MILAN, Italy: Zlatan Ibrahimović’s return has once again transformed AC Milan.
When Ibrahimović moved back to Milan at the start of 2020, he sparked a turnaround that saw the club finish second in his first full season and then end their 11-year wait for the league title the following year.
This time, his return from injury has led to Milan’s revival.
Ibrahimović made his first appearance of the season in Sunday’s 2-0 win over Atalanta and at 41 years, 146 days he became the oldest Milan player in Serie A, beating the mark that Alessandro Costacurta had established at 41 years, 25 days.
“There’s great emotion. It’s been a year and a half that I haven’t managed to play soccer as I wanted to, that I wasn’t well and I couldn’t do what I loved,” Ibrahimović said to Italian broadcaster Sport Mediaset. “Before I suffered a lot … because of my physical condition. Now it’s really good to be back on the field.”
The victory was Milan’s fourth straight in all competitions and lifted the team into second place alongside Inter Milan.
That run started with a win over Torino on Feb. 10, ending a streak of seven matches without a victory. Ibrahimović’s first match back in the squad, following knee surgery in May, was that game against Torino, though he didn’t play.
“From the moment I came back into the squad I was sure I could still make a difference and could transmit my certainty and my confidence to the others,” Ibrahimović said. “It wasn’t a happy period when I came back in, but in the last three or four matches we have been playing very well … but we mustn’t let up, because just one defeat is enough to call everything into question again.”
Milan visit Fiorentina on Saturday looking to continue their push for the top four in Serie A in a tight battle for the qualifying positions for next season’s Champions League. The team visit Tottenham in the round of 16 of this season’s competition on Wednesday, protecting a slender 1-0 advantage from the first leg.
A Champions League winner’s medal is one of the few missing items from Ibrahimović’s longlist of honors. The Swedish forward has been left off Milan’s list for the competition this year but could yet have several more chances to win the title.
“If I feel like I feel today, I can continue to play for a few more years still, not just next year,” Ibrahimović said. “The truth is that up until three weeks ago, the feelings weren’t positive. Then something happened and I’ve done more in three weeks than in the past eight months.”
Zlatan Ibrahimović’s return lifts AC Milan yet again
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Zlatan Ibrahimović’s return lifts AC Milan yet again
- Ibrahimović made his first appearance of the season in Sunday’s 2-0 win over Atalanta and at 41 years, 146 days
- He became the oldest Milan player in Serie A, beating the mark that Alessandro Costacurta had established at 41 years, 25 days
Barcelona ready for Real test after Champions League exit, says Flick
- Barca lead the Spanish top-flight by four points over second-placed Real
- “After the defeat in Milan, everyone knows it’s not easy... but we’re doing things right,” Flick told reporters
BARCELONA: Barcelona’s players have discussed last week’s Champions League elimination and are ready to put their disappointment behind them as they prepare to face LaLiga title rivals Real Madrid, manager Hansi Flick said on Saturday.
Barca, who suffered a 4-3 Champions League semifinal defeat by Inter Milan on Tuesday, lead the Spanish top-flight by four points over second-placed Real.
With four matches left in the season, a home win on Sunday would move Flick’s side one victory away from their 28th Spanish league title.
“We’re doing well. After the defeat in Milan, everyone knows it’s not easy... but we’re doing things right. We’ve talked about what we want to do in these two weeks,” Flick told reporters.
“There are four more games to go. El Clasico is important, we have to show how well we can play. We have to show confidence. The players are doing very well... We’ve been talking about what they are thinking, what they are feeling.
“We had to talk about it as a group. Everyone knows that in a Clasico you have to give 100 percent. You have to be active, intense, dominant. Real Madrid is a very good team, and we need the fans.”
Barcelona have conceded 10 goals in their last four games across all competitions, leading to questions over their solidity and the team’s use of a high line when defending.
Flick, however, is content with his back line.
“When we started, I was clear about the philosophy... There have been games, especially at the beginning, where we saw doubts, but the team has adapted well,” he said.
“They have also been improving and are happy with the style and how we want to play. When you see the quality of the players you are happy.”
Flick also singled out defender Inigo Martinez for praise.
“He likes to play deeper, and it’s unbelievable to see how he’s adapted,” the German said.
“He’s a leader and focuses on winning every game. He works hard in every training session.
He shares his positive feelings with his teammates and he is a fighter. A great leader.”
Flick said striker Robert Lewandowski, returning from a hamstring injury, and full back Alejandro Balde would not start against Real.
“Gerard Martin and the rest of the players are doing very well,” Flick said.
“After this match, we have three more games left. Maybe they (Lewandowski and Balde) will get minutes in the second half, I think Balde is ready for that.”
Postecoglou ‘hopeful’ Son will return for Spurs against Palace
- South Korea international Son, 32, has missed the club’s past seven fixtures with a foot injury
- “Half hopeful that we get Sonny some minutes tomorrow so he’ll be the only one that sort of can come back in,” Postecoglou said
LONDON: Ange Postecoglou says he is “half hopeful” that captain Son Heung-min will return on Sunday as he makes plans for Tottenham’s showdown with Manchester United in the Europa League final.
South Korea international Son, 32, has missed the club’s past seven fixtures with a foot injury, including both legs of Tottenham’s 5-1 aggregate win against Norwegian champions Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League semifinals.
“Everyone got through OK the other night. Half hopeful that we get Sonny some minutes tomorrow so he’ll be the only one that sort of can come back in,” Spurs boss Postecoglou said on Saturday.
“I think what we do know about Thursday night, playing on an artificial pitch (in Norway) takes a lot out of the players, it’s fair to say they were sore.”
Defenders Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Destiny Udogie are expected to be rested against Palace.
Tottenham are a lowly 16th in the Premier League ahead of their match against Palace — a point and a place below United.
But they reached the semifinals of the League Cup and have a chance to win their first silverware for 17 years in the Europa League.
The Australian will bring up a century of fixtures as Tottenham boss in the Europa League final against United in Bilbao on May 21.
“It’d be a nice little bow there for that 100 and it’s been a really full 100,” he said. “It’s fair to say I’ve experienced just about every emotion in it and hopefully the one main emotion we’re all after will be the joy at the end of it.
“We have had a ridiculous injury-riddled season coupled by the fact we’ve done really well in two competitions and that is 60 games.
“So, it has felt — and certainly for me personally it has felt — like a really, really long season.
“But you just get energy and realize what happened the other night and you’re so close to achieving something special that it all dissipates into the background, so you get the energy you need.”
Yuri Cesar the hero as Shabab Al-Ahli beat Sharjah to take President’s Cup
- A 2-1 win at Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium secures UAE league, cup double for Paulo Sousa’s men
DUBAI: Brazilian winger Yuri Cesar emerged as the hero for all-conquering Shabab Al-Ahli as his brace of goals secured a come-from-behind 2-1 President’s Cup final victory against Sharjah and the fourth trophy of an unforgettable campaign.
Paulo Sousa’s troops walked out at Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium on Friday fresh from securing ADNOC Pro League glory with three matches remaining, adding to their UAE-Qatar Challenge Shield and Emaar Super Cup triumphs.
But their latest pursuit of glory got off to a tricky start when UAE utility player Marcus Meloni slotted in an early cross for The Kings, led by Cosmin Olaroiu.
Ex-Flamengo youngster Cesar levelled in stunning fashion deep into first-half injury time with a superb free-kick, before a dizzying solo run and precise low strike from the edge of the penalty box proved decisive just past the hour mark.
Sousa told Abu Dhabi Sports: “Myself and my staff decided to come here (last summer) because we felt we had the ambition from the club, then we built it up. We deserve all these treasures; it was amazing.
“It’s a very difficult team to play (Sharjah). They are really mature; without too many things they create lots of difficulties because they are really compact and determined in individual challenges.”
Under the guidance of Sousa — and including the likes of Iran’s superstar Sardar Azmoun and emerging UAE goalkeeper Hamad Al-Meqbaali in their ranks — Shabab Al-Ahli have been this term’s dominant force. They were only denied a clean domestic sweep after suffering a 2-1 defeat against Al-Jazira in last month’s ADIB Cup showpiece.
Shabab Al-Ahli are now the President’s Cup’s most successful team with 11 titles, one more than Sharjah.
Friday’s clash represented another near miss for their opponents, who are on course to finish a distant second in the top flight.
Iraq hire former Australia boss Graham Arnold as head coach
- Arnold left Australia in September
- Iraq are third in Group B of Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup
BAGHDAD: Iraq hired former Australia boss Graham Arnold as head coach of their national team on Friday.
Arnold left Australia in September after six years in charge during which he took the Socceroos to the last 16 of the 2022 World Cup, where they lost to eventual winners Argentina.
Iraq are third in Group B of Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup and Arnold will start with two crucial games against leader South Korea in Basra on June 5 and second-placed Jordan in Amman five days later.
Six points from these two matches would seal Iraq’s place at the tournament for the first time since their 1986 debut.
FIFA Women’s World Cup to be expanded to 48 teams from 2031
- The 48-team tournament will adopt a 12-group format, increasing the total number of matches from 64 to 104
- The 2027 tournament in Brazil will remain at 32 teams
PARIS: The Women’s World Cup will be expanded from 32 to 48 teams, like the men’s competition, starting with the 2031 edition, FIFA announced on Friday.
The FIFA Council unanimously agreed to enlarge the competition “given the remarkable recent strides made by women’s football across the world,” the sport’s governing body said in a statement.
The 48-team tournament will adopt a 12-group format, increasing the total number of matches from 64 to 104 and extending the tournament by one week, FIFA said.
FIFA have still to ratify the 2031 and 2035 hosts.
The 2027 tournament in Brazil will remain at 32 teams.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino said the move followed the success of the 2023 World Cup in Australia won by Spain.
The 2023 tournament was “the first in which teams from all confederations won at least one game and teams from five confederations reached the knockout stage, among many other records, set a new standard for global competitiveness,” said Infantino.
“This decision ensures we are maintaining the momentum in terms of growing women’s football globally.
“This is not just about having 16 more teams playing ... but taking the next steps in relation to the women’s game in general by ensuring that more FIFA Member Associations have the chance to benefit from the tournament to develop their women’s football structures.”
The decision, FIFA said, will broaden representation, offering more nations and players access to elite competition and accelerating investment in women’s football worldwide.
The men’s tournament will be expanded to 48 teams for the World Cup in 2026, to be hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
