Van Basten: "Ibra is a force MILAN, 15 December 2010 - As well as sharing many of the same technical skills and fan adoration, Marco Van Basten and Zlatan Ibrahimovic have some personality traits in common too: a total disinterest in communication. One is quiet and proud and while the other may be a bit more of a blaggart, he is still essentially an elusive type. It worked for Greta Garbo and it works for them too, Marco in particular, who was born a star and never seemed to care. After Van Basten gave up (temporarily) his job as a coach, he got a new house and neighbourhood in Amsterdam but didn't give up his old habits: he doesn't talk much and steers clear of football gossip and comparisons. He plays golf even though his ankle problems are getting worse and some time ago they were so bad he had to get another operation. He is now a Champions League commentator for a Dutch TV broadcaster and talking about Milan, says: "They have a lot to improve on in their game." When you think about the Ajax game then you have to agree with him.
After Van Basten, Italy now has Van Ibra."Ibrahimovic is a good player, but he is living his life like I lived mine. He is a key player for Milan and I hope for both him and the club that everything goes well and they have a lot of success."
Is the present Milan similar to when you played?"You know, I don't really think there's any use in drawing comparisons at the moment. Milan are doing some great things but I haven't seen any fantastic play from them. It looks like they're just focusing on winning games for now, and that's only right. Later when they'll have built up an advantage, they'll think about playing better, something that has always been part of Milan's plans."
There has been talk of Milan being Ibrahimovic-dependent."Like I said, he's a key player for the team. There's nothing strange about that at the moment."
Is he like you? "Every now and then he does, I see myself in him, especially his physical constitution. Ibrahimovic has so much power, and a lot of technique too. Nevertheless, continuing to compare two players from different times is not easy and relatively pointless."
When you think about their relative achievements, it's not easy either. You played your last game at 28 and you won a lot in Europe: Champions League, three Ballon d'Ors. Ibrahimovic is 29 and hasn't won anything yet outside the league. Do you think he could be thinking about the Champions League this time?It's obvious he'll be thinking about it because he's a class player and is doing a lot for his team. Ibrahimovic has had an amazing influence on his teammates and the results are starting to show, but it's early days yet to be calling it Mighty Milan, although they are making progress in their game. Milan is a team on the up."
Switching from Milan to Inter and from one former Ajax player to another, you trained Wesley Sneijder in the Dutch national team and in Amsterdam for a long time. Are you disappointed he didn't win the Ballon d'Or? "Disappointed is a big word. All I can say is that Wesley has had a special year. He deserved to be in the top three at least."