The international break will not only give fans a chance to watch their national teams in action, it will also give us the opportunity to see some of the best players of this generation returning to their teams after a long absence. Such is the case of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who will put his experience to Sweden's service in their UEFA Euro Qualifiers against Belgium and Azerbaijan.
The 41-year-old striker will return to the Blagult after one year away from the team and fully recovered from his injuries, and while coach Janne Andersson has stated he will not start any of their games, Zlatan has chosen to take his role as a mentor to some of his teammates in terms of what he will be doing with the National Team despite his age.
"I was sitting there having dinner, and I told my teammates: 'you may be wondering what I'm doing here, maybe you think I'm stupid for being here at 41 and playing for the team'. But then I said 'wait until you reach the end of your career, then you will understand what I'm dong here now. Right now, I just want to go on, I don't want it to end',"Zlatan stated.
The former Barcelona and Manchester United player admitted that recovering from his injuries was not easy, especially because a wrong diagnosis brought down all the progress he made at one point.
"We were trying to move on, but we ended taking two steps backwards. I was frequently trapped in a mess. I never saw a silver lining to get energy out of, and I thought nothing was going to get me out of that injury. But then, I had a positive development and everything became bright. It was tough, it required a lot of patience, and I managed to move on," the footballer added.
The AC Milan icon went on about the recovery and how he had to lie about the road to fitness, as he had to endure more surgeries than initially expected.
"The truth is that I had three surgeries, not one. Then, we hit a scenario where my age did not help. But I was patient and I listened to those around me. I placed my fate on the hands of my doctors, and luckily I'm here.
Speaking of his chances to play the 2024 UEFA Euro, Zlatan admitted that the decision will be taken by coach Andersson. Nevertheless, he left a Zlatan-esque answer for fans to enjoy, hinting that his time with the Blagult may not be over soon.
"At my age, you can't think about the future, you can only think of what's going on right now. Nevertheless, I am the past, the present, AND the future," Zlatan concluded.
Sweden has been drawn in Group F of the Euro Qualifiers, where they will battle for a spot in next year's tournament with Belgium, Austria, Estonia, and Azerbaijan. If Zlatan gets to play one of the Blagult's games in coming days, the footballer will set a new longevity record when it comes to UEFA Euro Qualifying matches.
