I explained to him that it wasn’t necessary. That’s how Ibra became”
Ibra has often reiterated how theCapello’s approach it was against him essential for its growth: “It made me feel like I was nobody,” the Swede said several times. And the coach also confirmed this version: “It was a difficult part – continued Capello – but he understood immediately that he needed to improve. Probably in the team in which he had played up to that moment he could do what he wanted and express himself as he wanted. For him, expressing himself meant playing games, having fun, not thinking about victory or goals. It meant pure fun. So I tried to make him understand that whether he was good at making plays or plays didn’t matter to the team. That the public likes, but which make no sense and that lead to no result. As I told him that someone as great as him, technically so good, could not fail to score a significant number of goals and not be decisive in the penalty area. He understood this very well, so much so that after some teachings together with Galbiati, almost with exercises from Spring or advanced football school about what he should do and how he should kick or jump, he tried to do everything we said. The nice thing about these talents is that they learn very fast and improve immediately. Step by step, he started to be the player he was.”
read also
Ibra retires: “I’ll be a Milan supporter for life”
“I showed them Van Basten tapes, now they should watch his”
To improve Ibrahimovic, Capello chose a very particular method. “I had Van Basten tapes made – he revealed – because I saw potential in him. When you see potential, you have to stimulate the player in some way and you have to make him understand that what you are saying to him is not a whim of the coach. He could be what Van Basten was or at least he could get close to him. So I showed him Marco’s movements in the penalty area. Once he came to my office in Turin, I took the tapes and told him: ‘Now stay here and watch’. He stayed about half an hour. Now he no longer needs to look at them, perhaps someone else should watch his tapes. On the contrary, these tapes should be made and, given that there is an important talent like Leao, we should tell him: ‘Look at how we move in the penalty area’“.
“Ibra is a true man and a natural leader”
Finally Capello spoke about Zlatan from a personal point of view. “If I had to describe Ibra in a book, I would call his chapter ‘A Man’. A man vero, stand, sensitivebecause we have seen that it is, and respectful. He has always given so much, he was disappointed with those who didn’t understand him or didn’t want him, and I mention Guardiola’s name because he too said that they didn’t understand each other, however he was someone you could talk to or reason with. I have a wonderful relationship with Ibra, I sent him a message immediately after hearing of his farewell to football and he replied immediately. I would say that there are two important farewells: that of Van Basten and that of Ibrahimovic. Two to which, in a certain way, I have always felt very close. They did one thing: I remember Van Basten’s emotion during his lap and I think of the emotion Ibrahimovic transmitted yesterday. He also proved to be a leader with the microphone, he said few words but with a certain weight, just like when he went to Sanremo. For him, being a leader is natural, he has no difficulty at any time“.