Sweden are probably not a team that's on anyone's lips of even coming within a hint of winning the Euros. They literally only have Ibrahimovic and that's it. As great as the self-entitled legend may be, I don't think it's realistic to think of him carrying Sweden to a victory.
Last time Sweden were relevant to me was back in the mid nineties where a dreadlocked Henrik Larsson burst onto the scene as a young one. They came third in that USA 1994 World Cup, with Larsson being the star of their third-placed match against....Bulgaria....yes. It was the Nineties.
Since then they haven't hit those heights, the talent has waned and the closest player to Larsson's level has been of course Ibra.
I'm not really sure what to make of the big guy. I'll come right out and say that he's overrated. Yes, he is without a shadow of doubt given much more praise than his productivity on the football pitch deserves. But that isn't to throw any shade towards him. He's extremely talented and can do some outrageous things and has scored some of the most ridiculous G's I've ever seen.
It's hust that, he isn't as great as he and his legion of fans think he is. And he has an army that is upwards of a million, so I might need a few dragons and Sauron if they decide to hunt me down and shave my pubic hairs for talking ill of their king.
His inability to perform in a Champions League has contributed to this. He can't blame the players around him like he can with Sweden, because PSG are the most talented crew in the world. There was enough quality to win the Champions League in all the years he was there and he came up very short.
If you have a player who has never won a Champions League let alone never even played in a final, then he needs to take a back seat in place of those who have achieved that feat.
With these Euros, again, I'm not expecting anything from Sweden. This isn't 1994. They are average at the very best and had to qualify through the back door. But they have Ibra. He's the one who got them into this position through a playoff, and if they are to cause anything related to a shock then it will have to come through him.
If somehow, someway, Ibrahimovic manages to take Sweden all the way and win this trophy then that would make up for all his mishaps at club level. I'd be more than happy to wipe the slate clean and offer up a public apology both in spoken and written form with double-spacing. I'd also happlily place him in the elite club with VIP access.
Realistically, it's not going to happen. Only if some Swedish scientists can inject some anti-ageing juice into Henrik Larsson, Ljungberg and Martin Dahlin... HH
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