Two Swedes, two genius pieces of business for Man United

Since Zlatan Ibrahimovic signed for Manchester United, his prolific goal scoring record has rightly earned comparisons with famous Man United strikers of the Premier League era such as Ruud van Nistelrooy, Robin van Persie, Andy Cole and even Eric Cantona. However, the more you examine it, some incredible similarities exist with a striker who proved to be one of Sir Alex Ferguson’s most astute pieces of transfer business. Another legendary Swede — Henrik Larsson.

In December 2006, Man United signed Henrik Larsson (Photo by Matthew Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images)

In December 2006, Manchester United made a surprising announcement: The club was poised to sign Larsson on a three-month loan. At the time, United were in the midst of a crisis in terms of strikers. Ruud van Nistelrooy had left the club for Real Madrid after a high-profile falling out with the boss. Ex-Leeds striker Alan Smith, who had been playing in midfield anyway, suffered a horrific leg break during a game away at Anfield. Meanwhile, other strikers Ole Solksjaer, Louis Saha dealt with injuries of their own, leaving Wayne Rooney as the only recognizable striker at the club. (The less said about Dong Fangzhou, the better.)

Therefore, Sir Alex, like he had done with Laurent Blanc five years earlier, decided to take an innovative approach in the transfer market, and sign Larsson from Swedish club Helsingborgs. For me, the similarities between them are multifold:

A) Both have played for Barcelona and Man United.

B) Both have an immigrant background. Ibra’s parents immigrated from Yugoslavia to Sweden, while Larsson’s father is from Cabo Verde.

C) Both have had to deal with the untimely passing of a younger brother.

D) Both have made over 100 appearances for and captained the Sweden national team.

Zlatan arrived at Man United in July 2016 on the back of a free transfer. Credit: Sky Sports

E) Both played in the big European leagues, but were “discovered” in the Dutch league. Ibra became a success after leaving Malmo for Ajax, whereas Larsson became a sought-after forward due to his time at Feyenoord.

F) Both have separated or divorced parents.

G) Both arrived at Man United in their mid-30s.

H) During their illustrious European careers, both players played over 500 games and scored over 300 goals (and still counting, in Ibra’s case).

But, I began to wonder if I was the only one who saw the similarities.

In order to explore the appropriateness of this strange comparison, I spoke to three Man United supporters whose opinions I respect greatly. All three are lifelong United supporters living in Britain.

Dr. M Joshi (@Doc_Joshi) is known for his rabble-rousing of opposition supporters on Twitter and is a must-follow for football aficionados. Wayne Barton (@WayneSBarton) is an author of over 10 books (including multiple books on Man United) and the founder of the United in Focus website. Musa Okwonga (@Okwanga) is a brilliant poet and social commentator and he also covers Man United as a writer for ESPN.

NC — Do you see similarities between Ibra and Larsson? What are they? Attitude? Playing style?

WB — Larsson was more of a dynamic and mobile striker, able to run behind the last man and score those kind of goals. Zlatan uses his body and intelligence more but arguably has an even greater range of finishing. In terms of attitude Zlatan obviously registers off the scale with his ego, Larsson had a very strong self-confidence but never really crossed over into the same spectrum of arrogance that we see in Ibrahimovic. I don’t know if they could really be classed as similar players; I think they actually worked well as a pair on the international stage.

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A young Wayne Rooney speaks with Henrik Larsson. Credit: AP

MO — I think that both of them are vastly underrated playmakers. Larsson, as everyone knows, turned the 2006 UEFA Champions League final with a major part in both of Barcelona’s goals – he was arguably as pivotal as Andres Iniesta in that second half. As for Ibrahimovic, well – if you go onto YouTube, you will swiftly find a passing compilation of his that will stand comfortably alongside anything from a number 10.

They are similar in that people doubted their ability to score at the very highest level – Larsson suffered from this criticism even more than Ibrahimovic – but, whenever they were called upon at that level, they were ruthless. But beyond their astonishing goalscoring records, what makes them truly special is their winning mentality. They are as furiously competitive as anyone who has played their position, and never shirked from leading the line.

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DJ — There are similarities of course. They both came to united at the end of their careers and both had a positive impact both on and off the pitch. I wouldn’t say their attitudes on the pitch are similar. They are different characters. But their effect on the team has been similar in that they brought a fresh outlook, new energy, experience and leadership. They expressed this in different ways but certainly the squad responded positively to both. The other difference is that Zlatan came in as our starting center forward whilst Larsson came in to provide cover.

That’s a big difference between the two and one that contributed to the initial doubt. How could a 35-year-old lead a team in a 50-60 game season and provide the goals for a potential title/trophy challenge. It was a fair question to ask at the time but now you can safely say that his attitude and determination have matched his ability and productivity on the pitch.

Larsson celebrates with Kieran Richardson. Credit: AP

Which points to another stark contrast to Larsson. I personally think Larsson’s on field impact has been overplayed because of his off field influence. Fergie described him as a pleasure to work with and the training staff admired his dedication but on the pitch he was decent at best. There were obvious flashes of his technical ability and the way he moved around the pitch was lovely to watch but he rarely impacted games on a meaningful level.

Zlatan wears the #9 at United. Credit: Sky Sports

Zlatan has joined a team that has struggled in recent years and has taken time to find a rhythm in games this season. Very different situations and Zlatan is clearly making an huge impact. Larsson’s impact was certainly positive but Zlatan’s is fundamental to our season so far and any future success will depend on him maintaining this level. At his current scoring rate he will get 40 goals in all competitions (provided we make it to the Europa league and FA Cup finals). That’s simply stunning anyway but at his age that is unheard of.

NC — Obviously Larsson’s time at United was brief due to his loan spell, are you worried about losing Ibra early, too? Or do you think that short-time would ensure legendary status for him?

WB — The closer we get to the summer without a deal being agreed the more concerned I get. You don’t want to lose a player of that caliber because of the goals we stand to lose but I also see the point of concern about being too reliant on him. I think one year would be too short for him to ensure legendary status but if he had two years and the second ended with a title win then I think two years is enough time to earn that reference.

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Zlatan, now retired from international duty, appeared for Sweden over 100 times. Credit: Sky Sports

MO — I am not worried at all – even if Ibrahimovic doesn’t continue next season, and there is no reason why he should not, he has in many ways done what he and Jose Mourinho hoped and believed that he would do. He has given Manchester United their swagger back, and there are very few players in the world who could have done that.

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DJ — Having learned more about Zlatan and his character in recent months, I would say I’m not worried. He will be the one who decides when he’s done. He’s not as foolish as i thought he was. Underneath the bravado and one-liners is a very intelligent man who knows his body and knows if he can compete at the highest level.

If he decides to leave or stay it’s because he knows what his level is at. I think he will sign for one more season to have a crack at the PL title and hopefully the Champions League (assuming we qualify!). But if he doesn’t, I wouldn’t be upset as I think he is someone who knows himself well so if he decides to go elsewhere it’ll be because he knows his level has dropped.

His status is assured at United already and I only wish we’d signed him sooner (even though I wasn’t his biggest fan before he got here)!

So there you have it. Similarities certainly exist between the two Swedish strikers. Yet, seemingly, Ibra has already overtaken Larsson in the eyes of most United supporters. The next challenge for the club will be to ensure Ibra’s time at the club extends beyond a single season. As for Larsson, he recently resigned as manager of Helsingborg after an acrimonious face-off with the club’s fans.

What did you think? Agree with the comparison? Reach out to us at @SocTakes or @NipunChopra7 on twitter.