It was immediately clear that Zlatan had not returned to AC Milan to spend the winter.
Since his first appearances last year, the Swedish champion had shown that he can still be incredibly decisive even at the age of 38.
Not only from a technical point of view, for his superlative skills and for the ability to score many more goals, but also for the psychological approach and the winning mentality that he was able to transmit to his teammates and to the whole Milan environment.
And so, since we were about to see the umpteenth change of coach, the umpteenth management revolution of Milan in recent years, we have passed to admire with our eyes an almost unbeatable team, which hardly gives up and whose coach Stefano Pioli was confirmed, even somewhat surprisingly by the Rossoneri.
It's clear that a single player cannot change the fortunes of a team, but there are champions, and above all men, with such a strong personality that they are able to bring concentration, hunger for victory and commitment into the locker room.
We know Ibra well, both the player and the character need no introduction.
And we know that he is one who gets excited when the thermometer of tension rises.
And what better time to show his teeth than a single elimination Derby?
The Coppa Italia has often been considered a minor competition and many teams in recent years have received criticism from the sports press, for not giving it the right importance, lining up substitutes or experimenting.
In recent years, the trend has somewhat reversed, especially because in the era of cannibal Juventus in Serie A, winning a title in Italy is worth double, it is to be considered more or less a half miracle.
If we then add that you may have the opportunity to immediately win another title (the Italian Super Cup) and that you gain direct access to the Europa League, there is very little space for any calculation.
And if in the season in which the two Milanese teams have both returned to being highly competitive, the duel is not only in the Championship, but also in the Italian Cup, then Ibra could only face the challenge with his usual invincible attitude.
I don't know what you think, but I am convinced that Zlatan already had in mind to provoke Lukaku. In that game situation that was created between Romagnoli and the Belgian he had nothing to do with it.
But the two know each other and Ibra knew which keys to touch. He was sure that, if he wanted to, he would make his rival nervous about nothing. And so it was.
Everyone who knows Lukaku has made it known that they have never seen him so angry.
And probably the reaction took Zlatan himself by surprise.
So much so that, perhaps, it was he who paid the psychological burden of that face to face seasoned with heavy insults. And the ingenuity committed on Kolarov's run cost him and AC Milan the passage of the round.
That excesses are part of the champion is beyond any doubt. But sometimes, psychological warfare becomes an insidious field for everyone, even for someone like Ibra.
From him came the apologies to his teammates for having left them outnumbered, but do you think he has learned his lesson?
Of course not...This animal cannot be tamed.
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