Zlatan Ibrahimovic had with it in its time Ajax little with the articulate players from the Amsterdam youth academy. Then team manager David Endt still remembers very well how things rubbed off between the Swede on the one hand and players like Rafael van der Vaart on the other hand.
“He was annoyed with them,” says Endt in the Ajax Podcast about Ibrahimovic. “They were young players who came from the youth academy into the locker room and they had a big mouth. He got irritated and said, those little boys don’t know what life is about. a distance grew between them. He also showed in the dressing room that they should not play with him. “
The bomb exploded in 2004, when Ibrahimovic injured teammate Van der Vaart during an international match between Sweden and the Dutch national team. Ajax’s technical staff held a meeting with the selection. Rafael complained about the behavior of Zlatan, who was a bit outside the group. It was a situation that could be described as: Zlatan against the rest of the world, ”said Endt. “There was a lot of negative sentiment around him, which was stimulated by the press. Everyone seemed to be on Rafael’s side.”
Only Sneijder understood the Swedish striker during the conversation in question. “At one point I asked Wesley, a good friend of Rafael’s, what he thought of him and he said: Zlatan has a point, he’s a great guy. I looked at Rafael and he winced: Wes doesn’t help me … Wesley recognized the real leadership of the great man of the street, who was ready to fight. “
During the conversation, the last word was to Ibrahimovic. Zlatan got up and was very direct and impressive: If he (Van der Vaart, ed.) Ever talks about me like that again without saying it directly to me, then I cut his hand off. There was a great silence. Everyone was impressed. He used big words, but everyone knew he can do it. ”
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