According to a number of his former teammates and colleagues, the Paris Saint-Germain striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic puts himself under too much pressure in the Champions League knock-out stage matches. The 34 year old Swedish international, who has won 12 different league titles in four different countries had scored a goal in the first leg of PSG‘s round of 16 tie against Chelsea last week at Parc des Princes.
Les Parisians will be looking forward to seal the deal this Wednesday and move into the last eight stage of the coveted Champions League title.
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Though Ibrahimovic has had an immensely successful career, the Swedish hasn’t won a single Champions League in his entire career. The best that Ibrahimovic has managed in the competition so far was a semifinal finish with Barcelona in the 2009-10 season under the mentorship of Pep Guardiola.
Throughout his long footballing career, in which he has featured for clubs like Ajax, Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona and AC Milan, Ibrahimovic, who was voted the second-greatest Swedish sportsperson of all time after Bjorn Borg, has only managed to find the net 8 times in his forty appearances in the knock-out round of the Champions League.
Mental block for Zlatan Ibrahimovic
The Malmo native’s former Juventus teammate, Jonathan Zebina told the press that he thinks Ibrahimovic is currently suffering from a mental block.
In an interview to L’Equipé, Zebina said, “He has the physique, the talent and today he has the experience. For me, the explanation can only be mental. Does he put himself under too much pressure?”
In an interview given to the same French daily, his ex-colleague from AC Milan Taye Taiwo told the reporters, “From the last 16 on, I could sense he was more nervous. In fact, Zlatan had an obsession to be the saviour.”
The Paris Saint-Germain is at the top of his game. He has not only scored 30 goals in all competitions this season but has also gone on to assist 13 strikes.
Another former teammate of Ibrahimovic from Juventus, David Trezeguet has told L’Equipe that the Swede can make a real difference against Chelsea this Wednesday.
"He's worked to correct that and I feel that he wants to contradict these stats. PSG will need the best version of Zlatan and I am sure that he will be decisive.” Trezeguet told the press.
