Zlatan scored the tie defining away goal to secure Barca’s safe passage into the last eight of this season’s Champions League, with the second leg home victory serving as mere window dressing. That said, Zlatan’s return from injury in the return was marked by his cheeky assist for Bojan’s goal at the end. The first Barca player in history to score in his first 4 league games, the winner in his El Clásico debut, Champions League goals and assists, winner in El Derbi Barceloní, that goal against Atletico Madrid and that assist for Pique’s goal in Santander. What a first season from the former best player in the world, who’s recently been overtaken by the peerless Leo Messi. 
The argument for this guy is tedious to say the least, for no other reason other than we won’t know if it was worth it for a good long time yet.
We can’t watch every game these guys play in Rocko, so we have to judge on what any of us do see. In my viewing of Zlatan he’s been terribly inconsistent. He’s got a few good goals, but invariably he would follow, even in the same game sometimes, a string of lazy passes or a real lack of work rate. Some games he can just do nothing at all and bitch and moan at everyone.
he strikes me as a lad with bags of talent, but is happy to do just enough to get by, and if he comes under pressure from media or manager or whatever, he’ll up his game for a period of time.
[quote=“Bandage, post: 364336”]
Zlatan scored the tie defining away goal to secure Barca’s safe passage into the last eight of this season’s Champions League, [/quote]
His first ever goal in the knockout stages of the Champions League if I’m not mistaken. Big game player :lol:
Villa is a better player, but would be too much like everyone else at Barca.
Zlatan scoring the winner in El Clasico=worth every penny
Ibrahimovic really won me over with his last couple of seasons at Inter, he was their heartbeat, I think he is a fantastic player and I think it is easy to use the lazy/uninterested stereotype anymore with him…He most certainly was a few years ago but he has worked on his attitude and pretty much has everything you want in an out and out centre forward these days…Physically strong, touch vision, he can run the channels and beat defenders, he can link play and hold it up and he is a finisher…
I take on board people’s points about the Champions’s league but for the past 5 or 6 years(AC Milan aside) Italian teams have struggled in the knockout stages, for arguements sake this doesn’t make Pat Vieira or Maicon or Chivu or Stankovic bad footballers IMHO…Think people are far too quick to judge him on European nights when the team as a whole haven’t performed
I don’t think anyone says he’s a bad player puke, just over rated. There is no doubt he is capable of the sublime.
5.Higuaín
4.Drogba
3.Ronaldo
2.Rooney
1.Messi
These are the top 5 strikers in the world,anyone of at least 5 other strikers would come before Zlatan.
Ronaldo on his day was unmarkable but to keep considering him one of the best is laughable…he is well in his 30’s now…
Please don’t tell me you were clasing Christiano as a striker :huh:
Kevin, I think a lot of people DO watch the majority of Barca games because they’re that good and a privilege to watch. Villa is a different type of player to Zlatan and that’s a point in itself. They didn’t want another diminutive player - they wanted somebody more powerful, proficient in the air and good at holding the ball up to complement their existing players. Of course, the benefit of Zlatan is that he’s two footed and his close control and passing are excellent too, along with his physical attributes. Barca being Barca are going to be coming up against teams with massed defences who camp out on the edge of their own boxes so the variety that their set of attacking players now offers in terms of skill, power, pace, dribbling ability, control, awareness, strength, aerial ability etc invariably allows them to make their collective mark.
If you don’t class Ronaldo (Chris) as one then you can’t really class Messi as one either. He’s coming from very deep positions for an awful lot of his goals. Out of that list Higuain and Drogba are the only “traditional” strikers.
Hardly plays in goals there Puke,he is a converted striker for Real.
Yes, all thats noted, and in theory makes perfect sense. But we’ll just have to wait and see really won’t we.
:o
Where’s Torres?
:huh:
He is an attacking midfielder…Madrid play 4-2-3-1 more often than not with Ronaldo in one of the wide attacking positions…He isn’t a striker, the same way Messi isn’t a striker either…
Good point.
On this seasons form he would be hovering around 7th,but still ahead of Nial Qu i mean Zlatan.
Well if a Real winger scores twice as many goals as a Barca striker surely that proves how overrated Zlatan is?
Why, surely if you are an attacking midfielder you are going to have more freedom and space to make runs and get in the box than the lone centre forward who has to play with tacticla discipline to give the team a platform and shape in which to attack
[quote=“The Puke, post: 364354”]
Why, surely if you are an attacking midfielder you are going to have more freedom and space to make runs and get in the box than the lone centre forward who has to play with tacticla discipline to give the team a platform and shape in which to attack
[/quote]Aaaah no!